Penn alum joins Shark Tank India for special on-campus entrepreneurship

One of Shark Tank India’s newest judges is a Penn alum aspiring to change the narrative around entrepreneurship. 

2013 College graduate Pratham Mittal — who founded the Tetr College of Business — joined Shark Tank India for a campus special in its recent fifth season. In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian, Mittal described his hope to give back to his community through empathetic, constructive feedback to student founders.

“I think there’s a way to deliver feedback without putting somebody else down,” Mittal said. 

Mittal criticized the “Shark Tank culture,” explaining how “reality gets overshadowed” in shows that are increasingly focused on television ratings.

“Shark Tank has done a lot of good for the country to change the narrative around risk-taking and entrepreneurship … making it a dinner table conversation,” Mittal continued. “If I can play a role in that, that would be exciting.”

At Penn, Mittal was a dual-degree student in the Wharton School and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and graduated after he studied abroad for three of his eight semesters. In his time on campus, he participated in Penn Swim, Phi Kappa Psi, Penn Naatak, and the Venture Initiation Program, among other campus activities.

Mittal described how his time influenced his passion for entrepreneurship, citing mentorship from University professors and unique classes — including one course project which inspired a long-term venture.

“That project became a product, and that product became a company, which we ended up running for almost 12 years,” Mittal said. “Our first customer was a Wharton MBA in the same class as us. Our first investor happened to be the Wharton School itself through one of the innovation funds. Our first hire happened to be one of our juniors. It was the community that helped us get started.”

Mittal described how his experience with Penn’s curriculum contributed to how he designed Masters’ Union and Tetr College of Business. He credited Penn’s courses with entrepreneurial professors who emphasized real-world outcomes over examinations, faculty who had industry experience rather than academic-only backgrounds, and the University’s study abroad flexibility.

“There were some professors who thought very traditionally — it was very boring, it was completely outdated,” Mittal said. “Giving students the freedom to build instead of take an exam was the biggest takeaway from my Penn experience. Seeing both sides helped me appreciate what is good about education and what is not so good.” 

He discussed how building an educational institution requires a different mindset compared to building a company. 

“Institutions are built for centuries, not for decades,” he said. “It’s not about money anymore. It’s more about impact. All of these softer aspects have to be taken care of in a lot more detail.”

Mittal studied abroad in Ghana, China, and London during his time at Penn, describing the experience as “unlocking” his perspective. 

“Until then, the reality for me was the town in India and the bubble that Penn was,” he said. “When you break that bubble, you see the world for what it really is.” 

He said this directly inspired Tetr’s structure, which allows students to study in a different country every semester.

“I just look for whether they truly know the industry well,” he said, describing how he evaluates student founders. “I will not even ask them questions about their business. I’ll ask them questions around their business. If they know the industry overall, if not today, then tomorrow, they will find a gap that will make them successful.”

Mittal said student founders stand out because they have not yet absorbed the constraints of the industry. “They are not yet corrupted by the realities of the world,” he said. “They think anything is possible. You can call it innocence, or you can call it boldness.”

“Do you see them working 24/7? Do you see that fire in their eyes?” he said, describing the importance of conviction. 

Looking to the future, Mittal said he hopes his work prompts other universities to rethink how they structure learning. 

“If we do well, perhaps we can inspire other colleges to think differently about the way they are delivering education,” he said. “True multiplier impact will happen when more universities start to behave like us.”

He concluded with advice for Penn students interested in founding companies, encouraging students to take advantage of campus resources early in their undergraduate careers. 

“Penn has so much to offer, and I discovered a lot of the secrets in my third or fourth year — maybe it was too late”, Mittal said. “Keep your eyes open.”

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