Eleven Startup Tips From Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban is a lifelong serial entrepreneur, launching his startup career with a variety of teenage schemes, including buying and selling collectable stamps to pay for college.
In 1983 he founded MicroSolutions, a personal computer software reseller and system integrator, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. He steadily grew MicroSolutions over the next seven years and eventually sold it to CompuServe in 1990.
Five years later he Co-Founded Audio.net, which was initially focused on creating a portable device for receiving satellite broadcasts of sporting events. Most business models are non-linear and Audio.net’s was no exception. Its value proposition and market positioning morphed over several years, eventually coalescing around Internet broadcasting.
In 1998, the newly christened Broadcast.com went public and set the record (since broken) for the largest single-day price appreciation, rising nearly 250%. As is true in comedy, timing is everything in business. Mark and his team sold Broadcast.com, to Yahoo! in 1999 in a $5.7 billion stock transaction. Even after Yahoo’s stock tanked following the dot bomb crash, Mark and his senior team still walked away with a whole lot of chicklets.
Mark has spent the past decade diversifying his wealth, while having a hell of a lot of fun. In addition to owning the Dallas Mavericks professional basketball team, he has been involved in a variety of television and theatrical projects. He is also a provocative and skilled writer, sharing his thoughts at BlogMaverick.
Mark’s Startup Tips
The most difficult aspect of compiling this article was narrowing down Mark’s comments to ten quotes. I easy could have included 50-comments which provide insightful and inspiration to entrepreneurs.
1. Risk? What Risk?
“Because if you're prepared and you know what it takes, it's not a risk. You just have to figure out how to get there. There is always a way to get there.”
Mark’s view of risk is common to most successful entrepreneurs. Where the majority of rational people see danger, entrepreneurs see opportunity. Though diligent preparation and dogged perseverance, entrepreneurs avoid foolhardy risks. They know that once they commit to a particular endeavor they will make it succeed.
2. Business Is A Game – Money’s Just The Score
“Being rich is a good thing. Not just in the obvious sense of benefiting you and your family, but in the broader sense. Profits are not a zero sum game. The more you make, the more of a financial impact you can have.”
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