DALLAS — Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, still wakes up in the morning and wonders how his success seems to multiply.
“Somebody’s got to be the luckiest guy in the world,” Cuban told a packed crowd Thursday at Venture Dallas, a conference for investors and entrepreneurs. “I’ll take it.”
Hustle and hard work helped Cuban amass a fortune that Forbes estimates is worth $4.6 billion. He said he agreed to speak at the conference because he wants to share his experiences with those next in line.
“I just wake up every morning and go, ‘How did this happen to me?’” he said. He later motioned that he was “knocking on wood” on his chair multiple times during his talk, feeling lucky for what success has brought him.
One of his newest endeavors, the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co., made a splash when it opened for business with a goal of disrupting big pharma with low-cost prescription drugs. The firm is the only company that Cuban has ever put his name on.
“I’m used to people coming up and like high-fiving or yelling at me about the Mavs or Shark Tank,” Cuban said, referencing the TV show that made him a household name. “But now literally, people have come up crying and hugging me.”
The company launched as a cash-only enterprise selling generic drugs at discount prices by cutting out the middleman. It sells the drugs at a flat 15% markup and a $3 pharmacist fee. He said this is just the start of his venture into health care, where he sees himself making an impact.
The Mavericks also isn’t the only team he owns. He has bought into the growing popularity of pickleball.
VIBE Pickleball League formally launched as an elite professional pickleball league for team competition, with Cuban as the team’s owner.
He’s friends with another Dallas billionaire, Tom Dundon, owner of the Carolina Hurricanes NHL team and an avid pickleball player. Dundon recently launched Pickleball.com, a one-stop website for casual players to pick a paddle or find a local court, while also giving more serious fans live coverage of the Professional Pickleball Association.
“We’re going to come in and just dominate the pickleball industry,” he said.
When asked in front of the crowd about a presidential run, Cuban laughed. Some in the crowd responded by screaming, “Do it!”
“No,” Cuban told the crowd. “Imagine what I look like yelling at referees. Could you imagine me in the Senate?”
Cuban reiterated that he’s committed to one more year of Shark Tank and after that, it is “to be determined.” He has said he wants to spend more time with family, especially his oldest daughter, who is in college.
Interviewing him was Arlan Hamilton, a Black venture capitalist who received a $6 million investment from Cuban. She founded Backstage Capital in 2015, and her firm invests only in companies led by women, people of color or those who identify as LGBTQ.
“You treat me like you treat white men, which is a compliment because you will tell them when you don’t like something,” Hamilton told Cuban. “You’ll tell me when you don’t like something. And I’ll never have to guess where I stand with you.”
One takeaway he wanted entrepreneurs to leave with is to absorb everything around them.
“Being an entrepreneur means being curious,” Cuban said. “Always learning, always competing. Always selling. You have to be the best salesperson in your company.”
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