Prepwell Academy Update | Shark Tank Season 11

Andrew Smith May 26, 2022June 11, 2023

The world of college admissions can be confusing for parents and students. Plus, no one really steps up to teach kids how to prepare for college. Prepwell Academy seeks to change that by offering video tutoring for college admissions, starting in 9th grade. Are the sharks prepared to make a deal during this Season 11 pitch? Keep reading our Shark Tank Prepwell Academy update to find out.

Shark Tank Prepwell Academy Update

Entrepreneur: Phil Black
Business: Online college admissions and preparations tutoring
Ask: $100,000 for 20% equity
Result: No deal
Shark: None

Phil Black was on Shark Tank back in Season 5, when he pitched the FitDeck exercise cards business. He didn’t hook a shark then, but he went on to sell the company to a fitness startup. The sharks remember his impressive background, however, which includes Yale, Harvard, and investment banking at Goldman-Sachs. It’s an impressive resume.

Now, he’s bringing Prepwell Academy to the Shark Tank. This subscription-based program teaches teens as young as 9th grade about preparing for college, how to become desirably in the admissions process, and even helps parents navigate the process as well.

The tutoring involves weekly videos, lessons, and more to help kids on the right track. He’s done $150,000 in two years of business and currently has 220 subscribers. Despite a proof of concept, the sharks are immediately turned by these numbers.

While the sharks are again impressed by Phil, they aren’t impressed with the product. Lori Greiner starts by saying she doesn’t like the subscription model. She’d rather it be a crash course or a one-time thing, but this model is just too much and won’t retain subscribers for long periods. She politely drops out.

Robert Herjavec commends Phil’s mission and dedication, but he doesn’t think the business is viable, so he drops out. Daymond John points out that maybe the people he’s trying to educate don’t want to be educated. Maybe that’s why the subscription numbers are so low. He drops out because he doesn’t see how it would be beneficial.

Mark Cuban doesn’t think the product is scaleable and thinks it’s a lot of work for a low subscription cost. He doesn’t want to get involved in that, so he drops out as well. Kevin O’Leary is the last shark left. He says it’s a bad idea and having only 220 subscribers is terrible. He’s out, but he encourages Phil to come back with a better idea next time.

Phil Black leaves Shark Tank without a deal, but he has a pass to come back with a better idea. How has the company fared since appearing on Shark Tank? Read further in our Prepwell Academy update!

Phil Black perseveres, even when it looks like the deck is stacked against him. Prepwell Academy is still going strong, and Phil produces a podcast, weekly emails, and more for his subscribers. There are no figures about how many subscribers he has, but our Prepwell Academy update research found that the company is making about $900,000 per year through all avenues of the business.

You can find the other company updates from Season 11 Episode 18 here:

Don’t forget to take a look at our Season 11 products page! We’ve got more company updates from Shark Tank Season 11.

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Andrew Smith

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Andrew Smith is the founder and owner of Shark Tank Recap. He is a longtime Shark Tank fan that has been watching it for years and has seen every episode multiple times. His friends know him as the Shark Tank expert, because he can answer any question about the show! His favorite Shark Tank products are Bertello's pizza oven and Bug Bite Thing!