Mark Cuban is always looking for the next big thing, carrying a passion for disruption that has seen him dive into various businesses. He owns the Dallas Mavericks, involves himself in blockchain, and is a Shark Tank veteran with 13 seasons under his belt. During that time, he has met and cooperated with many eager entrepreneurs, providing financing and mentorship. But now, Mark Cuban is contemplating leaving Shark Tank and focusing his efforts elsewhere.
The thought of Shark Tank without Cuban does not seem right. In his 11 years (13 seasons) on the show, he has taken stakes in hundreds of startups. Combined with his investments outside Shark Tank, Cuban has involved himself with at least 400 startups and founded over ten companies.
Not all of his ventures have become wildly successful. In fact, many blew up. But he is always offering his advice and ready to jump to the next thing, evidenced by the fact that he keeps his personal email public ([email protected]).
But why is Mark Cuban thinking about leaving Shark Tank?
One reason is Cost Plus Drugs, a public benefit corporation he started in January 2022. Cost Plus Drugs aims to lower prescription drug prices, and Cuban is positioning his new pharmaceutical business as the remedy to rising prescription prices.
Since its launch nine months ago, the online pharmacy has started to offer major discounts on around 350 generic medications. Examples of the savings offered by Cost Plus Drugs include:
- Crestor, a cholesterol medication that goes for around $150 at a local pharmacy versus $4.80 at Cost Plus
- Glucophage, a diabetes drug that goes for around $20 at a local pharmacy versus $3.90 at Cost Plus
- Zoloft, an antidepressant that goes for around $50 at a local pharmacy but $4.20 at Cost Plus
And those are examples using generic prices. If you want brand-name drugs, you have to pay an even steeper price. Take Crestor as an example, with its brand-name pill costing about $330 per month.
Cost Plus Drugs can offer its low prices by bypassing pharma industry middlemen. Instead, Cuban goes directly to the manufacturers of the pills, forking over enough money to make it worth it for them before selling the medication online with a fixed markup of 15%. There is also an $8 charge for shipping and fees, but the price cut is obvious.
The idea is not entirely original. Big companies are experimenting with similar models, but Cuban and Cost Plus Drugs are already moving forward. With more than one million customers to date and a growth of 10% per week, Cost Plus Drugs is on its way to profitability by 2023.
Perhaps bigger than the growth is that Cuban is 100% behind the venture. He has put his name on it, investing nearly $100 million as he goes all in on something he believes is “legacy defining.”
As a result, he is pulling back from other projects and devoting himself to Cost Plus Drugs. He still plans to invest and be involved, but his time at Shark Tank is among the things he is considering putting down. He said as much in an interview on Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?, where he mentioned coming back for one last season.
During the interview, Cuban also mentioned wanting to spend more time with his family as part of his motivation for potentially leaving the show.
Spencer Hulse is a news desk editor at Grit Daily News. He covers startups, affiliate, viral, and marketing news.
