Ganesh Balakrishnan
@ganeshb78
Followers
5,713
Following
321
Media
260
Statuses
5,303
Dad, entrepreneur, marketer. Co-founder of Aurm. Talk about starting up, marketing and Dad jokes. For career advice, book a slot using link-in-bio.
Bengaluru, India
Joined June 2009
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
Arsenal
• 431716 Tweets
#PLdaGloboNão
• 384508 Tweets
Tottenham
• 292257 Tweets
Spurs
• 217699 Tweets
Man City
• 173182 Tweets
Premier League
• 146204 Tweets
Manchester City
• 102111 Tweets
Maynez
• 88751 Tweets
Champions League
• 85753 Tweets
Guardiola
• 78416 Tweets
#TOTMCI
• 75323 Tweets
Haaland
• 73810 Tweets
Ortega
• 73582 Tweets
WNBA
• 65111 Tweets
Aston Villa
• 58639 Tweets
#ابراهيم_المهيدب
• 52919 Tweets
Ange
• 49008 Tweets
Alito
• 48425 Tweets
Menem
• 43507 Tweets
Arda Güler
• 35002 Tweets
توتنهام
• 30457 Tweets
Foden
• 27240 Tweets
Harrison Butker
• 27071 Tweets
Arteta
• 26212 Tweets
Everton
• 23865 Tweets
Ederson
• 23174 Tweets
Doku
• 19998 Tweets
السيتي
• 19281 Tweets
#TierraDeNadie10
• 18946 Tweets
Alice Munro
• 18381 Tweets
ارسنال
• 17646 Tweets
Courtois
• 17553 Tweets
Valverde
• 15454 Tweets
Agatha All Along
• 15382 Tweets
Unai Emery
• 15107 Tweets
Rodrygo
• 13934 Tweets
Lunin
• 13928 Tweets
4 ANOS DE BOIADEIRA
• 12580 Tweets
Akanji
• 11293 Tweets
West Ham
• 10933 Tweets
Etihad
• 10298 Tweets
Pinned Tweet
Footage alert! We've been featured in
@EconomicTimes
today:
#startups
#banking
#banklockers
#Aurm
#flatheads
#SharkTankIndia
11
6
63
Startup journey in India
- Incorporate, get MCA notice
- Raise angel funding, get Angel tax notice
- Create products, get Legal Metrology notice
- Generate revenues, get GST notice
- Raise VC funds, get FEMA notice
- Sponsor cricket, get shutdown by regulator
- Die
64
242
2K
She has been a pillar of support indeed. No words.
"Wife Kamati Hai, Mai Udata Hu"
(My wife earns and I spend)
Ganesh Balakrishnan (
@ganeshb78
) said this with a shy giggle on
@sharktankindia
. I realised how living off your wife's salary is looked down upon in our Indian society🧵
(1/4)
47
131
759
24
53
2K
Just stumbled upon an interesting math occurrence:
5 + 1.25 = 6.25
5 * 1.25 = 6.25
Are there any more such concidences? Curious to know.
168
64
1K
Hahaha, good to see you here.
@peakbengaluru
indeed!
10
19
1K
I had almost decided to drop out of my IIT Entrance Exam.
Until my father stepped in to (literally) change my life.
A month before my IIT-JEE (IIT Joint Entrance Exam), I had a bout of chickenpox.
Therefore, I could not prepare adequately for the last and crucial phase in the
34
57
687
I have an MBA, live in Bangalore and run a startup. Non-VC funded too. Best. Iconoclast. Ever.
@peakbengaluru
19
13
506
Classic toxicity from a guy who has zero respect for founders too. Demands samples from them like he is entitled to it, and then ghosts them. I see where the entitlement comes from. Would you raise from such an investor?
2017 - My parents will never accept you. You will be a failure in your startup.
2018 - She broke up with me after 7 years.
2023 - I run a 40 million dollar fund now, having invested in over 80+ Startups. Also, her parents follow me on Instagram.
612
357
7K
18
40
482
I was on the sets of
@SharkTankIndia
again recently, shooting for the "Beyond the Tank" segment of the show that aired yesterday.
It was bittersweet, recalling the show last year and the emotions on display, and what has happened since the episode aired. What my family went
13
24
454
Thanks
@vineetasng
for seeing a bit of your journey in my story. I'm now realising that I'm not alone - Every entrepreneur goes through the walk of fire where they stand to lose everything. It's a story worth telling.
PS: I didn't realise there were 14 cameras! Psych! 😅
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!
63
110
3K
13
15
441
The biggest upside of living an honest life is that no one owns you.
No lies, no remembering of cooked facts, no fear of being caught, no need for a mental note.
The downside is if you are honest, not everyone likes you.
If you can accept that, an honest life is worth living.
25
40
422
Thanks for bringing this up, and for your support
@kaushikmkj
! This is something the startup ecosystem badly needs to talk about as a focus topic. We can't be driven only by the unicorn and funding PR hype.
We hear about the underdog disruptor narrative of starting up but there's also a side that we don't talk about - because that's not what we want our idea of entrepreneurship to be.
Which is why watch the
@flatheads_in
pitch tonight on
#SharkTankIndiaS2
- nothing but respect 🙏
13
17
333
16
18
369
Someone cold called me at 10 pm yesterday. When I asked why they are calling so late, the response was - I thought you would be watching the cricket match anyways.
We take unbelievable liberties with people's personal space and privacy in India. This has to stop.
33
17
337
1) My footwear startup died after 3 COVID waves that broke our back.
2) Got on Shark tank as a last ditch effort and couldn't make it there either.
3) The episode aired and went viral, giving another ray of hope to resurrect the brand.
Work in progress 😎👟
Lockdown started 3 years ago today. What are 3 things that have happened to you since then?
2K
953
7K
11
10
250
Things I did after the Flatheads journey last year, that I would have never done otherwise:
1. Sought therapy
There is an ongoing line on social media, which says “Men would do anything other than seek therapy".
I broke that rule for myself. And rediscovered myself in ways I
13
7
209
"A lot of the stories of people's entrepreneurial struggles, which were bottled up within people's minds are actually coming out."
Thanks
@moneycontrolcom
for this interview! I hope my story inspires more entrepreneurs to keep going and not give up!
6
6
116
Unpopular opinion:
99% of founders who appear to be extroverts are introverts networking to understand business and customers more, before they go back to work to recharge themselves again!
5
4
112
I am more than excited about my days in the office these days.
It’s a feeling every founder lives for.
We are getting ready for our first launch, and I exactly match the endorphin rush of a studious kid getting their new books in their new year of school.
Our website of Aurm
4
2
80
Welcome to the Flatheads tribe
@gauravkapur
😎! Looking forward to doing some amazing things together!
#startup
#investor
@flatheads_in
#ambassador
There’s no business like SHOE business 🎵😎
Gaurav Kapur for
@flatheads_in
#collab
#D2C
#startups
#investors
#sneakers
1
2
81
2
4
71
Bang on. It's high time we moved to appropriate dressing for our tropical climate.
Since I have moved to wearing Kurtas to office, the post work-day fatigue has halved. So much of energy is spent on just carrying formal clothes. Never going back.
140
509
6K
1
2
63
We've just raised our pre-series A round at
@flatheads_in
.
Thanks to
@we_circle
@AngelsDexter
for leading the round.
And big shout-out to
@gauravkapur
for becoming a believer! May the Flatheads tribe grow!
#startups
#funding
#shoes
8
2
55
@systemstrader1
Ran out of characters before hitting profitability. Couldn't get to income tax payments 😅
3
0
53
Can't wait for this to air!
“To be honest, I wasn’t humble earlier, Entrepreneurship and failures teach a lot.”
Get ready to hear the story of Ganesh Balakrishnan, Founder,
@flatheads_in
& about everything that has changed for him after Shark Tank 👀
Full Ep will be out soon🤩
#downbutnotout
@ganeshb78
0
7
46
1
1
52
@i_Udita
Ummm... Mukesh Ambani? Ratan Tata? Adi Godrej? Rishad Premji? Examples abound if you start looking.
3
0
49
You heard the
#SharkTankIndia
pitch of
@flatheads_in
on Youtube. Here's the back story of how we created the brand, and what happened before & after Shark Tank - my conversation with
@SidAhluwalia
on the
@100xEntr
#podcast
#downbutnotout
#startups
#shoes
3
8
41
Wow, this blew up!
So many math nerds with so much time...
2
0
41
We just went live on
@Zappos
today! Big day for
@flatheads_in
sneakers.
Quick thread about what it means for us:
10
3
40
One of the most useful gifts I received from Mom when I left home was a copy of the English translation of Samaithu Paar by Meenakshi Ammal. Got me interested in simple daily cooking and then graduated me to more complex dishes. Masala Labs by
@krishashok
is in a similar zone.
4
1
39
I have followed ONE strategy in almost 20 years of my work life:
Approach the world with trust.
There are so many people who would surprise you if you’d just trust them.
I try to be the person who believes in “Mistrust is an exception, not the rule.”
If you are dealing with
2
1
38
Thank you
@delhivery
for graciously helping us with the logistics for the
#DownButNotOut
t-shirts! Great to see such camaraderie in the Indian startup ecosystem 😊.
@thesouledstore
@flatheads_in
#flatheads
#limitededition
#sharktankindia
As a tribute to the undying spirit of entrepreneurship, we are delighted to support our partners,
@thesouledstore
and
@flatheads_in
, in shipping their
#DownButNotOut
T-shirts. This t-shirt captures the essence of
@ganeshb78
and his inspiring journey.
#SharkTankIndia
#Delhivery
0
12
62
1
3
36
saying No is difficult.
But when you realize saying Yes would close all doors, would not lead to any good and bring you back to square one, saying No becomes easy.
During my Shark Tank India pitch, Flatheads was offered the amount I had asked for. BUT, with significantly higher
3
1
37
♥️♥️
1
0
35
Case in point:
Invested in 2 food startups
Free food is sorted now ✅
Now, onto free Internet. Any WiFi startups please? 😂
94
31
1K
0
0
35
How it was vs. How it
supposed to be turned out
Pardon the expression 😖
2
0
34
@chandracm
Nothing wrong with that. Ghosting them after receiving it and using it is not done. You owe them some feedback at least, both on the product and the pitch.
0
0
34
13 things startup founders tell themselves:
1. I am not in it to be rich.
I am in it for the itch. To solve a problem I passionately care for.
2. Failure is not intimidating. The regret of not trying is.
3. My goal is to get to a place of product market fit.
4. Once I have
6
2
32
Repeat after me: The hockey stick, like Santa Claus, isn't real.
An LP asked me why in 2004 I started investing in Indian consumer brands. I showed him this graph. 2004 to 2022 was great but the next decade is going to be even better as India will be the 3rd largest economy by 2027 with GDP more than doubling from the current $3.4tn to $8.5tn.
3
19
82
1
1
31
If someone quit their job once in less than a year, their job wasn't trustworthy.
If someone quits their jobs thrice in less than a year, the person isn’t trustworthy.
3
0
30
Hey
@Uber_India
@UberINSupport
, can anyone resolve my issue? Driver has overcharged for a trip on Jan 19, and the app isn't allowing me to book any further trips. I've written complaints on the app at least 6 times but no response or resolution. Help!
@IndiaConsumers
4
5
29
When I was in IIT, all I wanted to do for the rest of my career was become a refrigeration engineer.
I even became one, for the next 5 years!
For the next 7 years, I shifted into a management career path.
And then, if this change was not enough, I ventured into
1
0
29
Xmas celebrations with the
@flatheads_in
gang! Made special with some amazing cold brews by our surprise Secret Santa,
@bonomiofficial
- thanks a lot guys!
#d2cbrands
#ChristmasSeason
#startup
#celebrations
1
2
29
Had an absolute blast talking to
@Anshuman_306
and the Shark Tales team about the story behind the Shark Tank pitch. Check it out:
PS: there's a nugget at the end about my daughter's entrepreneurial venture too! Do watch ☺️
0
1
29
In the last couple of years, we have witnessed 3-4 deaths in our grandparents’ generation.
It is not easy for my 11 year old daughter to witness this.
However, this is the reality of life.
Thus, one evening I spoke to her about death.
As a parent, I think it is important to be
1
0
28
My life changed when I forayed into entrepreneurship from a well-paying corporate job.
Not the way life usually changes…
When I was an employee in a corporate, by the nature of work, we usually used to book tickets at the last minute. That too, business class or premium
4
3
26
The more you listen to your customers,
The less you will have to suffer as an entrepreneur.
2
2
26
Stay tuned for the podcast drop from
@siddharthaa7
coming soon, it was a super fun conversation!
“Down but not out” became the national war cry for entrepreneurs in 2023.
Super excited to share the journey of Ganesh Balakrishnan, Founder,
@flatheads_in
before and after the Shark Tank Ep!
Stay Tuned!
0
3
56
0
1
24
Looking forward to this one! What a super awesome team
@Anshuman_306
"Down but not out"
Spent an entire evening with
@ganeshb78
and discussed a lot of things.. what a man!
My team is working overtime so that we can bring the video live ASAP. Stay tuned...
5
5
251
2
0
24
Picture this. You stay in Bellandur. You drive to Manpho in 2 hrs traffic and struggle for 1 hr to park. Then find out that the Trevor Noah show is cancelled. Start driving back. Get stuck for 5 hours in the epic gridlock. What's going on in your head?
#bangaloretraffic
3
1
24
The curious case of the missing mega brand of premium shoes in India -
@livemint
weighs in. Featuring
@flatheads_in
on the cover photo!
#sneakers
#brands
#india
@gauravkapur
3
3
24
First time founders read business books to stay motivated.
Second time founders read fiction to stay entertained.
Third time founders read Sci-Fi to hallucinate themselves with a different reality!
4
1
23
Had a no holds barred conversation with Roshan again, after a gap of 2+ years! Listen in and contrast this to the earlier
@OperatorStartup
episode, and tell me if i have changed!
.
@ganeshb78
spoke about what happens behind the scenes of Shark Tank with
@RoshanCariappa
. Full episode link below!
3
6
12
0
3
21
Catch my conversation with the sharks in the "Beyond the Tank" segment on Sony Liv, Shark Tank Season 3, Episode 50.
3
0
23
And if you want to see what we are doing at Aurm, check out ♦️
1
0
23
Celebrating our fundraise at
@flatheads_in
today. Thanks for the beautiful gesture
@Razorpay
and
@AbhishekRaiB1
with the cake!
#d2cbrands
#shoes
#fundraise
2
0
22
My kid wants to be either a cafe owner or a lawyer.
I said, "Barista, or Barrister... You choose!"
#puns
#dadjokes
#mondaymorning
0
0
20
Picking a career you love will build a stronger resume for you than picking a career that most people on LinkedIn tell you to pick.
2
0
21
Super excited to have
@GetVantage_Co
as our partners in growth as we move to the next phase of business expansion. We're out to establish
@flatheads_in
as an Indian sneaker brand for the world, and our tribe of believers is growing!
@bhavikvasa
#d2c
#startups
#shoes
Online footwear brand
#Flatheads
has raised growth funding from
#ecommerce
investment marketplace
#GetVantage
.
@flatheads_in
@utkarshbiradar
@bhavikvasa
@GetVantage_Co
@ganeshb78
1
5
19
6
7
21
My best piece of startup advice:
Building sustainable economics in your company should be built in your DNA from Day 1.
Waiting around for someone to believe in you before your business numbers believe in you is probably the biggest waste of your precious time.
3
1
21
5 “hacks” for building a startup:
1. Build a financial nest of 12-24 months before taking a plunge.
2. Get a co-founder with shared values and complementary skills.
3. Build something you are passionate about.
4. Don't be a part of toxic environments.
5. Listen to customer
3
2
20
You gotta know how to optimize the batter usage...
Day 1 - idlis
Day 2 - dosas
Day 3 - dosas
Day 4 - uttappams
Day 5 - paniyarams
That's how South Indian homes work.
This thing destroys a minimum of 2 days of breakfast because it just doesn't get over and can't be stored for long.
19
1
34
1
0
20
So, essentially the VC funded Indian tech startup playbook is:
1) Build a tech product
2) Make it (almost) free and pump $-fueled hypergrowth to grab the market
3) Talk about PMF, how the customers love the product
4) Make them mercenaries by doling out freebies for engagement,
2
1
20
Coming from a corporate job of 15 years to the entrepreneurial journey of 10 years now, I can surely attest to it. There is a breaking point where an entrepreneur realises that it is about survival, and plans his life accordingly. A salaried employee will never understand this.
I'd rather invest in a founder of a failed startup who is trying again than a founder who worked at Google for 5 years, ate the free snacks, and was never faced with a terribly hard day.
83
159
2K
2
0
20
So, this happened on
@LinkedIn
. Venkatraman V discovered
@flatheads_in
and featured us as an innovative Indian brand.
We
#Entrepreneurs
live for such instances when people organically talk about our startup, helping us reach new audiences.
Thank you!
2
3
19
Honest confession:
Sometimes I get paralysed with the never-ending pending tasks. Too much to do. Too little time.
The fact that I am not a To-Do lists kinda person sometimes makes it even worse.
Any tips on how you get things done?
#todolists
#tasks
16
0
19
Thank you
@YourStoryCo
for this special conversation! I drew a lot of energy from the super happy and chirpy
@BeverlyKimWhite
! Enjoyed this one ☺️
#sharktankindia
#Flatheads
#downbutnotout
#NationalStartupDay
.
@ganeshb78
talks to us about his emotional appearance on Shark Tank & whether he is re evaluating the way forward for
@flatheads_in
post the outpouring of support following his episode on Shark Tank.
@BeverlyKimWhite
#StartupDaywithYS
#YSLivewithBeverly
0
4
13
0
1
18
We'd like to think of ourselves as GOATs, but the truth is we are still bakras :/
@flatheads_in
#shoes
#startups
#funding
#b2bsales
2
0
19
What an energizing conversation with the
@saplabsindia
folks! Interacting with a highly involved audience and sharing my journey was refreshing.
Couldn't have better summarized the key takeaways better, thank you!
#EmployeeExperience
#SAPLabs
#motivation
We had an insightful day!
@ganeshb78
, Co-Founder of Flatheads Shoes and
#SharkTank
India Season 2 participant, shared his entrepreneurial journey and invaluable learnings from each phase, summing up that positive outcomes come with self-belief and taking action.
1
4
17
1
2
19
Very well summarised and solutioned Arindam! It's the need of the hour for startup employees to value ESOPs in a company they believe in.
ESOP taxation in India is not employee friendly.
It has been a long-standing request of the Indian start up ecosystem to correct it.
This is what happens currently, why is it wrong, and what needs to change
A thread
19
87
549
0
0
18
Not letting go of non-performers always costs the company more than it helps the company.
Spend a few more months allowing a non-performer to stay = you are discounting the efforts of people who do their best.
Letting go of a non-performer after all efforts = you respect the
0
2
17
Met
@adityakothari
last weekend after a long long time! Born growth hacker, consumer marketer par excellence. Good time for a trip down memory lane thread 🧵
#entrepreneurlife
#growthhacking
#storytime
1
3
17
Atheism, on the other hand, puts the ownership of creating a new world in the founder's hands, not some make-believe artist.
1
1
16
Just paid at
@thirdwaveindia
by tapping my phone using
@GooglePay
and my credit card. Legit goosebumps! Been dreaming about this since we created
@MomoeApp
in 2013 for offline
#mobilepayments
.
Try it out, there is no reason to carry your wallet anymore!
#digitalpayments
#india
3
2
16
Ok, this one blew up (a little bit). To clarify, we are angel funded, not by VCs.
1
1
16
Life is harder when you build a pathbreaking product for a small market.
Life is easier when you build a good enough product for a large market.
2
2
16
@tibo_maker
I'm the co-founder of
@flatheads_in
shoes, a casual sneaker brand made in India for the world.
We exist because we believe folks living in tropical climates need better shoes designed for the hot weather and dust.
1
0
15
5 unforgettable rules for a life well lived:
1. Your focus needs to be on the things you can control and not on things you have no control over. It makes you more powerful and truly in control.
2. You were not meant to spend the finest hours of your life benchmarking yourself
1
2
14
Super excited to do my first AMA with
@redditindia
@Reddit
! Interested? Pls join in this weekend 🤘🏼👟
#flatheads
#downbutnotout
#sharktankindia
#dayzero
Announcing r/India AMA with
@ganeshb78
, founder of
@flatheads_in
on Feb 4th, Saturday @ 08:00 pm IST.
1
3
9
0
4
15
I went to a job interview at IKEA today. I walked in and they asked me to take a seat. I took it.
They called the security guards. I don't think they like me very much.
#aiyo
#terriblepuns
0
0
15
First mango of the season!
Welcome to the Indian summer 🌞😎🥭
1
0
15
Founders exiting their startups should consider taking time off before joining the grind again.
More energy, more time to give your body a rest, and better mind space with room for a wider perspective and newer ideas.
If you had fun being a founder, you'll certainly have more
0
0
15
How FedEx can deliver to the wrong address in the USA blows my mind. How can such a well-mapped country have wrong deliveries?
@delhivery
routinely delivers packages to "mandir ke paas dusra right leke call karna" addresses in India.
bought an old film camera on ebay from seller in Japan. Fedex delivered it to the wrong person/wrong address (someone named J Sanchez signed for it). the whole thing makes me sad. the japanese seller loved the camera, i know id have been a good owner. now its gone forever
212
85
9K
2
0
15
As an entrepreneur, there are some days where everything is going to shit. Today is one of those days. Just got to persevere and push through, hoping that things will get better soon. 🤞🏼
#startuplife
#entrepreneurship
#dayinthelife
3
0
15
Ever wondered why we use UK, EU or US shoe sizes, but we don't have India sizes? India has been a commodity shoes market to launch cheaper versions of global brand product lines until now.
A few D2C brands are attempting to be
#unalike
the incumbents. Read more about it here!
We've been featured by
@Openthemag
in their story on D2C footwear startups in India!
Short thread on why
#D2C
brands are changing the game in the Indian footwear industry
2
0
4
2
3
15
This is indeed scary. When I started out as an entrepreneur, the first thing I did was make sure I had 1 year runway in the bank. Reading
@monikahalan
regularly helped a lot in getting serious about personal finances!
One thing I’ve learnt from the Covid catastrophe is that the so many batch mates from engineering (and maybe b school) have no savings. So many people with like 20 years of really affluent work experience are two month’s salary away from crowd funding to feed their families.
129
384
2K
1
1
13
No one picks anyone up from Bangalore airport though.
Pro tip once you land in Bangalore: Try the Nandi Upachar located beyond the bus stop at Terminal 1. Very affordable compared to the rest of the food joints. A lot of the airport staff eats there.
Life tip: When you're picking someone up from the airport, bring a snack for them. They likely haven't eaten in hours and will appreciate it.
75
179
2K
4
1
14