Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban Talks about Venture Capitalists: Better than the Sharks?

In Spite of Demanding More Equity than Regular VCs, Sharks Provide More Services.

 At a recent sit-down with Vator CEO Bambi Francisco, Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban talked about being a shark versus being a Venture Capitalist (VC). 

Self-made billionaire Mark Cuban owns the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, 2929 Entertainment, Landmark Theatres, but he is most well-known as one of the main sharks on Shark Tank, the risky businessmen who listen to the business proposals by participants and decide with his fellow sharks whether or not to invest.  

A recent report from Sharkalytics stated that Cuban has made about $19.85 million in 85 deals so far, which accounts for those that have been televised on Shark Tank.  Cuban was able to confirm the actual value of the deals that he has made on the stage of Vator Splash LA last Thursday, when he sat down to chat with Bambi Francisco, the CEO of Vator. 

Cuban admitted that he has actually closed about 71 deals on the hit reality show, and is in for $30 million.  When Francisco asked how many of the Shark Tank participants had returned the $30 million, he simply responded “none”. 

Cuban also talked about how the Shark Tank participants, who obtain the investment capital from the show, can still fail.  In fact, he admitted that half of the “winners” have had their businesses fail, and he talked about how “the best equity is sweat equity”.  In other words, entrepreneurs shouldn’t just assume that their idea is worth a lot and expect investors to throw money at it, but really put a lot of work into it themselves.

Francisco asked why the sharks ask a lot from the business owner with 30-40 percent of the business vs. the usual 20 percent of most venture capitalists.  Cuban stated that the sharks will do more for the company and are more helpful in their day-to-day ventures.  In short, Cuban stated at VatorSplash LA that sharks will add a lot more to a company than a typical VC, and because they are willing to give more work into the company and not just cash.