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Mark Cuban: Only Morons Start a Business on a Loan

January 18, 2015 25 Comments

Mark Cuban: Only Morons Start a Business on a Loan

June 14 (Bloomberg) — Entrepreneur Mark Cuban discusses the U.S. Economy and starting a business with Trish Regan at the Clinton Global Initiative in Chicago on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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  1. Brogan Maclean says:

    ”99% of small businesses can start with next to no capital”, are you
    fucking kidding me?? Clearly this guy himself is a Moron and has way too
    high of a platform to actually impart productive advice to people. 99% of
    small businesses aren’t paper crafts that are sold around the neighborhood.
    He obviously doesn’t see that he was very lucky to earn big on his initial
    businesses that lead him to where he is today. He’s also very corrupt and
    has been caught using his wealth to do insider trading in the past. Effort,
    wit and stamina doesn’t mean you’re going to be successful at your venture
    and this idiot should know that. Like many other people that believe in Ayn
    Rand’s philosophy; this guy’s blaming the person entirely and not the
    environment around them. bahhhhh!!! 

  2. USA Clan says:

    I guess I’m a moron for taking a 15 thousand dollar loan and turning into
    to a 6 digit business 

  3. KeyboardCommando says:

    So every person that took his money on shark tank he just called morons lol
    what a douche …this guy is so far away from the reality of the average
    citizen that he’s just foolishly blind …take 99.9% of his money and he
    would still be in a better position the most ….

  4. anna ciavarella says:

    he is saying so many bullshit!!! You always need at least a small amount of
    capital if you want to start a business…you don’t have to make a loan BUT
    you must have small sums of money to start your business…that guy is
    lucky, he doesn’t understand a thing about business…he had the chance to
    sell before the internet bubble, that’s why he has 2 fucikng billion
    dollars!!!!! Another thing, buyback share is great for shareholders,
    because with the companies buying back their own shares, they create value
    for shareholders BUT they help shareholders avoiding paying taxes on the
    dividends..

  5. Alan D. says:

    Yeah don’t get your “work” fronted, always pay for it in cash then flip it!
    Never get high on your own supply. Don’t be flashy and get out while you
    still can, reinvest in legit business. Don’t work harder, work SMARTER.

  6. Claude Rains says:

    You can’t build an economy around services. You actually have to produce a
    product that people need and want!

    I’m tired of the dot comers that think you can build a national economy on
    selling content and entertainment. As it still leads the advertisers to
    actually sell something anyways or else why pay for advertising slots when
    nobody has the ability to buy it! Hell anybody with a brain see the economy
    has shrunk in the last 7 years. And 2% is not growth. The damn cost of
    energy to produce and transport eats that up. Just look at the cost of food
    and fuel. It’s taken the biggest part of people’s budgets just to keep a
    roof over their heads and eat. Never mind the old disposable income days.
    There long gone and yet Wall Street is posting record highs like nothing’s
    happened. It’s all smoke and mirrors and the end is closer then most think!

  7. Esteban Rincon says:

    Is there a law against: 1. Making a prototype, putting it up on eBay, then
    stopping the sale, to see how much someone will pay for it 2. Take orders,
    after successfully advertising it 3. Manufacture it 4. Use Paypal, or
    rented retail space to accept payment 5. Put that shit in your bank
    account? Really? 

  8. Terry Lamb says:

    I started my business on a shoe string buget and that means anyone can do
    it.

  9. Bharat Ratna says:

    Capitalist kill men who create the world. First create an unfair capitalist
    led world and then take great pride in lecturing how to be successful in
    business. I know a lot of scientist who are not rich financially and who’s
    work has changed this world for good, but hey!, they could never invent
    something if they had that capitalist brain.

  10. doomedalready says:

    I am trying to patent a product that I invented, This product works and
    there is nothing on the market like it, I have used it for 5 years now.
    The problem is the USPTO. the amount of information needed to file is
    astronomical. The format must be exactly correct down to the last dot or
    it is rejected. I entered one sheet with numbering at the center of each
    paragraph and It was rejected because numbering must be to the side of each
    paragraph. Their instructions are such that you must hire an patent
    attorney whether you can afford one or not. I bet patent attorneys drew up
    the forms needed to apply for a patent. I am about to give up.

  11. jwpolar says:

    Mark Cuban started his first bar business on a $15,000 loan.

  12. andre says:

    I still don’t get it… How do I start a business with out money? Money
    rules the roost… Yes there are risks involved but I can’t believe
    this…. There are a millions who take a loan to start up an activity and
    yes are successfull in paying up… How can somebody label people as MORONS
    when they do something that is the only option..

  13. Numaan Rashid says:

    If u need 40k or more to start a business that u are convinced on being
    successful then save up for it
    In most cases it will take an average person 2-3 years to save that money
    up 

  14. William Edwards says:

    Ha I wish this was the case what is this mans definition of a small
    business? I respect and actually look up to Cuban what he has done is
    amazing. No offense to this statement but some small business can cost
    upwards of 300000+ especially if you are building your own building. My
    moms business is a Gymnastics facility for example it’s a small business
    and the initial cost was around 800,000. I would say to Mr Cuban that with
    all due respect that capital was not available in any other form but a
    loan. But guess what that’s the risk small businesses are willing to take
    are all successful no but it’s the system and world we live in. 

  15. Brain Rush says:

    You guys saying you don’t have start up money…start building capital via
    saving while working a regular full time job and part time jobs and even
    low end businesses (e.g., selling roses on the street, t-shirts out of your
    car, etc.). If you stay away from bad relationships, drugs, high rent, etc.
    you’ll be able to save up several thousand dollars easy in a year. (I
    earned 20k just selling all my no-longer-used CDs and books on amazon).

    Keep working full and part time jobs and invest those several thousand in
    the next tier businesses (e.g., flipping cars, ice cream vendor, food
    truck, etc.). After another year, you’ll have 50k to 100k.

    Next, you guessed it, invest that 50k to 100k in the next tier businesses.
    It could be expanding one or more of your existing businesses (fleet of
    food trucks) or buying a franchise store (Waffle house) or starting a
    business from scratch (martial arts dojo).

    So you can work and save up money instead of borrowing….PLUS, the
    business skills you learn selling roses, t-shirts, etc. will help you at
    the next tier.

    Again, you have to live way under your means, stay away from bad
    relationships, stay away from booze and drugs, etc.

    BTW: The year after I got debt free, i saved more in one year than ten
    years of donations to my 401k. The ONLY interest you should concern
    yourself with is avoiding debt interest. Don’t worry about checking/saving
    account interest, 401k interest…just get out of debt and watch money pour
    into your life.

  16. Love Lana says:

    How do you start a business WITHOUT a loan?

  17. Momma llama In a Can says:

    The title is amazingly misleading. I thought a service like Bloomberg had
    the journalistic principles to stay away from sensationalist headlines that
    overshadow their content, especially since it referred to only a fraction
    of what Cuban said or was questioned about.

    Besides that statement, everything he said proved Cuban is actually
    insightful, and the comment itself is true to the extent a good amount
    (though i need to check the stats for this) of small firms fail not because
    they didn’t have enough capital to pump into their business and exhausted
    it all, it’s that their fundamentals were shaky and they were throwing
    money into an endless pit, often financed by debt, where research into
    their industry or field would have showed low probability of return.

    Watch Bar Rescue (yeah yeah, “fake”, scripted, unrealistic in a lot of
    aspects, “stopped reading right there) if you want to see owners chasing
    their own tail until they drain themselves, and what kind of industry and
    consumer research, inventiveness, 24/7 mindset and constant adaptability is
    needed to get even a percentage of revenue increase- which may mean staying
    above or below water, or getting just enough competitive edge. It’s all
    about priorities; if one is a small business owner that thinks putting
    hours of mental groundwork a week and rethinking how they operate it isn’t
    worth a 5% revenue increase, but simultaneously thinks getting a loan will
    set the foundation and the rest will work itself out, one is setting up to
    fail.

  18. jerry henrie says:

    Read “GET RICH IN MARITIME SHIPPING STOCKS” by Jerry Henrie at Amazon. You
    can start with small sums, and if invested at the RIGT TIME make a fortune.
    Everyone can come up with $400 to $500 to start.

  19. Johnny Brannon says:

    Gee very clever Brogan. Now please explain how and when Cuban used his
    wealth “TO DO” insider trading in the past (as opposed to “in the future”).
    You can’t because you’re talking out of your ass. I guess by using his
    wealth “TO DO” insider trading you’re saying he paid people off or are you
    just talking in generalities. 

  20. Sam Masters says:

    If taking out a loan is for idiots how can small businesses buy fixed
    assets such as a restaurant, or a bar? most investors won’t be willing to
    go in on business that small especially if you don’t want to give up half
    your equity what are some options for raising capital for a small business?

  21. 1kudzuking says:

    The fact is that lots of the Mega businesses around today were started by
    people who borrowed from family and friends to get started. I personally
    don’t have much use for Mr. Cuban…

  22. Robert Diehl says:

    Well there is a shit ton of morons then ..A regular American that has no
    ties to government has been so victimized by big government and big corps
    so bad that it has made the cost of living way too hard to keep money ..The
    IRS can just go any where a person has a business, mostly white owners, and
    steal the owners money at will while certain immigrants can get money to
    open a store and pass it on 7 years later..

  23. James Mclean says:

    Then I guess just about every small business owner is a moron. How else
    are you supposed to start a business when you got no money?

  24. Jacob Pesquera says:

    The reason it’s not an intelligent decision to take out a loan and the
    reason Cuban called those people morons is because you don’t know if the
    business will prosper. You’re basically risking filing for bankruptcy based
    on your BELIEF on your business. Which isn’t smart because if you fail
    that’s your whole life down the drain, gambling with your whole livelihood
    is NEVER a smart move. So save enough money to start your small business
    that’s the only intelligent decision you can do.

  25. plzenjoymybigolballs says:

    Mark Cuban’s a fucking moron who’s lost nearly 75% of his wealth in the
    past 15 years. He made ONE good business move, which was purely a matter of
    luck, and has been absolute shit ever since.

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