Shark Tank India 2: Once on the brink of failing, this Bengaluru-based start-up’s shoes are now getting sold out
Shark Tank India 2: Once on the brink of failing, this Bengaluru-based start-up’s shoes are now getting sold out
Ganesh Balakrishnan may not have got funding from the sharks. But today, he claims, his shoes are almost sold out and his company has been saved from folding up.
Flatheads makes shoes which are sustainable and environment-friendly. The shoes cost between Rs 1,000-Rs 5,000.
He came for funding on Shark Tank India. But he went back without taking one. That is Ganesh Balakrishnan, Founder of Bengaluru-based shoe manufacturing start-up, Flatheads. The fifth episode which aired on Friday saw Balakrishnan reveal that if he was unable to raise funding, he would have to shut the business down as the runaway cash was almost over. And now, he claims that the shoes on his website are fast-selling out.
“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 wrote on LinkedIn.
How did Balakrishnan carve this inspirational journey?
To begin with, Balakrishnan came as the second contestant on the episode and pitched his company. Flatheads makes shoes which are sustainable and environment-friendly. The shoes cost between Rs 1,000-Rs 5,000. So far, despite the pandemic, the company has been able to sell 20,000 units, he shared.
However, what caught the sharks' attention was his resilience (he has run two start-ups previously). In addition, Balakrishnan has studied form coveted colleges such as IIT, IIM and worked at companies like Bain and Company, and Honeywell.
He broke down on the episode while sharing his struggles. His co-founder had exited Flatheads a while back and Balakrishnan had to invest Rs 35 lakh from personal savings to keep the company afloat. Aman Gupta (Co-founder and CMO of boAt) said that his basics were not in place and declined to invest in the company along with the others. However, Peyush Bansal (CEO of Lenskart) and Vineeta Singh (CEO of Sugar) rolled out an offer to him but Balakrishnan refused saying he wanted to re-evaluate his actions. While the fundraise part did not work out, he won hearts for being honest and particularly, for baring his soul on national television. Shortly after the episode aired, he took to LinkedIn and said how he was dreading the premiering of the episode but it has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
One of the first people to applaud him was Anupam Mittal (Founder and CEO of People Group).
This is not all. Several netizens and entrepreneurs came forward to support Balakrishnan and even gave him advice on how to move forward. A viewer of the episode, Antony Chacko who helps scale up D2C brands wrote:
“Here are my 2 cents to accept people's love & funding.
- Remove the "Sold Out" button
- Start accepting orders immediately
- Add a note:
"Due to immense love shown by people after Flatheads aired on Shark Tank we are overwhelmed by the orders. If you place your order today, you can expect them to be delivered by [Give a realistic future date]. We are doing everything in our capacity to deliver you your favorite Flathead shoe on the promised date. Hope you understand.
- Make all orders prepaid
People are emotionally charged at the moment.
Make the most of it for the future of Flatheads
There is nothing wrong in shipping orders at a future date with people's consent.
More power to you!
Peace ✌️”
Another user, Jaydeep Desai, who is into digital marketing wrote, “Ganesh Balakrishnan sir must be definitely overwhelmed with the orders but it is time to quickly monetize the web traffic with engagement and make best use of the first party data to re-target effectively again.”
Dr Anmol Kumar Ray, India Head of Regulatory and Vigilance at B.Braun Group, wrote, “A balanced approach is always suggestive ones wherein a calculated risks MUST be there especially for Entrepreneurs. Customer is the one who will make you or break you. If Customers have started giving you positive responses, then you need to make strategies in such a way that you should move forward while respecting your customers. Customers will support you and will teach you all four (4) P's that the Shark Aman Gupta guided you about.
Have a bit more faith in you as you already are a brave and nice champ......”