Today's guest is a true icon of modern entrepreneurship, but not just for the reasons you think.

You know Mark Cuban as the billionaire tech founder, bold investor and owner of the Dallas Mavericks and a beloved

voice on Shark Tank for over 15 seasons. But he's also someone who's always been laser focused

on how things work, how to fix what's broken and how to create better from the ground up.

Mark's hustle began selling garbage bags at just 12 years old and he worked his way to a $5.7 billion

exit. He spent decades building businesses, investing in founders, disrupting everything from

media to medicine, most recently founding cost-plus drugs to challenge Big Pharma and bring real

transparency to healthcare. But now he stepped off the Shark Tank stage,

and he sold his controlling stakes in the Mavs,

rethinking what success, legacy and time actually mean.

In this conversation, we go all the way back to his childhood.

His first big business win and the mindset that shaped him.

We talk about what it really takes to start a business from day one, the myths about

entrepreneurship and what he's teaching his three kids about ambition, money and meaning.

All right, Mark, I'm so happy to have you here. Thanks for having me. I'm excited. No, I'm excited too. I couldn't be more excited. Obviously, you and I met on Shark Tank, which was, I don't know, a couple of years back now, I had the distinct pleasure of sitting next to you for three seasons. Yeah, they always put the rookies next to me. Yes, they do. Well, I asked as well. I was like, you know, oh good. Well, it was just a very good use of my time

if during the pitches or between the pitches, I could just like sit and quiz you on things,

which I did. But obviously, you've stepped away after so many years. What was it? 14 seasons.

15. 15 seasons. I mean, that's kind of unbelievable. How did you even know that it was time to step away? I mean, I've been missing my son's birthdays every year because we shot a pod right at his birthday. I missed them going back to school, you know, finishing school. And, you know, it was always, okay, we can't do this till dad's done

with Shark Tank. And it was just the time. You know, my kids are 15, 18, and 21. And, you know, my oldest is going to graduate from college next year. I just don't want to be in a position where, like, okay, I'm going to Shark Tank and they're gone. And I missed a lot of it. And so that was one big piece, just spending more time with family and just, it was just time. You know,

you can only do the same thing for so long. But it's interesting because you hear so many stories about women that give up certain things in work for the family. But not so many men talk about that and the trade-offs that come along with, like, working in that way. So it's kind of interesting to hear you admit it in a way. I guess. I guess I never really looked at it that way. It's just like, you know, when I look at all the things in my life that are important to me, that's at the top. You know, and that wasn't always the case. You know, I wasn't one of these people who balanced work and home. You know, I was still a

grinder, you know, and when I was trying to climb, it was just like, let's go, go, go, go, go. And, you know, let's get into the next chapter. Let's get to the next level, whatever it was. And, you know, you know what it's like, you have young kids, right? And they're, they're real people, but they're not real people.

Yes.

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