Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban discusses his journey from humble beginnings to self-made billionaire, the strategy behind his successful business ventures and the challenges and opportunities of owning a sports franchise.
On the success of Shark Tank: “We all are entrepreneurs or wonder if we’re entrepreneurs at heart. We all have that idea inside of us. We’ve all been through it. ‘Oh, I’ve got this idea. It’s a great idea.’… And you go to Google and you Google, ‘Oh, there’s nobody else doing this.’ Then you call your friends, ‘What do you think? What do you think?’ ‘Oh that is really cool, I’d buy one.’…Then most people stop…. But some people, they found a way to turn those [ideas] into companies and they found their way onto Shark Tank.”
On his ownership of the Mavericks: “I worked really hard and I did a lot of research and I recognized as I looked around the locker room, we had this seven-foot guy from Germany, [Dirk Nowitzki], who was really, really, really, really good. And from there, I just got out of the way.”
On how he decides to speak out on issues: “I try to be self-aware and try to put myself in the shoes of the person or people or organization I’m talking about - whether it adds value. I try to put myself in a position, my own position, how is [it] going to be perceived? And is it worth it? Will it create more good than challenges? And so you’ve got to pick your spot.”
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