20VC: Mark Cuban on Reshaping the Pharmaceuticals Industry, How To Hire and Build Truly Great Teams and What Brand Really Means Today and How To Build One Successfully

Mark Cuban is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and owner of the Dallas Mavericks. Today we are focused on Mark’s latest entrepreneurial endeavor, starting Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company, the online pharmacy taking out the middlemen, meaning no price games and huge drug savings. As mentioned, Mark is also the proud owner of Dallas Mavericks,since his taking over they have competed in the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history in 2006 – and became NBA World Champions in 2011. Before Dallas Mavericks,Mark co-founded Broadcast.com – streaming audio over the internet. In just four short years, Broadcast.com (then Audionet) was sold to Yahoo for $5.6 billion dollars. If that was not enough, Mark is also one of ABC’s “Sharks” on the hit show Shark Tank. Check out Mark’s first episode on 20VC here.

In Today’s Episode with Mark Cuban You Will Learn:

1.) Cost Plus Drugs: Origin

• Why Mark decided to build Cost Plus Drugs?

• Why has no one done it before?

• How does Mark think about resource and time allocation with Cost Plus?

2.) Building the Team: Hiring

• How does mark analyse his approach to hiring? Where is he weak? Where is he strong?

• What one motto does Mark always use when it comes to hiring?

• What is the most common mistake Mark sees founders make when it comes to team build?

• How does Mark identify stress removers? What are the core signals?

3.) Brand + Capital + Business Strategy:

• Why is the current cost structure of healthcare so damaged in the US? How does Cost Plus change this?

• How does Mark think about what it takes to build great brand today? Why will Cost Plus not be doing big TV and traditional media advertising?

• What types of guerilla marketing is Mark most excited by? Why will Mark never have a billboard in Times Square?

4.) AMA with Mark Cuban:

• What 3 traits does Mark most want his children to adopt?

• What worries Mark most today?

• What are Mark’s biggest strengths? What are his biggest weaknesses?

• What single purchase has brought Mark the greatest joy?