Billionaire businessman and investor Mark Cuban revealed he will soon leaving the Shark Tank
Mark Cuban recently sat down to chat on Showtime’s All the Smoke podcast, and during his wide-ranging conversation with hosts Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Cuban revealed that he planned to leave the show after season 16.
“This is our 15th year, and next year, our 16th, will be our last year,” Cuban said without hesitation. “So I have one more year left.”
Mark Cuban simply explained that after working on the series for so many years, which is currently airing its 15th season, he feels “it’s time.”
Reflecting on his time on the show, Cuban shared, “I feel like by doing Shark Tank over all these years, we’ve trained generations of entrepreneurs; if someone could come from Iowa or Sacramento or wherever and can appear on Shark Tank and show your business and get a deal, it will inspire generations of kids.”
“We have people come up to us and say, ‘I saw you when I was 10 years old.’ I think so, bullshit,” Cuban said. “I’ve invested in who knows how many hundreds of companies.”
Mark Cuban also shared some insights about what he learned during his tenure on the show and how he decides which business ideas to invest in and which ones to avoid.
“I’m looking for ideas [where I’m] like, ‘Hey, why didn’t I think of this?'” Cuban said, adding that he also looks for entrepreneurs who come to him with a proposal for their product. And not necessarily their personal stories.
“The more they try to sell, the worse the deal will be,” Cuban said. “The longer the back story, the worse the deal. I mean, the moment you start telling me how hard it was for you? It’s hard for all businessmen. I don’t need to hear your back story. “Tell me about your business; tell me why you will be successful. Tell me what’s different about it. Tell me what you’re good at.”
Cuban first appeared as a guest shark in Season 2 and joined the show full-time in Season 3. Since then he has remained in the show. Shark Tank season 15 began in September.