New Delhi: ‘Shark Tank India’s second season brought attention to the sustainably grown premium footwear startup Flatheads. Ganesh Balakrishnan, an IIT and IIM alumnus and co-founder of the startup, broke down in tears on the show as he discussed how the business was about to be shut down.
Anuradha Pasupathy, Balakrishnan’s wife, posted an emotional letter on LinkedIn after her husband turned down the judges’ lucrative investment proposal. She works for Continental, an IT company with its headquarters in Hanover. Anuradha shared her account of the incident on Linkedin. Anuradha shared her viewpoint on the situation in her post.
“Main kamati hun, wo udata hai’ – I am Ganesh Balakrishnan’s wife, and this is my side of his story,” she wrote in the beginning of her note.
She went on to say that there were concerns about overcoming the challenges of entrepreneurship.
“When Ganesh decided to leave his corporate job and start up on his own, I had my own apprehensions about how this will work. “It is very difficult to do a startup in India, it needs a very strong, resilient mind. Coming from a very conventional family, will he be able to deal with the rigours of entrepreneurship? There are plenty of wolves out there, will being an honest lamb really work?,” she wrote.
Anrudha described her husband Ganesh as a fighter in the post.
“He is a fighter, who is determined to make a dent in the universe. The belief slowly started becoming stronger when Momoe exited to ShopClues, and later when he started up Flatheads. I was really kicked by the USP of Flatheads – ultra-lightweight and breathable shoes with natural materials,” she added.
While concluding her post, Pasupathy talked about the ‘Shark Tank India’ episode and wrote,”When we watched the Shark Tank episode, I didn’t cry. Because all these hardships have only made me stronger and more determined myself, and I know this is just another storm that we can sail through despite the odds. Bring it on!”
Sustainable and environmentally friendly shoes are produced by Flatheads. Despite the obstacles the COVID-19 pandemic posed, the business, which was founded in 2019, was able to compile roughly 20,000 consumers.