Mark Cuban dropped some prickly wisdom on entrepreneurs at the iCONIC Tour in Chicago: Stop asking for advice and help yourself.
Do you hear that entrepreneurs? You are all just a bunch of babies looking for mentors to hold your hand. It’s time you grew a pair and learned how to handle the struggle of growing a startup yourself. Cuban, though, explained it all a bit more diplomatically:
“This will be kind of counterintuitive, but don’t ask for help … One of the things that is challenging new companies right now is that they want a mentor. They want a tutor. Get out there. Ready. Fire. Aim. Go.”
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Cuban revealed that he didn’t have any mentors to help him build his companies and that relying on one too much can cripple an entrepreneur from growing on their own.
“When I go and talk to colleges, [I’ll hear:] ‘Will you help me?’ Help yourself!”
Cuban also clarified why people shouldn’t look at him as a risk-taker. He always goes deep into research and homework to avoid making any blind or risky investments.
“People say, ‘Oh you’re such a risk taker,’ [but] I don’t take risks. When you walk into the room, if you don’t know more about your business, your industry, your company and your customers than every body else in the world, you’re lying to yourself.”
Learn to help yourself, don’t lean on anyone like a crutch, and always be thorough before making decisions — tough love advice from any responsible parent/billionaire investor.
