Mark Cuban shares his top 5 tips for professionals in their 20s
He remembers that when he first moved into their apartment, things were so cramped that he'd come in at night after bartending and have to sleep on the couch or, if that was occupied, the floor. He kept his belongings in a heap.
Cuban didn't have much of a technology background but landed a job selling PC software. He performed well, but his boss fired him for disobeying an order. Left with no savings but a strong clientele and an interest in the business, Cuban founded his own software distribution company, MicroSolutions. He and his business partner faced some difficulty along the way - including when a receptionist embezzled and ran away with $83,000 - but they outperformed the competition.
In 1990, when Cuban was 31, he sold MicroSolutions to H&R Block for $6 million and made about $2 million for himself after taxes. It was the first big win of his career, which would eventually see him become a billionaire investor, entrepreneur, and owner of the Dallas Mavericks.
Cuban wrote a blog post in June 2009 (also included in his book "How to Win at the Sport of Business") meant to inspire young people trying to establish their careers in a world that had been ravaged by the economic crisis. The economy has significantly improved since then, but the lessons Cuban drew from his own experience are just as valid. We've summarized them below.