Ganesh Balakrishnan, co-founder of footwear brand Flatheads, explains how the 2022 funding winter eliminated the startup's prospective investor term sheets.
“And then when April happened, all the, you know, conversations and potential term sheets that were on the table also went away. So when the demand actually came, we didn't have the marketing money to do something meaningful.”
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More from Ganesh Balakrishnan
Disclosure
Balakrishnan Rejected Shark Tank Offer Because 70 Lakhs Was Insufficient
“And I genuinely believe that
You know, 70 lakhs is not enough for, you know, creating this all over again.
Which is why I said no.”
Ganesh BalakrishnanJan 23, 2023▶ 38:48Shark Tank India Behind The Scenes With Flatheads Founder - Ganesh Balakrishnan
What-if
Balakrishnan: Flatheads Should Have Paused Operations During COVID Lockdowns
“I would have paused everything. I would have told people to go take a holiday, right? And come back and we will try when this madness dies down. I would not have spent as much on trying to force the product into the market where the demand was low, which is wh…”
Ganesh BalakrishnanJan 23, 2023▶ 44:00Shark Tank India Behind The Scenes With Flatheads Founder - Ganesh Balakrishnan
Insight
Balakrishnan: Consumer Brand Markets Are Not Winner-Take-All Like Tech
“And the beauty of the brand ecosystem is also that unlike a tech play, it is not a winner-take-all, right?”
Ganesh BalakrishnanJan 23, 2023▶ 13:19Shark Tank India Behind The Scenes With Flatheads Founder - Ganesh Balakrishnan
AssertionSupported
Momoe Pioneered Offline Mobile Payments in India Before Paytm
“Momo was in, in one of the first mobile apps that enabled mobile payments at real world restaurants, retail stores, and so on. At that time, even the Paytm's and the Mobyquicks, which were the big guys were doing you know, utility bill payments and recharges. …”
Ganesh BalakrishnanJan 23, 2023▶ 17:22Shark Tank India Behind The Scenes With Flatheads Founder - Ganesh Balakrishnan
AssertionContradicted
Offline Mobile Payments Were Largely Undeployed Globally in Early 2010s
“In fact, worldwide, other than China, where, you know, WeChat Pay and Alipay had exploded, most of the other places, literally Google had done one pilot with Google Wallet, and PayPal had done one pilot, but that's about it. Nobody had deployed this.”
Ganesh BalakrishnanJan 23, 2023▶ 17:38Shark Tank India Behind The Scenes With Flatheads Founder - Ganesh Balakrishnan
Disclosure
Flatheads Is Dormant and Exploring Potential Acquisition Partners
“Right now the company is still very much, you know, pretty much dormant, right? We have done all our supplier negotiations and closed stuff. So we are trying to figure out whether there is a potential home where flatheads can belong. It could be another brand.…”
Ganesh BalakrishnanJan 23, 2023▶ 29:41Shark Tank India Behind The Scenes With Flatheads Founder - Ganesh Balakrishnan
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