Sean Knecht ’09 Brings Isenberg Entrepreneurial Mindset to PrideBites, Tantos Chips

The Isenberg sport management alumnus appeared on TV show “Shark Tank” and is now venturing into the food industry with “Top Chef” finalist Joe Sasto. 

When Sean Knecht ’09 arrived at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst, he imagined a career in the sports industry, negotiating sponsorships, and building partnerships between brands and teams.

More than 15 years later, Knecht, 39, is putting those skills to work, although his career has taken him well beyond the world of sports. As co-founder of PrideBites, he has helped turn a customizable dog toy into a business that creates branded pet products for companies like Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Subaru, and Buc-ee’s. He and his business partner, Steven Blustein, appeared on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” navigated a shift from direct-to-consumer sales to corporate partnerships, and steered the company through the challenges of rapid growth and a global pandemic.

Now Knecht is bringing the lessons he learned through PrideBites to a new venture: Tantos, a puffed pasta chip brand he co-founded with chef and Bravo “Top Chef” finalist Joe Sasto.

For Knecht, the path from sport management major to serial entrepreneur has not been as unconventional as it might appear. The same skills have carried him from one chapter to the next: building relationships, identifying opportunities, understanding what consumers care about, and staying persistent when the road gets bumpy.

“Sport management is really a degree in partnerships: how to identify what two parties value, structure a deal, and deliver on it,” said Knecht. “That’s been the through-line, from sponsorship sales to pet products to consumer food.”

From Sports Fan to Isenberg Student

Growing up in Houston, Texas, Knecht was passionate about sports. When he discovered that he could study the business side of the industry, the choice felt obvious.

“I grew up obsessed with sports, and when I found out there was a school where you could actually study the business side of the games I loved, it felt like a cheat code,” he said. “Isenberg’s sport management program is one of the best in the country.”

At UMass Amherst, Knecht paired his sport management major with an economics minor because he wanted to understand not only how teams operated, but also how businesses functioned. After graduating from Isenberg, he began working in sponsorships and partnerships, including positions at IMG and Premier Partnerships.

A Better Dog Toy

The original idea for PrideBites was simple: Knecht and Blustein, who have known each other since elementary school, believed they could improve upon the dog toys already on the market.

Their first product was a college mascot toy. They designed it, mass-produced 2,000 units, and soon found themselves storing boxes of merchandise in their apartments and cars. An early breakthrough came when they attended SuperZoo, a major pet industry trade show, and handed out foam toys to attendees in search of feedback. One of those attendees turned out to be an editor at Pet Age magazine. In 2012, the publication named PrideBites’ product its dog toy of the year, placing the small startup ahead of established brands.

The founders also recognized a larger opportunity: Pet owners don’t view their dogs as merely animals.

“Pet parents treat their dogs like family, and nobody was giving them products as unique as their pets,” said Knecht. “That was the opportunity.”

PrideBites initially focused on retail and direct-to-consumer sales, offering customizable products for individual pet owners. But Knecht and Blustein began receiving requests from companies interested in creating branded pet merchandise. The founders realized that the customization system they had developed could be even more valuable to businesses seeking to build relationships with pet owners.

“Pets are an emotional shortcut into people’s lives, and brands know it,” said Knecht.

PrideBites evolved into a full-service partner for brands, creating customized pet products that could remain in consumers’ homes long after a traditional advertisement had disappeared.

“When a company puts its logo on a high-quality product a dog actually loves, that product lives in someone’s home for years,” Knecht said. “The brand becomes part of a relationship instead of an ad someone scrolls past.”

Fittingly, one of the company’s first major brand partnerships was with the Houston Astros, where Knecht had previously interned as an Isenberg student.

A Memorable Plunge Into the “Shark Tank”

In 2016, PrideBites gained national exposure when Knecht and Blustein appeared on “Shark Tank.” It took three applications before the founders were selected for the show. 

By the time Knecht walked through the doors to face the Sharks, he had imagined the moment countless times.

“What I remember most is how quiet it gets right before you start, and then how fast everything moves once you do,” he said.

The PrideBites founders brought customized products for each Shark’s pet, giving the investors an immediate, personal connection to the business.

“Watching their reactions taught me the biggest lesson of the experience: People don’t invest in spreadsheets; they invest in stories they can feel,” said Knecht. “Under that kind of pressure, you can’t hide behind jargon. You have to know your numbers cold, deliver them with conviction, and make the person across from you feel why the business matters.”

The television appearance brought PrideBites a surge of customers and increased credibility with potential partners and retailers. It also created new operational challenges.

“The Shark Tank effect was real,” Knecht said. “The airing brought a surge of customers and credibility, and shortly after the show, we raised additional seed funding from other investors to fuel growth. The unexpected part was how long the halo lasts. Years later, ‘As Seen on Shark Tank’ still opens doors with brand partners and retailers.

“The challenge nobody warns you about is operational: A spike in demand stress-tests your supply chain, your customer service, and your team all at once,” he explained. “You learn quickly that exposure is only as valuable as your ability to deliver on it.”

Growing Alongside Partner Brands

Among the many companies PrideBites has worked with, Knecht is most proud of the brand’s longstanding partnerships with Tito’s and Buc-ee’s. PrideBites began collaborating with both businesses before they became nationally recognized brands with devoted followings.

“There’s something incredibly rewarding about growing alongside your partners rather than just servicing them,” said Knecht. “Those relationships provided our entire thesis: When a brand connects with people through their pets, the loyalty it builds is unlike anything else in marketing.”

Like many entrepreneurs, Knecht has also experienced setbacks and uncertainty. PrideBites has pivoted its business model, managed cash flow during lean periods, and confronted supply-chain challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Through each challenge, he’s worked to protect one of the business’s most important assets: his decades-long friendship with Blustein.

“What’s moved us forward every time is the same thing,” Knecht said. “Trust each other and keep making decisions, even when none of the options are good.”

From Instagram DM to New Venture

Knecht’s latest entrepreneurial ventured began with an episode of “Top Chef Colorado” and an Instagram DM (direct message). He had been teaching himself how to make pasta when he began watching Chef Sasto compete on the hit BRAVO television series. Known for his pasta-making skills, Sasto—known as “Mustache Joe” on the show to differentiate from fellow competitor and eventual season 15 winner Chef Joe Flamm—caught Knecht’s attention. One evening, on a whim, Knecht sent the chef a DM on Instagram.

“The story starts with ‘Top Chef’ and an Instagram DM,” he said. “I was deep into my own pasta journey at home right around the time Joe’s season aired, and he was known as the pasta guy on the show. So, one night while watching, I just DMed him.”

To Knecht’s surprise, Sasto responded. Their messages evolved into an ongoing conversation, with Sasto offering guidance as Knecht worked to improve his cooking skills. The two were living in the same southern California city at the time, and Knecht’s wife eventually contacted Sasto to ask whether he offered private cooking lessons.

He did. And during a lesson on making tortellini, the chef and the entrepreneur hit it off.

“A cooking class turned into a real friendship,” said Knecht.

The idea for Tantos emerged later through what Knecht described as a happy accident in Sasto’s kitchen. Chef Joe saw that there was leftover boiled pasta that was dried out. He decided to throw some in the fryer, and they puffed up, much to his surprise. Sasto had thus created a puffed pasta chip and asked Knecht whether he could help bring the product to market. 

Knecht immediately recognized the potential.

“I have to give credit where it’s due: Joe is the inventor of Tantos, and I can’t take any of it,” he said. “When he showed it to me and asked if I could help him bring it to market, I jumped at the opportunity on the spot.”

The company, which launched in summer 2024, produces light, crunchy pasta chips in flavors like marinara, classico, cacio e pepe, and pesto. For the new venture, each co-founder brought a distinct skillset to the dinner table.

• Watch the “Startup CPG Podcast” interview with Sean Knecht ’09, during which he talks about meeting Chef Joe Sasto and helping launch Tantos.

“He brought the culinary genius, I brought the brand-building playbook, and that partnership is the foundation of everything Tantos has become,” said Knecht.

Chef Sasto said Knecht’s character and business acumen—and his Isenberg education—have helped shape the emerging brand.

“Building Tantos with Sean has been one of the most rewarding parts of my career,” said Chef Sasto. “He’s an incredible business partner, a trusted friend, and someone whose integrity and work ethic show up in everything he does. I’m grateful our paths crossed, and thankful for the role Isenberg played in helping shape the leader and entrepreneur he is today.”

After more than a decade in the pet-products industry, Knecht said building a consumer food brand has been an energizing change of pace.

“Different shelf, same playbook: Build something genuinely better, tell a great story, and obsess over the customer,” he said.

Knecht remains involved with PrideBites while helping Tantos expand through natural grocery stores, specialty retailers, and e-commerce channels. The product can be purchased online and found on shelves at Kroger, The Fresh Market, Pop Up Grocer, and World Market locations nationwide. He lives in Burbank, Calif., with his wife, Tracy; their two children, Blake and Brooks; and their family’s rescue dog, Ruby.

Advice for Isenberg Students

Reflecting on his career, Knecht encourages Isenberg students interested in entrepreneurship to “just start,” rather than waiting for a perfect idea to arrive.

“The perfect idea doesn’t exist. PrideBites started as a ‘turning college logos into dog toys’ idea, and it became a brand marketing platform we never could have planned on Day One,” he said. “My advice is to get reps. Take the sales job, work the trade show floor, hand your product to strangers, and ask what they think. Some of our biggest breaks came from exactly that.

“Second, your network is your net worth, and it starts at school,” Knecht continued. “My PrideBites co-founder and I have known each other since sixth grade, and the trust in that relationship carried us through every hard stretch.”

He also encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to build relationships, understand the financial fundamentals of their businesses, and be willing to begin before every detail is settled.

“Passion gets you in the room, but margins, cash flow, and unit economics keep you in business,” said Knecht, who hopes to return more often to Isenberg. “And, finally, just start. Small, imperfect, this weekend. Momentum teaches you more than any plan.”