‘He Has a Lot of Nerve’: Mark Cuban’s Bootstrap First Advice to Black Businesswomen Seeking Funding Stirs Controversy
With a reported net worth of $5.7 billion and a prominent role on the “Shark Tank” investment reality show, Mark Cuban’s opinion holds weight for many people in the business world. But not much elsewhere.
The tech entrepreneur, 66, recently spoke to Essence before taking part in a panel at the 2025 South by Southwest (SXSW) festival and conference in Austin, Texas.
He offered advice for Black female entrepreneurs during his conversation with the New York City-based publication.
“I would tell you not to look for funding,” Cuban told the outlet about Black women initially seeking financing. “You have to figure out a way to use sweat equity to build it on your own, even if it means starting smaller and slower, because there is a learning process, and it’s twofold.”
The Dallas Mavericks minority owner said first learn “about your business and making it loan-worthy,” and, second, learn “the language of those making the loans.”
Cuban also warned about “awful” predatory lenders possibly taking advantage of aspiring moguls who may not have a sufficient understanding of financial literacy. He acknowledged Black women face a funding gap as well.
“You can’t rush it,” he says. “You have to take whatever time to get it right, because if you go into that bank, if you go somewhere to try to get a loan and you don’t get it, you still got to be in a position to work and go forward.”
According to Sterns Bank, there is a threefold higher funding rejection rate for Black women than for white business owners. The Harvard Business Review reported that only 2.3% of venture capital funding in the United States went to female-only founding teams in 2020.
Cuban’s recommendation for Black businesswomen to essentially embrace bootstrapping, the business strategy of running a company with personal finances rather than outside funding, generated reactions on social media.
“One thing about him, he is the most honest one and he is really for the people. I love him,” one social media user wrote about Cuban on the OnSite blog’s Instagram page.
A like-minded individual commented, “The one thing I respect about Mark Cuban is his honesty. He stated nothing but facts.”
Another Cuban backer stated, “Someone’s gonna take offense to this just because he’s white and direct, but he’s literally saying to play the slow, long game so you can retain primary ownership and not owe other folks money when you begin to pop.”
There was online pushback to Cuban’s business pointers. One skeptic wondered, “Does he have the same energy for white male businesses? I’ve never seen that.” Similarly, a critic asked, “This [is] the same man that’s on ‘Shark Tank’ looking to invest in people??????”
A third said, “He has a lot of nerve! Way too much as a matter of fact! How dare he say that when him and those who came before him have built racism and inequity into the systems they rely on so that we can’t! Even them playing fields and watch Black women leave yall a–es in the dust!”
Cuban joined “Shark Tank” as a celebrity investor in its second season in 2011. The Pittsburgh native admitted that he has not profited on his nearly $20 million worth of “Shark Tank” investments.
“Like, up financially? Oh no, I’ve gotten beat,” Cuban confessed during an appearance on the “Full Send” podcast in July 2022.
While Cuban may be in the red from his “Shark Tank” investing, the series has been a ratings and critical success. The program averaged 3.2 million viewers for season 15, which aired from September 29, 2023 to May 3, 2024.
The 16th season of “Shark Tank” premiered on October 18, 2024. Cuban announced the latest season will be his final run as a main shark after 14 years as a star on the series.
“It’s time,” Cuban explained to Inc. about his decision to leave the show, before adding, “[‘Shark Tank’] shoots in the summer and I want to spend that time with family before my kids are off on their own.”
During Cuban’s stint, the ABC reality series won four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Structured Reality Program from 2014 to 2017.
He sat down with serial enterpreneur and “Feeding the Soul” author Tabitha Brown, BeatBox Beverages CEO Justin Fenchel, and Fiserv Chief Marketing Officer Shannon Watkins for a panel discussion about small businesses at SXSW.
In addition, Cuban was named a 2025 inductee into the SXSW Hall of Fame. His induction occurred as part of the SXSW Innovation Awards Ceremony on March 10 at the Austin Convention Center.
The graduate of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University joined previous honorees Margrethe Vestager, Dan Rather, Nonny de la Peña, Kimberly Bryant, Eli Pariser, Kara Swisher, Baratunde Thurston, Tamara Hudgins, Joi Ito, Danah Boyd, and Jeffrey Zeldman.
Cuban married Tiffany Stewart in September 2002. The couple share three children. Their oldest daughter, Alexis, was born in 2003. A second daughter, Alyssa, arrived in 2006. Mark and Tiffany’s only son, Jake, joined the family in 2010.