‘Shark Tank’ Star Mark Cuban Threatened To Leave the Show in a Leaked Email
Mark Cuban of ABC’s Shark Tank is known for his sharp business acumen. As the only billionaire on the panel, the tech guru clearly knows how to bring in the bucks.
On the reality show since 2012, Cuban has made a plethora of investments with aspiring entrepreneurs hoping to partner with a Shark. The NBA team owner was apparently willing to vacate his seat when presented with a sum per episode he considered to be an insult.
Mark Cuban learns from his mistakes
The Shark Tank star doesn’t have many regrets in life, though one stands out in his mind. Cuban had the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of Uber when it was starting out. Co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick asked the Dallas Mavericks owner for an investment, but Cuban had already given money to Kalanick’s first start-up which didn’t do well. Hence, he decided not to go along for the ride with Uber.
“You are going to have to fight all the taxi associations, and all the transportation organizations in each city and every state,” Cuban said, according to CNBC. “Then I started talking to him about his valuation, and I never heard back from him. The rest is history.”
With Uber skyrocketing to make billions, Cuban considers passing on the opportunity one of his biggest mistakes.
“The point is, when you are trying to disrupt something like Travis was doing, sometimes you have got to be ready, fire, aim and just bust through doors,” Cuban said. “You will deal with the regulatory issues later.”
‘Shark Tank’ star gives advice to those starting out
Cuban had held jobs from selling garbage bags to teaching dance lessons.. He advises those graduating college not to be overly selective when job hunting.
“Kids who are graduating today, they ask about jobs and things they should do,” Cuban remarked, as reported by CNBC. “I always like to tell them, you don’t have to get the perfect job. When you’re 22, 23, 24, there’s no such thing as failure, really.”
The Shark Tank panelist encourages recent grads to view any potential job as an educational opportunity.
“Whatever job you take, you’re getting paid to learn,” Cuban explained. “And you just spend however many years paying to go to school, and you paid a lot of money, probably still owe money — take that job.”
Mark Cuban’s email goes public
When Sony was hacked in 2014, one of the Shark Tank panelist’s emails was included in the batch that was leaked. In an exchange between Cuban, Sony President Steve Mosko, and Cuban Companies general counsel Robert Hart, the tech mogul’s contract negotiations were discussed. Cuban is told he will receive $30,000 per episode for season 5, $31,200 for season 6, and $32,488 for season 7, according to Business Insider.
Hart also informed Cuban that the terms of his contract would “prevent” him from “exploiting various aspects from the show,” with the series having rights to Cuban’s “catchphrases … nicknames, gestures, utterances, etc.” The offer apparently didn’t sit well with the billionaire. His response insinuated he would possibly be jumping out of the Tank.
“Seriously? No chance,” Cuban emailed in reply. “This is beyond an insult and it shows no one cares about the investments I have made or the entrepreneurs. Now it’s really business. I will negotiate like any other deal I would do. You may want to start cutting me out of the promos”
With season 12 about to launch and Cuban still swimming with his fellow Sharks, both sides were evidently able to reach an agreement though no details were made public.
Season 12 of Shark Tank premieres on October 16!
