Learnings for entrepreneurs from the pitch of Ganesh Balakrishnan, Flatheads on Shark Tank India

When I watched this pitch from Ganesh Balakrishnan, Flatheads on Shark Tank, it was an 10 min emotional roller coaster with so many learnings.

I would try to keep the emotional angle aside and discuss the learnings that we can definitely take away from this:

1) IIT-IIM does not ensure success

The guy has a great academic background from IIT and IIM with great amount of work and entrepreneurial experience yet there are problems.

2) Raising funds doesn't mean / ensure success

Raising funds is just a process. It needs to be treated as a milestone but it's not a measure of success. There are numerous examples including this one where entrepreneur raised millions yet failed.

3) Biggest responsibility of a entrepreneur is to ensure survival

As Anupam Mittal (also my favourite shark on the show) rightly pointed that as an entrepreneur your first and foremost responsibility is that your startup survive. Mindless cash burn can be fatal.

4) Family is top priority

Before we go out to change the world to make it a better place, our first duty is towards our family. We need to ensure their happiness, health and security.

5) Nothing wrong in taking a step back to bounce back

There is no shame in taking a step back to learn on job and earn to time to become stable, save money so that you can come back stronger to revive your dreams

6) Right mentors play a vital role in your journey

The way all the Sharks gave him feedback and also the way he took the feedback, made him realise a lot about himself. Something, I could comprehend made a mark in his mindset and served as validation to prove him clarity about re-thinking everything all over again

7) There is no shame for a man to cry in front of others

It would not have been easy but it did help him let go of a lot of baggage and he could later think with a light mind.

8) Take big checks only after Product Market Fit.

One of the mistakes that led to all this was raising too much money before finding product market fit and burning money then to find a position in the market. Fundamentally, raise big money only after you have market validation so that you can use the money on right set of things. Rightly mentioned by Vineeta Singh.

9) Stick to fundamentals of business

Your books are real reflection of your business, we need to ensure we are building businesses profitability before we spend too much. Best is to be cashflow positive.

10) Listen to the feedback

The way he took all the feedback and responded humbly tells a lot about his character. He might have not got the outcome as per his aspirations but he surely received a lot of praise and love from the masses. I am sure this would change his life and he would be at a better place soon.

My message for Ganesh Balakrishnan.

"You are a fighter brother, you are bound to succeed. Thank you for the pitch. Don't ever give up!"