Latest news with #MarkCuban
Entrepreneur
14 minutes ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Billionaire Mark Cuban Spends a Lot of Time on His Emails
Here's how the tech billionaire gets his inbox from 1,000 emails to 20 in one day (with barely any AI). Despite all the advancements in technology, billionaire investor Mark Cuban, 66, spends most of his day reading and responding to emails. In a Wednesday interview with Business Insider, Cuban said that he receives "700 to 1,000 emails" a day through his Gmail account, and he uses three phones, two Android and one iPhone, "to manage everything." Related: Mark Cuban Says 60 Is the New 40. He Follows 3 Habits to Stay Youthful. "I spend most of my day trying to get my unreads under 20," Cuban told BI. He praised email for being "asynchronous," meaning that he can respond at any time from wherever he is in the world, and ubiquitous because "everyone" has an email address. Responding to a message is also "fast," especially with Google's auto-reply suggestions, Cuban said. Cuban says he keeps his inbox organized with folders and has "never" considered hiring someone to help manage his emails. He is only away from his inbox for a full day or longer for "extraordinary situations, like a special event for a family member," he told BI. Cuban says he uses his unread emails as reminders of what he needs to get done that day. He only uses AI to write the autoreply messages, preferring instead to personalize longer emails and noted that he would rather process emails than sit through "long, boring meetings," or send a Slack message or text because he can quickly search through emails years later. "I have emails going back to the 90s," Cuban told BI. Mark Cuban. Photo by Julia Beverly/WireImage Still, using Gmail could pose a cybersecurity risk. Cuban's Google account was hacked in June 2024 after he received a call from a fake Google employee. The bad actor said that Cuban's Gmail had an intruder and faked Google's recovery methods to receive the credentials for the account. The hacker got access to Cuban's email and locked him out. The hacking hasn't stopped Cuban's love of email, however. Cuban rose to fame as an investor on ABC's "Shark Tank" for the last 15 seasons, appearing in his final episode in May. He told CNBC that same month that he invested about $33 million in businesses during his time on the show and received $35 million in cash returns. He holds equity in those businesses that are now worth at least $250 million, he disclosed. Related: Mark Cuban Compares AI Taking Jobs to When There Were 'Millions of Secretaries' Cuban's first entrepreneurial venture was MicroSolutions, a software reseller that sold PCs, software, and training to businesses. He grew the company to nearly $36 million in annual sales and 80 employees before selling it to CompuServe, a subsidiary of H&R Block, for $6 million in 1990. Cuban then founded AudioNet, the first video streaming company in the world. The startup, which became was sold to Yahoo for $5.7 billion in 1999, making Cuban a billionaire. In 2022, Cuban co-founded Cost Plus Drug Company, an online discount pharmacy that delivers more than 2,300 prescription medications. Cuban is now worth $8.6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Join top CEOs, founders, and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue, and building sustainable success.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mark Cuban says the AI war ‘will get ugly' and intellectual property ‘is KING' in the AI world
Major tech companies are battling for AI dominance, pouring tens of billions into infrastructure and offering sky-high compensation packages. Billionaire investor Mark Cuban notes this new phase will see firms locking down valuable AI innovations and expertise rather than sharing them. Major tech companies are in a fierce competition to be at the forefront of AI by recruiting top talent, massively investing in research and development and infrastructure, and scooping up smaller startups left and right. This so-called AI war is about to become even more aggressive. 'What people are missing about AI, [in my opinion], is no company is going to spend what will end up being more than a trillion dollars and accept not being dominant,' Mark Cuban wrote Sunday on X. 'They will find a way to battle. I don't know how, other than to guess it will get ugly.' Tech giants like Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Apple have been ferociously recruiting top AI talent—and dishing out enormous pay packages to poach them. Top-tier AI researchers at Meta are reportedly being offered total compensation packages of up to $300 million over four years, with some first-year earnings over $100 million. One example was a former Apple executive Ruoming Pang, who Bloomberg reported is joining Meta's 'Superintelligence' team for $200 million. In January, Microsoft announced it was investing about $80 billion this year alone on developing data centers to train AI models and deploy cloud-based applications. An AI researcher at Microsoft makes about $431,000, on average, according to Several job-posting sites show the average salary for a software engineer is roughly $125,000, so these so-called AI researchers are making more than three times a software engineer—a job that's long been regarded as one of the most lucrative in tech. Google has also invested about $75 billion in AI this year, and recently announced another $25 billion investment to build new AI data centers. Nvidia is also a clear frontrunner in hardware powering AI, and some research scientists there reportedly make more than $600,000. 'We are seeing them hire away talent and [intellectual property] to build [and] advance their models,' Cuban wrote. 'But that's just the beginning.' Cuban predicts major tech companies will also start shelling out more to 'lock up' the IP they think their models need to keep it from their competitors. 'The days of publish or perish are probably over,' Cuban wrote. 'It's now publish, and its value perishes, because it got eaten up by every foundational model.' He suggests the companies that develop valuable IP for AI should encrypt it and silo it.'IP is KING in an AI world,' Cuban added. 'The times they are a changing.' This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
13 hours ago
- Lifestyle
- Business Insider
Mark Cuban reveals his productivity hack — and everyone can use it
One of our biggest series this year is Power Hours, an inside look at the daily routines of top executives, founders, and creatives across industries. We want to understand what makes these people tick: why one wakes up at 4:15 a.m. to hydrate and meditate, another runs a 10K after arriving at the office, and a third moonlights as a Lyft driver. BI's Power Hours series gives readers an inside look at how powerful leaders in business structure their workday. See more stories from the series here, or reach out to the editor Lauryn Haas to share your daily routine. When we reached out to Mark Cuban, we figured he'd be ripe for this series — a billionaire who has founded several companies, invested in hundreds of small businesses, and hosted the popular TV show " Shark Tank." His response: "My day is boring." "I read and respond to emails," he wrote in an email. "I work out. I read and respond to emails. I do a couple Zooms. Then I read and respond to emails. Then I eat dinner. Then I read and respond to emails." (To be fair, he also shared that he follows his morning email session with decaf coffee, a cookie, and a shower, before taking his daughter to school, then working out at LifeTime Fitness, taking a second shower — and returning to email). This raises the question: Why is a billionaire spending most of his day in his inbox? What's so great about email? And why doesn't he hire an assistant to do all this emailing? We had to investigate. So we sent him more emails. Here's what he told us (via email). Mark Cuban: I receive around 700 emails a day and use three phones (two Android and one iPhone) to manage everything. I'd rather get 700 to 1,000 emails than sit in long, boring meetings. I can easily search them decades later. I have emails going back to the 90s. It's asynchronous. I can write or respond any time, from anywhere in the world. That makes things much easier. There's also really no limit to the type or format of the content. I can include it in emails or attach whatever. Everyone has email. In 2025, I don't know anyone who doesn't. It's fast. Particularly now, with Google's auto replies. For maybe 10 to 20% of my emails, I just have to choose one of Gmail's recommendations. If not, I can usually give very short responses. People expect them from me. How do you keep your inbox organized? Do you use filters, folders, or an email extension? I have folders. I used to have too many emails, and Gmail couldn't keep up, so I had to segregate them into different accounts. Now, that typically isn't an issue. I spend most of my day trying to get my unreads under 20. It acts as my tickler file and keeps what's important to me, right in front of me. Have you ever hired someone to help manage your email? If so, how did that go? If not, have you considered it? Never. That just slows things down. I started sending messages in the 1980s on CompuServe. It was fast and easy. For my company back then, I had everyone get an address. It worked great then, too. I still have a bunch of those folders with emails! Do you ever ignore your email (like on vacation)? Or do you always keep up with it? For a short period of time, sure. But for a full day or longer, only in extraordinary situations like a special event for a family member. I have a hard time disconnecting. It's faster to just get it out of the way. Do you like to achieve Inbox Zero? Won't ever happen. I get down under 10 now and then, but I also use my unreads as a reminder of what I need to get done today. Would you ever consider letting AI write your emails? Only the autoreply. Anything else, if I have a long response, I might use AI as a typing hack to save time, but I'm typically going to add some flavor somewhere. For a long, long time. Usually commenting that I'll respond or create emails at all hours of the day. Which is fact. If it comes to mind, I'm writing and sending. Or if the only time I have to clean up my inbox is after everyone is in bed, that's when I'll work.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive: Mark Cuban says AI will be a baseline skill like email or Excel in 5 years and entrepreneurs should embrace it or get left behind
Mark Cuban sees a world where AI fluency will be a baseline skill in the near-future. To be a successful entrepreneur, the billionaire investor tells Fortune in an exclusive interview that business owners need to know how to work with AI agents to make their businesses more efficient and cut costs. Mark Cuban is no stranger to AI advocacy—but now the billionaire investor sees a reality where AI will be a 'baseline skill like email or Excel' in five years time. Cuban believes that for business owners, being skilled in AI will be a table-stakes expectation. It's how they leverage the technology that will dictate their success in the years ahead. The billionaire told Fortune in an email Q&A that in 10 years, 'we'll see more people working for themselves' with the help of AI assistants, which will turn 'solo founders into full teams.' 'If you're not using [AI] to move faster or make smarter decisions, you're behind,' he wrote. Not only does Cuban see AI as a skill necessary for anyone to learn, but also as a team member any entrepreneur can invest in to help build their future. For Cuban, the future starts now. The ex-Shark Tank star advises ZenBusiness, an AI platform that has helped over 850,000 small business owners start their own companies. Cuban sees AI assistants like the one ZenBusiness launched on Tuesday as 'the ultimate equalizer.' Cuban has a financial interest in the ZenBusiness platform. ZenBusiness this week announced the launch of 'Velo,' a new AI agent designed to automate business operations like regulatory filings, research, and website creation. The AI chatbot will take data and information provided by business owners through their ZenBusiness user portals and provide personalized advice with no additional charge, acting as a '24/7 advisor,' ZenBusiness CEO and Founder Ross Buhrdorf told Fortune. Cuban said AI agents like Velo have the capacity to act as an entrepreneur's 'VP of ops, your first sales rep, your data analyst, and your legal counsel rolled into one, minus the payroll.' But, he warned entrepreneurs should treat AI like 'your smartest intern: ask the right questions, but always double-check the answers.' Buhrdorf said the chat bot comes with human technical support. In 2024, 5.12 million new applications to launch businesses were filed, a 6.9% decrease from 2023, which saw a record-breaking 5.5 million new business applications filed, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. While the pandemic, government stimulus and shifts to remote work drove record entrepreneurial activity, interest in starting new businesses remains strong. Cuban said the most common barriers for entrepreneurs today are 'fear and funding.' He believes AI agents can unlock entrepreneurs that are barred from entering an industry due to hiring costs. '[AI isn't] just a tool, it's leverage. If you're not using AI to move quicker and make smarter decisions, you're at a disadvantage,' Cuban wrote. 'The most successful entrepreneur will understand how to properly use AI.' Cuban believes AI won't replace entrepreneurs—rather, it will empower the ones who know how to harness the technology. 'At the end of the day, AI is a multiplier,' Cuban wrote. 'Use it, but don't be used by it.' This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mark Cuban's 3 Most Controversial Money Tips — And Who Stands To Gain From Them
Mark Cuban is a self-made billionaire, an early internet pioneer and a celebrity influencer. According to Forbes, his efforts have earned him a personal fortune of $5.7 billion. One thing he isn't, however, is reserved. The Cost Plus Drugs founder and Dallas Mavericks minority owner is either famous or infamous, depending on who you ask, for his brash, outspoken, and often unconventional positions on politics, technology, and, of course, money. Explore More: Try This: Here are three of Cuban's most controversial money tips, along with insight into who might benefit from them. The longtime billionaire also shared some genius things to do with your money. Cut Up Your Credit Cards Conventional credit card wisdom advises against running a revolving debt. Those who pay their statement balance in full every month avoid paying interest and can take advantage of valuable perks and rewards, a dynamic Cuban is all too familiar with. 'I should have paid off my cards every 30 days,' Cuban said in a 2016 Business Insider interview regarding money mistakes from his younger years. However, even not running a balance isn't enough for Cuban, who bucks popular opinion by advising people to avoid charging altogether. Check Out: 'Credit cards are the worst investment that you can make,' he continued. 'That the money I save on interest by not having debt is better than any return I could possibly get by investing that money in the stock market.' In a 2008 blog post, he put it even more bluntly: 'Cut up your credit cards. If you use a credit card, you don't want to be rich.' Who stands to gain: Undisciplined consumers prone to overspending and those with poor organizational skills who might struggle to keep track of credit card accounts. Live Like a Student While there's near-universal agreement that overspending is toxic and living within one's means is crucial, many experts advise against extreme frugality because, for most people, spartan lifestyles are not sustainable in the long term, and excessive privation can be harmful. As a guest on 'The Really Good Podcast,' Cuban reminisced about sleeping on the floor as a young man. To save money, he lived with so many roommates that he not only didn't have a room, but went without a bed and a closet, too. He has previously discussed driving cars that cost no more than $200 and grocery shopping at midnight to save as much as possible after being inspired by a book to live on $50 a day. He has referred to the lifestyle as living 'like a student,' which he suggests to anyone who is not yet rich. Who stands to gain: Those with very low incomes who can't currently afford more than the bare essentials without going into debt; Highly disciplined savers willing to endure extreme deprivation to build savings quickly. 'Diversification Is for Idiots' Diversification — not putting all your eggs in one basket by spreading your money across different assets — is one of the cornerstones of modern investing wisdom. With that in mind, Cuban summed up what might be his most controversial piece of advice in a 2011 Wall Street Journal interview, in which he told the host, 'Diversification is for idiots.' Channeling the wisdom of Warren Buffett, who Medium quotes as saying, 'Diversification is for people who don't know what they're doing,' Cuban concluded, 'You can't diversify enough to know what you're doing.' Who stands to gain: Experienced, skilled investors who have the knowledge and resources to conduct high-level analysis — and money to lose if their big bets fail. More From GOBankingRates 3 Luxury SUVs That Will Have Massive Price Drops in Summer 2025 9 Downsizing Tips for the Middle Class To Save on Monthly Expenses These Cars May Seem Expensive, but They Rarely Need Repairs This article originally appeared on Mark Cuban's 3 Most Controversial Money Tips — And Who Stands To Gain From Them Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
