Mark Cuban, Photo by Gage Skidmore
Billionaire investor Mark Cuban has a few ideas on how to start a successful business, one of which is seemingly counterintuitive. The owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks franchise said people should do so with as little money as possible, among other things.
Yes, you heard that right. Mark Cuban’s comments came recently at the South by Southwest annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals known as SXSW.
The problem, said Cuban, is that people forget that any money raised for a company needs to be paid back.
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Mark Cuban said “People get this mindset that, ‘OK, I’m starting a business. Now, I’ve got to go raise money. Just remember raising money, whether it’s from me, on ‘Shark Tank’ [or] anywhere, that’s an obligation. There’s somebody who wants that money back.”
So people need to always remember that “The more of your equity that you can retain and control, the more the upside.”
That’s “where the big bucks are made,” he added.
There is an old saying, “necessity is the mother of inspiration, desperation is.” Well, apparently Mark Cuban agrees with this as he explained to would be entrepreneurs that nothing is better for them than when their backs are up against the wall.
“When your back’s against the wall, you’re sleeping on the floor and your buddies are stepping over you to go to their job and you’re starting this company, you realize, ’OK, I’ve only got one direction,” Mark Cuban told people at another panel at SXSW.
“You either go, I quit [my job], I’m an entrepreneur … or I can’t do it. I can’t give up that safety,” added Mark Cuban. “There’s no person on this planet who hasn’t had that ‘Oh my god, I got this idea’ [moment].”
Mark Cuban sees the fear of risk as a big stumbling block for would be entrepreneurs. People do not want to risk giving up their regular paychecks working for an established firm in whatever field and go out to try and start something new of their own where there would be no guarantees.
