What Corporations Has Mark Cuban Invested In?

Mark Cuban is finest often called the billionaire proprietor of the Dallas Mavericks, nevertheless it seems he has quite a few various pursuits — and he’s prepared to help them financially. A have a look at the web site of Mark Cuban Corporations reveals the number of firms he both owns outright or has invested in, and the listing is spectacular in each its quantity and breadth.

Cuban bought an early begin as an entrepreneur when, at age 12, he bought rubbish baggage door to door. Later, whereas nonetheless a pupil at Indiana College in Bloomington, Cuban opened Motley’s Pub, which Cuban’s web site says was the preferred bar on the town.

Spectacular as these early ventures have been, they pale compared to the enterprise that set Cuban’s course as a billionaire: MicroSolutions, a pc consulting agency he finally bought to CompuServe for $6 million. Subsequent got here Broadcast.com, a streaming audio service Cuban began with a good friend, Todd Wagner, and later bought to Yahoo for $5.7 billion in inventory, in line with CNBC’s “Make It.” Cuban purchased a majority state within the Dallas Mavericks the next yr.

As we speak, Cuban serves the Mavericks’ proprietor and oversees the Mark Cuban Basis and Mark Cuban Corporations, his enterprise capital and personal fairness agency. Mark Cuban Corporations’ investments embrace companies owned by minorities or girls and people began by entrepreneurs with ties to the navy. His portfolio is rising within the blockchain sector. Cuban’s different enterprise pursuits embrace well being, health, consuming properly and the atmosphere.

12 Corporations Mark Cuban Has Invested In

A few of Cuban’s investments have resulted from pitches made on the tv present “Shark Tank,” the place he and different enterprise consultants hear from entrepreneurs who want an infusion of money for his or her startups. Others come from likelihood conferences, and even chilly pitches from entrepreneurs whose concepts impress him. Learn on to study extra about 12 of the businesses Mark Cuban has invested in and among the spectacular monetary features these companies have made up to now.

Mark Cuban Price Plus Medicine

Mark Cuban Price Plus Medicine goals to supply low-cost variations of costly generic medicine and value them in a simple, clear approach. The thought for the corporate was impressed by the “Pharma Bro” scandal that resulted when Turning Prescribed drugs elevated the worth of Daraprim, an anti-parasitic drug, 5,000%, Forbes reported, placing it out of attain of those that wanted it most. The transfer turned Turning CEO Martin Shkreli right into a poster for company greed and infuriated Dr. Alex Oshmyansky, a doctor and entrepreneur. Oshmyansky reached out to Cuban through a chilly electronic mail. Mark Cuban Plus Drug Firm, which Oshmyansky based and helms, is the results of their collaboration. The corporate expanded to incorporate a direct-to-consumer on-line pharmacy in January.

Billshark

Steven McKean, Brian Keaney and Michael Mora based Billshark in 2016 to avoid wasting prospects money and time by negotiating their month-to-month payments and figuring out unused subscriptions. Up to now, Billshark has saved customers and small companies over $10 million, and it hopes to avoid wasting them $2.7 billion by 2025. Impressed with Billshark’s service and seeing potential in its platform, Cuban got here onboard as an investor and advisor in 2018 to assist the corporate with its utility programming interface — the software program that might enable firms to combine Billshark on their platforms. Since then, Billshark has partnered with quite a few monetary establishments and fintech firms. Mint, the cash administration platform owned by Intuit, introduced in January that Billshark would energy its new Invoice Negotiation software.

Gameday Couture

In 2014, Marl Cuban invested $500,000 for a 30% stake of Gameday Couture, which began out making formally licensed school attire for girls. Co-owners Kurt and Shawnna Feddersen started the Oklahoma-based firm to assist girls look trendy whereas cheering for his or her favourite workforce. By 2018, Gameday Couture had annual gross sales of $12 million. On the time of Cuban’s funding, Gameday Couture held licenses with greater than 30 universities. As we speak, it holds greater than 200 NCAA licenses and is bought in additional than 2,500 shops nationwide.

Nuts ‘N Extra

A gathering between three 40-something buddies in 2010 in Windfall, Rhode Island, led to the creation of Nuts ‘N Extra, which began out promoting high-protein nut butter unfold with health fans in thoughts. An look on “Shark Tank” in 2013 garnered the younger firm an funding of $75,000 from Cuban and fellow shark Robert Herjavec in trade for 35% of the corporate. As we speak, the corporate has greater than 20 flavors and sells high-protein peanut and almond butter spreads, snack packs and extra. Earlier than the looks on “Shark Tank,” the corporate made gross sales of about $100,000 a yr. By 2018, gross sales reached about $6 million yearly.

InstaFire

Konel Banner lengthy had acknowledged the necessity for fire-starting expertise, and when he met outside fanatic Frank Weston, who additionally had a background in firefighting, they partnered to develop InstaFire. They met mornings for 9 months in an deserted, owl-infested warehouse to develop a product that was secure, straightforward to make use of and dependable — one thing that might be counted on in an emergency. Cuban teamed with fellow investor Lori Greiner to place $300,000 into the corporate in trade for 30% possession in 2016. The corporate has expanded its product choices, particularly those who increase environmental friendliness. On her web site, Greiner mentioned the InstaFire had $7.5 million in retail gross sales within the first three years following its “Shark Tank” look.

Mrs. Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli

Jenny Goldfarb grew up in a household that ran a Jewish deli enterprise in New York. As soon as she went vegan, she determined that the deli staple of a corned beef sandwich may co-exist along with her way of life and created Mrs. Goldfarb’s Unreal Deli in 2018, producing plant-made deli meats. Her merchandise are kosher, animal-free, cholesterol-free, nitrate-free, low in fats, low carb and filled with protein. In a 2019 “Shark Tank” episode, Cuban gave Goldfarb $250,000 for a 20% stake within the firm, and it’s considered one of simply a number of investments he’s made in plant-based companies. Cuban is a vegetarian.

Easy Sugars

Lani Lazzari was a younger teen seeking to discover aid from her eczema. Regardless of quite a few visits to the dermatologist, she had no answer for her delicate pores and skin till she began experimenting along with her personal concoctions within the household kitchen. By 2005, for the primary time ever, she had aid and was eczema-free, due to her personal recipes. She appeared on “Shark Tank” in 2013, and Cuban walked away with 33% of the corporate for his $100,000 funding. Gross sales for the Pittsburgh-based firm rose from $44,000 to $6 million after the “Shark Tank” look.

Grouphug

In 2018, first-generation American Krystal Persaud determined to make use of her expertise designing shopper electronics at a New York firm to begin Grouphug and emphasize sustainability. Her creation: window photo voltaic panels that hook up with chargers for cell telephones and different units. “Whereas the solar hits your photo voltaic panel throughout the day, all of that vitality will get saved in an inside battery, which means you’ll be able to cost your favourite units day or evening,” she mentioned on a 2020 episode of “Shark Tank.” Offered on the promise of the idea, Cuban gave her $150,000 for a 25% stake within the firm.

Coconut Woman

Spurred by his perception in wholesome consuming (and possibly a candy deal with, too), Cuban purchased a 20% stake of Coconut Woman in 2020 for $180,000. The corporate was based by Francheska “Frankie” Yamsuan, who developed the dairy-free, gluten-free line of ice cream sandwiches in 2018. Coconut Woman’s merchandise are bought in flavors that embrace Cling Free Vanilla and Aloha Chocolate. Coconut Woman doesn’t use cane sugar and merchandise are sweetened with dates, honey and maple syrup. The corporate’s web site boasts the treats are “grain free, paleo and just about guilt free.”

Bathe Toga

An out of doors fanatic, Georgia mother Kressa Peterson knew what it’s wish to get dirty and muddy with no solution to take away her soiled garments to scrub off — with out making a public spectacle. So she created Bathe Toga — which customers put over their garments earlier than pulling them off from beneath — with campers, bikers, endurance athletes and extra in thoughts. It’s washable and reusable. Whereas at the very least one of many traders on “Shark Tank” likened it to a plastic trash bag, Cuban and visitor Shark Alli Webb noticed the worth and plunked down $80,000 for a 40% possession of the corporate.

Prepared. Set. Eat!

Based in 2017, the corporate Prepared. Set. Eat! introduces youngsters as younger as 4 months outdated to peanut, egg and milk allergens with the objective of lowering children’ danger of creating allergic reactions to them by as a lot as 80%. That’s achieved by supplementing a child’s bottle or meals with a packet of the allergens. Cuban made an preliminary funding of $350,000 via “Shark Tank” after which took half in a $3 million financing spherical.

“As a mum or dad of a kid with a extreme peanut allergy, I do know firsthand the influence it has on households throughout the nation … We are going to work on ensuring each mum or dad is aware of about early allergen introduction,” Cuban mentioned in a information launch. He’s a father of three.

The Residing Christmas Co.

As a youngster in Southern California, Scott Martin used to ship Christmas timber to prospects. “As a result of I labored in a nursery I assumed, ‘Why do folks reduce down timber to usher in the home when there are completely good dwelling timber that may be introduced in the home and afterwards they carry on dwelling,’” he instructed Spectrum Information in 2019. In order an grownup, he based The Residing Christmas Co., which delivers stay, potted timber that households look after throughout the holidays, and he’ll return to choose them up. Then, he’ll hire the identical tree to a different household subsequent yr, saving the lifetime of a tree. Needing cash for capital and infrastructure, he went on “Shark Tank” and located some disbelievers. However Cuban, calling himself a “believer in comfort with a conscience,” invested $150,000 for 40% of the corporate. The corporate remains to be in enterprise, however not a lot is understood about its development and revenues.

So, how does a enterprise proprietor get their thought in entrance of Cuban and, maybe, rating some enterprise capital? E-mail is the important thing — with a bit of digging, you will discover his tackle on-line. Cuban instructed “Elevating the Bar” podcast hosts Alli Webb and Adrian Koehler that he spends hours a day glancing via emails and responding to people who catch his consideration.

Your finest guess for avoiding Cuban’s electronic mail trash can and his auto-delete filter is to not waste a second of his time. “You’ve bought one paragraph to get my consideration,” he instructed Webb and Koehler. Get proper to the purpose about what your product does, and keep away from making exaggerated claims. In case your product is viable and your electronic mail is likely one of the 10% or so Cuban reads in depth, your small business may make its approach into Cuban’s funding portfolio.

Daria Uhlig contributed to the reporting for this text.

Info is correct as of June 18, 2022.