As one of the wealthiest businessmen in the United States, Mark Cuban knows what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Thankfully, he’s not keeping his business secrets to himself and is sharing it with the world, specifically Black women.
Prior to speaking at SXSW panel along with Tabitha Brown and Justin Fenchel, Cuban spoke to reporters who asked him what Black women entrepreneurs should do when looking for funding.
He answered, “I would tell you not to look for funding. You have to figure out a way to use sweat equity to build it on your own, even if it means starting smaller and slower, because there is a learning process, and it’s twofold. One is learning about your business and making it loanworthy. Then two is learning the language of those making the loans.”
Cuban added that rushing to get funding could go bad.
“You have to take whatever time to get it right because if you go into that bank if you go somewhere to try to get a loan and you don’t get it, you still have to be in a position to work and go forward,” he said.
While it may seem out of left field that Cuban is giving advice to Black women, it makes sense: Three years ago in a report from Wells Fargo, it was found that Black-owned business were 30% above what they were prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that number was being led by Black women.
In another report from the Brookings institution, it was discovered that Black women-owned businesses increased by 20% between 2017 and 2020.
Research from GoDaddy found that Black women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs, saying that they make up a total of 10% of all entrepreneurs, which represents a 70% increase from before the pandemic.