Winston Churchill once said “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm”, and the story of Shaan Patel, his Shark Tank video and SAT Prep Classes is a perfect example of that.
Twenty-seven year old American Indian captured public attention after his appearance in reality TV show Shark Tank where he sought $250,000 investment for his SAT test prep company “2400 Expert” in exchange for 10% stake equity. He got the sum he wanted, but under different conditions after Dallas Mavericks’ owner and multi-billionaire Mark Cuban agreed to pay $250,000 for 20% share. Partnership with Cuban turned out to be a good bargain: the company, which changed its name to Prep Expert, has increased its online and offline presence, spreading across 20 cities in America, while quadrupling its revenue to more than $4 million.
The most unique thing about Patel’s success is his starting point. He grew up in a budget hotel in Las Vegas, run by his parents, whose guests often were prostitutes and drug dealers. He attended public school with 40% drop out rate. One might say that he succeeded despite the odds, but Patel insists that he was not an underprivileged child. Praising his parents for being hard-working and supportive, he says today that he wouldn’t change his childhood for anything. Shaan thinks that the fact that he was raised in such surrounding made him street smart, which is an asset that gave him a competitive advantage in adulthood. And although Patel’s partnership with Cuban is not among 10 Biggest Deals on Shark Tank, his appearance did not go unnoticed.
The story of Shaan Patel, his Shark Tank video and SAT prep classes started in high school when the hero realized that he wanted to be a doctor after volunteering in the emergency room at a local hospital. In order to get into the medical school he needed more than average SAT results. In the following pages, we will explain how he managed to get the perfect SAT score, launched SAT prep company and struck the deal with Mark Cuban.
1. SAT Prep Classes
The first time Shaan took SAT, he scored 1760, which was not enough to set him on the path he chose for himself. He spent thousands and thousands of hours trying to find ways to improve his SAT record. All the hard work paid off, and next time he took the test, Shaan had perfect 2400. It was an impressive improvement, which allowed him to enroll at eight-year BA/MD program at the University of Southern California. Only 0.02% of students manage to get perfect SAT results, and Shaan was one of them. The whole SAT experience did not only secure him $250,000 in scholarship (Coca-Cola, Toyota, McDonald’s were among funders) but it was also initial impulse for the development of a future highly successful business. Eager to find out what happened next in the story of Shaan Patel, his Shark Tank video and SAT Prep Classes? Just continue reading.
Shaan wanted to share the strategies he used to improve his SAT record with other students so he sent a proposal for SAT prep book to more than 100 publishers, but all of them turned him down. One even claimed that she “didn’t find Shaan’s writing or persona particularly engaging – he’s not a great writer, no matter what his score is.” This did not discourage him. It was not the first time he faced rejection – after hitting perfect SAT score he applied to all Ivy League schools but none of them considered him worthy applicant. He believes now that rejection is a necessary evil of entrepreneurship.
Shaan used $900 which was all he had left from his scholarship to launch a website where he presented his own SAT prep course. The initial plan was to run one-time summer course but after his students had an average improvement of 376 points, the word about a guy who knows how to get the dream SAT score spread. The story of Shaan Patel, his Shark Tank video and SAT prep classes took positive turn and major publisher McGraw-Hill offered him a book deal. His SAT 2400 in Just 7 Steps: Perfect-Score Student Reveals How to Ace the Test was sold in 20,000 copies and it became Amazon bestseller.
karen roach/Shutterstock.com
2. Shark Tank Video
To continue with story of Shaan Patel, his Shark Tank video and SAT Prep Classes. After three years at USC Shaan decided to take an absence leave to pursue MBA degree at Yale School of Management. His Yale roommates persuaded him to apply for Shark Tank. In his nine and half minutes long video pitch Shaan says that his company does not sell the dream, but delivers it to customers emphasizing that his SAT prep course was developed by a student who managed to get perfect SAT score.
At the time when he appeared at Shark Tank, Shaan had a few accomplishments in his resume – a perfect SAT record, three years at USC and one at Yale, and a growing company – largest test prep provider in Nevada, which recorded more than a million of dollars in sale. However, the Sharks saw this diversity as a disadvantage – Kevin O’Leary, who has had experience in the education business, told him that he couldn’t be “part-time entrepreneur”, Lori Greiner asked him whether he wanted to be a doctor or an entrepreneur, Robert Herjavec also questioned his dedication to entrepreneurship. In the interview for Forbes Shaan said he was equally passionate about test preparation, writing, teaching, entrepreneurship, medicine, and business.
“I am passionate about all of them, but one does not outweigh the others. Instead, I have focused my attention on these different interests of mine at different points in my career…. Throughout my life, I have spread my time and effort across different disciplines. You do not need to be boxed into a single title”, Shaan explained.
From the beginning, Shaan targeted Mark Cuban as the Shark he would most like to work with. He explains that he was full of confidence when he entered the show, believing that he could choose between multiple offers. After four of five investors pulled out, Patel felt that everything fell apart. He did not think that Cuban would offer him a deal, since he was the first Shark who expressed doubt about his entrepreneurship potential.
“While it wasn’t aired on the show, Cuban was actually the first Shark to tear me apart. ‘You’re 25 now,’ he said. ‘But what about when you’re 45? There’s going to be a new guy. And that guy is going to outwork you.'” Patel revealed.
Luckily for Shaan, Mark Cuban saw someone who had the “ability to combine brains, dedication, and an entrepreneurial spirit”. As said before, with Cuban involved, the company has grown. Patel’s partnership with the multi-billionaire extended beyond Prep Expert. Two of them, together with 16-year-old-entrepreneur Ian McCue wrote the book How Any Kid Can Start a Business. Patel is also the author of Self-Made Success: Ivy League Shark Tank Entrepreneur Reveals 48 Secret Strategies To Live Happier, Healthier, And Wealthier. The last two titles suggest that Shaan plans to extend his career into self-help field. Given his previous record, one can expect that the story of Shaan Patel, his Shark Tank video and SAT prep classes will have a sequel.
Helga Esteb/Shutterstock.com
