It appears that Shark Tank is going to have a little less bite in the future.
Billionaire businessman and investor Mark Cuban revealed that he will soon be leaving the long-running, popular ABC reality series.
Cuban recently sat down for a conversation on the Showtime podcast All the Smoke, and during his sprawling chat with hosts Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Cuban revealed that he planned to leave the show after season 16.
“This is our 15th year, and next year, our 16th year, is gonna be my last year,” Cuban said, without reservation. “So I got one more year to go.”
Cuban explained simply that after all these years on the series — which is currently airing its 15th season — he feels “it’s time.”
Reflecting on his time with the show, Cuban shared, “I feel like in doing Shark Tank all these years, we’ve trained multiple generations of entrepreneurs that, if somebody can come from Iowa or Sacramento or wherever, and show up on Shark Tank and show their business and get a deal, it’s going to inspire generations of kids.”
“We’ve got people coming on and saying, ‘I watched you when I was 10 years old.’ I’m like, f**k,” Cuban added. “I’ve invested in, I don’t know how many hundreds of companies.”
Cuban also shared some tidbits about the things he’s learned during his tenure on the show, and how he determines which business ideas to invest in and which to avoid.
“I look for ideas [where I’m] like, ‘Damn, why didn’t I think of that?'” Cuban said, adding that he also looks for entrepreneurs who come to him with a pitch for their product and not necessarily their personal stories.
“The harder they have to try to sell, the worse the deal,” Cuban said. “The longer the backstory, the worse the deal. Meaning, the minute you start telling me how hard it was for you? It’s hard for every motherf**king entrepreneur. I don’t need to hear your backstory. Tell me about your business, tell me why you are going to be successful. Tell me what’s different about it. Tell me how you stand out.”
Cuban first appeared as a guest Shark in season 2, and joined the show full time in season 3. He’s remained with the show since. Season 15 of Shark Tank ticked off in September.
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