Mark Cuban: This Skill 'Opened the Door' to Wealth

If businessman Mark Cuban had to start over from nothing today, he knows exactly what he would do.

No, not chase trends or raise capital. He would master one foundational skill, using every available tool to accelerate it: selling.

“Once you get the taste of that, and you get confident,” it becomes easy, Cuban tells Money. For him, “That opened the door for everything else.”

Before the billion-dollar exits and NBA ownership, Cuban’s early wins came from small, scrappy efforts. He sold garbage bags door to door and traded baseball cards. Those experiences didn’t just make him money. They built assurance and boldness.

That type of confidence, he says, is what creates momentum.

Mark Cuban's advice for leveraging AI

These days, Cuban says, the playing field has changed, largely because of artificial intelligence. Though the ability to sell and handle rejection still separates those who move forward from those who don’t, AI can make you smarter and more efficient.

For Cuban, AI isn’t the business. It's an advantage.

“It’s like having every business consultant, every professor, every entrepreneur available to you to answer your questions,” he says. “And they don’t get impatient, they don’t have to go to the next meeting, they’re available to you 24/7.”

The difference now isn’t access to information — it’s how quickly you use it.

Where entrepreneurs once needed mentors, capital or connections in order to succeed, they can now leverage AI to test ideas, refine strategies and learn in real time. Cuban’s advice is straightforward: Don’t overthink the tools. Try everything, he says, rather than waiting for the “right” platform or course. Experiment.

“Maybe you download ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini… and start,” he adds.