Mark Cuban: Think Like A Father

In May of 2022, I had the pleasure of speaking with Mark Cuban, a serial entrepreneur, investor on Shark Tank, and owner of the Dallas Mavericks.? During our 90-minute discussion, I asked him about a Shark Tank episode where he decided to invest $400,000 to help Tania Speaks, a then 19-year-old founder of an organic skincare company who had grown her company to $1.4 million in sales.

Mark initially passed on the investment because skincare products weren’t in his wheelhouse and he assumed another shark would invest. But when four other investors passed on the deal, Mark reconsidered for two reasons.? First, he loves mentoring entrepreneurs and wanted to provide Tania with guidance on the legal landmines and other pitfalls that will come in the future, as they do for all entrepreneurs.

Second, Mark said he would invest on one condition – that Tania meets his 15-year-old daughter Alyssa and 19-year-old daughter Alexis.? “I want them to meet you, and I want them to learn from you,” Mark said. “And maybe you’ll even learn something from them.”

It was a powerful moment for Mark, a rare scene of vulnerability for a well-known billionaire that humanized him for more than ten million Shark Tank viewers.? It also brought tears to the eyes of Kevin O’Leary, one of my podcast guests who is known as Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank and whom many consider tough and sometimes abrasive due to his blunt feedback.? (Please tune into my episode with Kevin – and you’ll learn that he’s an incredibly nice guy!).? I have four daughters, and watching the episode with Tania also brought tears to my eyes.? As Mark explained, he agreed to join Shark Tank in 2009 because he wanted to meet children who reminded him of himself — and his decision to invest in Tania’s business came down to a simple question:? Can I help this girl?

There’s a basic lesson here – when we invest, it’s not always about the product.? It’s about people – helping them, motivating them, and inspiring them in their search for excellence.? Sometimes it’s not about thinking like a shark – it’s about thinking like a father.

This article is based on my interview with Mark Cuban, a serial entrepreneur, investor, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and a host of Shark Tank on NBC.? Mark made his initial fortune through the sales of his startups MicroSolutions and Broadcast.com in the 1990s and was ranked #177 on the 2020 Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest residents in the United States.? In January 2022, he launched the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company with the mission of lowering generic drug prices for end consumers in the US.? Mark is the best-selling author of How to Win at the Sport of Business and occasionally appears in popular television shows including Entourage, Dancing with the Stars, and The League.? Mark is also the founder of the Mark Cuban Foundation, which leads programs including the AI Bootcamps Initiative, a free Artificial Intelligence training program for underserved high school students, and the Fallen Patriot Fund, which helps families of U.S. military personnel who were killed or seriously injured during Operation Iraqi Freedom.? Listen to the full episode here.

You may also enjoy other episodes on In Search of Excellence, which can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Overcast, and YouTube.

Randall Kaplan is a serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, philanthropist, and podcaster.?He is the founder and CEO of JUMP Investors, a venture capital firm that has invested in more than 80 early-to-late-stage technology companies, including Google, Seagate, and Lyft.?Randall is a Co-Founder of Akamai Technologies, a publicly-traded technology company that has 8,000 employees around the world and earned $3.8 billion in 2022 revenues.?He is also the Founder and CEO of Sandee, the largest provider of information about beaches in the world with over 100 categories of information for more than 100,000 beaches in 212 countries.

Randall is the host of In Search of Excellence, a podcast designed to motivate and inspire others to reach their potential and achieve excellence in all aspects of life.?Randall’s guests have included Mike Tyson, Mark Cuban, Kevin O'Leary, David Solomon, Bob Pittman, Sharon Stone, David Rubenstein, Steve Case, Orlando Bravo, Sammy Hagar, Sam Zell, Rachel Zoe, Tim Draper, Kliff Kingsbury, and Eric Garcetti, among many others.?Randall is also a dedicated philanthropist – he is the founder of The Justice Ball which has raised more than $8 million for a non-profit legal clinic that aids more than 12,000 poor, sick, elderly, and homeless residents of Los Angeles each year, and is the Co-Founder of The Imagine Ball which has raised millions of dollars and is dedicated to ending the cycle of poverty and homelessness in Los Angeles.

Read Randall's full bio at www.randallkaplan.com.