Flatheads Sold Out: Who is Ganesh Balakrishnan who appeared on Shark Tank? Founder says all shoes sold in India

Shark Tank India Season 2: Shark Tank India's second season's Friday episode was very emotional. A man who came to secure an investment for his shoe company, Flatheads, cried on camera in front of the sharks -- Peyush Bansal, Namita Thapar, Anupam Mittal, Aman Gupta and Vineeta Singh. The man was Ganesh Balakrishnan, the founder of the company. He was offered a deal but he didn't take it. However, he trended on Twitter which also helped his company that was on the verge of collapse. Here's his story. Who is Ganesh Balakrishnan? Ganesh Balakrishnan is an IIT Bombay graduate. He later did his MBA and joined the corporate world. He helped build many brands. Over the last many years, he built three companies, but unfortunately, they weren't successful. Ganesh Balakrishnan told the Shark Tank judges that had started Flatheads shoes company in 2019 but just when the shoes hit the market, the coronavirus pandemic struck. No one brought shoes for the next 4-5 months. He told them that he had the ability to run companies but he was unlucky.

On Sunday, however, Balachandran wrote in a LinkedIn post that Flatheads' inventory has been sold out.

"To be honest, I was dreading the airing of the Flatheads pitch on Shark Tank India. Breaking down on national TV isn't exactly great for one's self confidence. What I definitely didn't expect is the episode to be received the way it has been, and it is very very heartening to see that people are applauding the entrepreneurial spirit - of all startup founders, with me as a proxy," he said.

"We've almost sold out our inventory in India, so pardon us if you aren't able to find your size on www.flatheads.in. Would be amazing if you can tell your friends in the US and UAE to try our shoes," he added.

Balakrishnan has a daughter and a wife. His wife is also a software engineer and works for a German company. His daughter is 10 years old. The family lives in Bengaluru from where they run their company.

Flatheads makes breathable and light shoes for the Indian weather, using sustainable material. The prices of his shoes range from Rs 1000 to Rs 5000. Shankar told the sharks that even though his company had been making sales, they were not profitable. They had run out of working capital and had been using their own money to pay the salaries and get the company running. He said he had used his personal savings to the tune of Rs 35 lakh.

Most of the sharks told him that they were out. They said Rs 75 lakh he was asking for wouldn't help revive his company. They said the condition his company was in was due to the high prices of his products.

He said the mid-range of his company started from Rs 2500. The sharks, however, said even this was too much for the Indian market.

Ganesh Balakrishnan also had a co-founder who had been designing these shoes, but he didn't turn up. He had also raised over Rs 10 crore through angel investors who were now not supporting him at all.

The Shark Tank judges opined that they had left him to be on his own and they had no confidence in the company.

When the sharks asked what would happen if he didn't secure their investment, he said the company would shut down.

The sharks then asked him to shut the company, earn money and get back on his feet. They said he should rebuild the company later.

“Iske liye funding nahi aati hai toh mere paas paise toh hain nahi. Toh main shayad job dhundna shuru karuga. Aur jab mauka mile toh wapis shuru karne ki koshish karuga (sic),” he said.

However, Peyush Bansal, Lenskart founder, later said he would offer Rs 75 lakh for 33 percent of the company with conditions.

Balakrishnan then went out and talked to his investor who asked him to go ahead with the deal.

However, he came back inside and refused the offer and said he would assess his priorities again. He started crying. All the sharks went and consoled and hugged him.

Anupam Mittal of the People Group also offered him a job.

Soon after the Shark Tank was telecast on Sony Liv application, he started massively trending on Twitter.

Several people showed their respects for the person. They called him a genuine guy, first generational entrepreneur and urged him to believe in himself.

Meanwhile, his company was massively searched on Google Trends since he aired on the show. It is possible that his company may have registered more sales.