You might know Mark Cuban from his appearances on Shark Tank or, more recently, from Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, the MCCPDC, promising to create a market of more affordable drugs for every American. Known mostly as the “good kind of billionaire,” many relish listening to stories about his success and tips on how to grow a business.
But how did he get so rich, when did he make his first million, and what was Mark Cuban young like? To get answers to all these questions, keep reading.
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Mark Cuban young life
His grandparents were immigrants from Russia who entered the country through Ellis Island, and his parents belonged to the working class. His family’s last name was changed from Chabenisky to Cuban at Ellis Island by immigration officials.
While his mother did a variety of odd jobs throughout the years, Mark Cuban’s father spent his days reupholstering automobile interiors. He often stated that he discovered his passion for business when he would sell the baseball cards, rare coins, and stamps he would occasionally receive.
When Cuban was ready to start thinking more carefully about what he wanted to accomplish with his life, he researched some of the top business schools in the nation and decided to pursue a degree that would help him accomplish his goals.
The road to his first million
He relocated to Dallas in 1982 and found work as a salesman with Your Business Software, a renowned distributor of PC software. However, he was fired less than a year later for trying to negotiate a business arrangement with a customer rather than simply opening the store.
Cuban later developed his own ICT consulting company, which he called MicroSolutions, thanks to the computer expertise and experience he had amassed over the years. In reality, he relied on a few of his former customers to help him launch the business.
A few years later, Cuban improved his networking and computing skills.
By increasing its software resale and integration competence and annual revenue creation to $30 million, he increased the worth of his business. Cuban ultimately received $2 million from selling the business to CompuServe in 1990 for $6 million.
Barely five years after selling MicroSolutions, Cuban had Audionet in mind as a new company venture. So, along with fellow Indiana University alum Todd Wagner, he invested in the company by purchasing shares.
When Audionet changed its name to Broadcast.com in 1998, the investment really began to pay off. Finally, the business was sold to Yahoo! in 1999 for an astounding $5.7 billion. And the rest is history.
Final thoughts
Mark Cuban remains an interesting personality and a source of inspiration for many, partly due to the dichotomy between Mark Cuban young and the man he is now. His story is inspirational for many; having a classic rags-to-riches background, sometimes we all like to feel like we could do the same.
