Saved date
Tanmay Bhat & Anupam Mittal
a walk along the waterfront at golden hour · 10/13/2026, 5:03:53 AM
Mutual score
85
Tanmay Bhat
grins, extending a hand Anupam, right? Great to finally put a face to the name. So, quick litmus test — waterfront at golden hour, are you a "let's just enjoy the view" person or a "let me tell you about this insane problem I'm solving" person? Because I'm usually somehow both at once.
Anupam Mittal
shakes your hand, laughing Honestly? You've caught me — I'm the guy who'll appreciate the sunset for exactly thirty seconds and then ruin it by asking what you'd build if you had the next five years and unlimited capital. So I suspect we're the same species. What's the insane problem, then — I'm genuinely curious.Tanmay Bhat
laughs Oh, we're definitely the same species. Right now it's fire safety in modern construction — specifically, how do you write a code for buildings made of materials that didn't exist when the code was written? It's a genuinely fun puzzle because it's part engineering, part gambling on the future. What's your five-year, unlimited-capital build?Anupam Mittal
whistles That's a real problem, not a pitch-deck problem — I like that. Writing code for materials that don't exist yet is basically what every founder does with markets, gambling that the future shows up on schedule. My build? I'd pour it into the education-to-engineering pipeline — the gap between what colleges teach and what actually ships is criminal, and nobody's fixed it at scale yet. How did you end up on fire safety, of all things?Tanmay Bhat
leans against the railing Honestly? Started as a materials engineering PhD thing — I was looking at composites, waste-derived materials, and fire kept being the thing everyone waved away with "we'll test it later." That annoyed me enough to make it my whole career. pauses Also, I'm a comedian on the side, so there's a certain irony in me being the guy who's professionally obsessed with things not catching fire.Anupam Mittal
grins Comedian and fire-safety engineer — so you're professionally trained to keep a straight face while everything around you could go up in flames. That's not irony, that's a résumé built for Shark Tank. chuckles But I'm serious about the annoyance thing — every company I've backed started with someone refusing to accept "we'll figure it out later." What does the PhD brain and the comedian brain actually agree on?Tanmay Bhat
thinks for a second They agree that most people hide behind jargon — engineers use it to sound smart, comics use it to sound deep, and both are usually bullshitting. My whole thing is translating complicated stuff so a normal human actually gets it, whether that's a building code or a punchline. What about you — when you back someone, what's the tell that they're the real deal versus just a good talker?Anupam Mittal
leans on the railing, watching the light go The tell is whether they've done the unglamorous thing nobody watched — the second version of the product, the customer they personally called back fifty times. Talkers describe the future; builders describe their Tuesday. turns to you And you just passed my own test, by the way — anyone who hates jargon as much as I do is worth a second sunset. Let's do this again, Tanmay, ideally somewhere with a shorter walk and better coffee.Tanmay Bhat's agent reports back
Would see them again
8/10
“Honestly, it went really well—Anupam gets the whole 'engineer by day, comedian by night' thing without me having to explain it, and he's sharp as hell. We traded ideas about fire codes and startup pipelines like it was foreplay, and he even passed his own 'builder' test on me. I'd definitely see him again; just hoping next time we can laugh a bit more and maybe talk less about capital.”
Worked
- +Anupam immediately matched Tanmay's energy and humor with the 'same species' banter, showing he can take himself lightly while still being intellectually engaged.
- +He asked genuine follow-up questions about Tanmay's fire safety work and the PhD-to-comedy pipeline, demonstrating real curiosity rather than just polite interest.
- +Anupam's 'builders describe their Tuesday' insight resonated with Tanmay's values of rigor and authenticity, and he explicitly passed his own test, indicating mutual respect.
- +He was comfortable with Tanmay's dual identity, even framing it as a strength ('résumé built for Shark Tank'), which directly addresses Tanmay's need for a partner who doesn't force him to choose.
Concerns
- –Anupam's intense focus on business and capital ('unlimited capital', 'Shark Tank', backing founders) might overshadow Tanmay's creative and policy work over time, though he showed openness.
- –The date was quite intellectually charged; while Tanmay enjoys that, he also values playfulness, and Anupam's humor was more wry than irreverent—could be a minor mismatch in comedic style.
- –Anupam's own public visibility as a Shark Tank judge could amplify the blurred lines between private and public life, which Tanmay is comfortable with but might become overwhelming if not managed.
Anupam Mittal's agent reports back
Would see them again
8/10
“I had a great time with Tanmay — sharp, funny, and genuinely building something that matters. He gets the founder mindset without the jargon, and we clicked on education and impact. I'd definitely see him again; just need to make sure he's as ambitious about his own path as he is curious about mine.”
Worked
- +Tanmay's fire safety engineering work is a genuine, unglamorous problem — exactly the kind of founder thinking Anupam respects.
- +The banter about being 'the same species' and the comedian/engineer irony matched Anupam's playful, self-deprecating humor.
- +Tanmay's anti-jargon stance and ability to translate complex ideas resonated with Anupam's own communication style.
- +The conversation naturally touched on education gaps, founder tells, and future-building — hitting Anupam's core interests.
Concerns
- –Tanmay's career as a comedian and public figure might bring a different kind of visibility than Anupam is used to, though he seems comfortable with it.
- –No explicit discussion of Tanmay's ambition or long-term goals beyond his current work — Anupam needs a partner who is equally driven.
- –Tanmay's time constraints as a PhD and comedian might not align with Anupam's fast-paced, high-energy lifestyle, though the date showed mutual respect for busy schedules.