How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It

by Mark Cuban

They forget to put themselves in the position of the person or company they are asking for money. They think they are considering that person’s position by making up numbers and calling them expected returns for the investor. “If you only give me X dollars, you will get Y percent back in Z years. You will double or triple your money in XX years.” Any investor worth anything knows you are just making these numbers up. They are meaningless. Worse, if you tell a savvy investor that the market for your product is X billions of dollars and you just need one or some low percent to make zillions, you will be immediately kicked to the curb. These investors, including myself, know what you don’t, and they are not telling you. The minute you ask for money, you are playing in their game—they aren’t playing in yours. You are at a huge disadvantage, and it’s only going to get worse if you take their money. The minute you take money, the leverage completely flips to the investor.