Shark Tank India: SUGAR’s Vineeta Singh praises Flatheads owner, says ‘you have far more courage than me’
- Ganesh Balakrishnan shared at Shark Tank India that he was out of funds and he might have to start looking for a job, shutting the company
Ganesh Balakrishnan, the owner of Flatheads shoes, did not get any funding for his company from the sharks at Shark Tank India but walked out with a job offer. In fact, he has reportedly sold out all his inventory at Amazon after the episode aired on Friday, 6 January. Seeing his struggle since he started his company, SUGAR co-founder Vineeta Singh took to LinkedIn and said Ganesh Balakrishnan has “far more courage than me”.
“I don’t have words to describe the courage, clarity and honesty of the entrepreneur who under the glare of 14 cameras is able to make the choice to be a better provider for his family rather than continuing to go after his dream! Watching Ganesh Balakrishnan make that choice and not being able to help him build his dream was so hard that every time I speak about him, it makes me emotional,” Vineeta Singh said.
Ganesh Balakrishnan had appeared on Shark Tank India 2 episode 5 seeking funding for his company, Flatheads which he started in 2019, just before the pandemic. With India was locked inside, there was hardly any use for shoes. Ganesh Balakrishnan shared at Shark Tank India that he was out of funds and he might have to start looking for a job, shutting the company.
“It’s not that I can’t run a company. I am capable of it…when you step into the market and for 4 months nobody is wearing shoes, because nobody is stepping out - such situations arise once in generations. And it happened to us,” he said at the show, as emotions erupted.
Ganesh Balakrishnan had invested ₹35 lakh in his business. The co-founder of Flatheads, Utkarsh Biradar, too, invested the same amount. Utkarsh Biradar, who used to design the shoes, left the company in 2022.
At the show, Lenskart co-founder Peyush Bansal and SUGAR Cosmetics co-founder Vineeta Singh offered ₹75 lakh for 33.3 per cent equity in the company. Balakrishnan, however, rejected the offer. Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal also offered him a job but said he would want to see him get back up on his feet once again with the company.
But after the episode aired, Flathead shoes were sold out on Amazon.
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Business NewsNewsShark Tank India: SUGAR’s Vineeta Singh praises Flatheads owner, says ‘you have far more courage than me’
First Published:9 Jan 2023, 10:40 PM IST
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