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Shaan Patel, an entrepreneur and aspiring medical doctor from Las Vegas, founded the test preparation company Prep Expert.
Saturday, July 13, 2019 | 2 a.m.
When Shaan Patel first pitched his SAT test prep company on "Shark Tank" in 2016, the sharks were surprised and later skeptical when they found out that he was not only the founder of a company, but also a medical student.
Patel, 29, founded Prep Expert (formerly 2400 Expert) in 2011. The prep course specializes in SAT, ACT and GMAT preparation using a curriculum that implements the same methods and strategies the Las Vegas native used to get his own perfect score.
Instead of teaching students content, the course teaches them strategies on how to “master the test,” he said. Patel’s perfect score helped him win 20 private scholarships and gain admission into the University of Southern California’s eight-year, combined undergraduate and medical school program. Best of all, he didn’t have to pay tuition.
The sharks loved the business, Patel said, but hated that he was trying to juggle his company while also attending medical school.
“One of the sharks asked if I was going to be a doctor or an entrepreneur,” he said. “I didn’t know how to answer. I wish I could go back and say I wanted to be both.”
Patel said he got that entrepreneurial spirit from his father, who was both a pharmacist and a motel owner. He said he grew up in that budget motel, Sky Ranch, on Fremont Street and attended urban schools in Clark County School District. His parents instilled the value of a good education from a young — a value Patel still maintains.
When Patel first took the SAT, he scored just above the national average. It wasn’t until he started teaching himself how to master the test that he was able to get a perfect score on the third try.
“Standardized testing isn’t fair,” he said. “It favors the wealthy for test prep, but I don’t know of a better way. It’s a necessary evil.”
College student and entrepreneur Shaan Patel of Las Vegas delivers a pitch on an episode of "Shark Tank," which airs Friday, Jan. 29, 2016 on ABC.
That’s why Patel said he is glad to see some SAT reforms like the adversity score, which takes into account a student's socioeconomic advantages and disadvantages in the scoring process.
Since airing on Shark Tank, Prep Expert has made $20 million in course and book sales. The company also employs 20 instructors and has taught more than 50,000 students. Many graduates of his course have been accepted into Ivy League schools such as Yale, Princeton and Harvard. One student was even offered $1.4 million in scholarship offers, he said.
Patel has stepped away from teaching the course to focus on his studies as a dermatology resident at Temple University in Philadelphia.
Patel calls himself a “complete product of Clark County School District,” especially the magnet schools he attended — Mabel Hoggard Elementary helped him get to where he is now.
Patel wants to invest in his local roots. That’s why on Thursday, Patel joined Mark Cuban and student debt company ChangeED at UNLV to address the skyrocketing costs of college.
At the event, Patel offered every student who attended a free Prep Expert course. In the past, Patel has offered heavily discounted and sometimes free courses to students on a case-by-case basis. In the future, Patel said he wants to partner more with CCSD and other nonprofits to give more to low-income students.
“This is a huge focus for me right now, reaching out to students who can’t afford test prep,” he said. “I want to do more for the community. I think that I need the right partners to bring it to scale.”
