It’s official: Mark Cuban announces he is leaving ABC’s “Shark Tank” after more than a decade on the show.
The billionaire entrepreneur and investor plans to move on after Season 16 ends in 2025, he told on Monday.
“I just want to spend a few summers with my teenagers before they go off on their own,” said the 65-year-old Cuban, explaining his reasons for leaving the TV show after more than a decade. “It has nothing to do with the show. I love her. I love being there. I love something.” [it] and how it motivates entrepreneurs around the world.”
Cuban has been a mainstay on the popular show since his debut as a “Shark” investor and startup pitch judge in 2011. Leaving the show isn’t his only big news lately: He’s agreed to sell a majority stake in the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks – which he’s held since 2000 – for $3.5 billion, taking a minority stake and the maintains control over basketball operations, CNBC confirmed Tuesday.
His 12 years and counting on “Shark Tank” have produced unforgettable moments that range from the laugh-out-loud to the heartbreaking. Here are three of the most notable:
The biggest offer in Shark Tank history.
During season six, Cuban made the biggest offer in “Shark Tank” history to Arum, Soo and Dawoon Kang, the sisters behind the dating app Coffee Meets Bagel.
The Kang sisters were seeking $500,000 for 5% of their company, which aimed to use people’s social media accounts to romantically connect them with a “friend of a friend.” The episode aired in 2015 and at the time of filming, Coffee Meets Bagel was not profitable – but had raised $2.8 million in funding.
The sisters initially refused to disclose how many users Coffee Meets Bagel had, with Arum only citing “several hundred thousand users” as a rough number. For this reason, Cuban said he would not make them an offer.
“If you want an investment, you can just tell us,” Cuban said.
The other Sharks followed suit, citing the lack of profitability and what they considered an overly optimistic valuation of $10 million.
Then Cuban came back with a question: “If I offered you $30 million for it [entire] Company, would you accept it?”
The offer was the largest in Shark Tank history, and the sisters turned it down. “We see this company becoming as big as Match.com, and do you know how much revenue they generate? $800 million a year,” Arum said. “They are becoming a multi-billion dollar company and we believe this model and product has the potential to be as big as Match.”
Cuban praised the Kangs’ decision to leave the show without an investment offer and even called their company “brilliant.” According to private research firm PrivCo, the app was valued between $50 million and $100 million in 2018.
“I like the idea so much, I’ll accept it”
It’s not often that an investor takes an entrepreneur’s idea and passes it on to a competitor. Earlier this year, Cuban did just that.
In an episode that aired in April, Cuban fell in love with the concept of Parting Stone, an alternative cremation company that turns ashes into polished stones. Its founder, Justin Crowe, demanded $400,000 from the show’s investors in exchange for 5% of his company’s equity.
The money would go toward automating his company’s processes to “reach a point.” [stronger] profitability,” Crowe said.
Cuban was quick to throw a surprise at Crowe: He had already invested in a startup called Eterneva that turned ashes into diamonds, and he liked the idea of adding smooth, polished stones to Eterneva’s product line.
“We are a direct competitor to you,” Cuban noted, adding, “I like the idea so much that I will adopt it.” [Eterneva’s CEO] and see if she can do the same.
Crowe managed to push through an investment offer from Lori Greiner and Kevin O’Leary: $400,000 cash for 10% equity, a $20 consumer license fee and a $12.50 business-to-business license fee . “There are two areas I invest in: weddings and death,” O’Leary said during the episode. “Recession-proof.”
“The dumbest marketing move ever”
If you ever pitch your business idea on Cuban, be warned: a single misstep could mean quick failure and an early exit.
In a “Shark Tank” episode that aired last year, brothers Donovan and Trey Brown asked investors for $200,000 for 5% of their Los Angeles-based car air freshener company Ride FRSH. Less than two minutes into their pitch, they presented Cuban with an air freshener with the logo of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors.
Cuban, who has owned the Mavericks for decades, was outraged. “Dumbest marketing move ever,” he said, throwing the air freshener on the floor. “You need to read your room. Wrong step, wrong time.”
The brothers eventually agreed to a $200,000 deal with Barbara Corcoran and apologized to Cuban. They later said the embarrassing moment was always part of their plan to “go viral.”
“How many people can say they have baited a shark…better yet, the biggest shark, and [still] “made a deal?” the brothers told CNBC Make It in January.
Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to “Shark Tank.”
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