Anupam Mittal

Anupam Mittal (born 23 December 1971 in Mumbai) is an Indian internet entrepreneur, operator and angel investor. He studied at Jai Hind College in Mumbai before earning an MBA in Operations and Strategic Management from Boston College in Massachusetts. After graduating he worked as a product manager at the business-intelligence firm MicroStrategy in the United States before returning to build in India.

In 1997 he founded Sagai.com, one of India's first online matrimonial portals, which he grew into Shaadi.com — today a flagship of the People Group he founded and still leads as CEO. He went on to launch Mauj Mobile, described as India's first mobile-gaming company, and the property marketplace Makaan.com. From 2006 to 2007 he served as chairperson of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and remains on its governing council. He has also dabbled in film, producing and appearing in the Bollywood movies *99* and *Flavors*.

Alongside operating People Group, Mittal became one of India's most active angel investors, backing more than 250 startups across consumer internet, mobile, healthcare, fintech, SaaS and clean tech — notably an early cheque into Ola Cabs. He has been recognized as a top angel investor by Business Standard (2014–15), named among Forbes' most prominent angel investors in India (2016), and honored by TiE as an Outstanding Serial Entrepreneur and Angel Investor (2020); he is also a recipient of the Karmaveer Chakra Award.

Since 2021 he has become a household name in India as a "Shark" on Sony LIV's Shark Tank India, appearing across Seasons 1 through 5 and investing in dozens of businesses, which has significantly broadened his consumer- and D2C-focused deal flow.

• Evaluates deals through a "3 Ps" framework — People, Problem, Product: passionate, capable founders tackling a large, meaningful problem with a unique and scalable solution.
• Weighs founders on maturity, long-term orientation, perseverance, transparency and integrity, plus commercial acumen (understanding margins and competitive strategy).
• Emphasizes founder chemistry: in his words, "unless there's chemistry with the founders and unless you enjoy meeting and talking to them, there's no point" — beyond a given high IQ, he wants to look forward to the conversations.
• A practical check-writing rule of thumb: have repeated meetings with a founder, and if your confidence grows each time, cut a cheque by the third meeting. He also trusts an "informed instinct" honed over years of investing.
• Says he has refocused on "commercially savvy founders" who grasp business fundamentals, rather than chasing FOMO-driven or trend-led deals, prioritizing sustainable value creation. He has framed early-stage investing as a game where "the cost of omission is higher than the cost of commission."
• On Shark Tank India he has stated he is especially drawn to women-led and family-led businesses.