Entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban gave encouragement and guidance to college students about their futures as he detailed the business lessons he learned from succeeding and failing over the years.

Cuban, who is also known for his role as an investor in the popular television show “Shark Tank,” spoke Tuesday as part of the Delta Sigma Pi-Beta Kappa Chapter speaker series. According to DSP, 600 students attended the sold-out event.

“UT is a great school, but the most important thing you’re going to learn … is that the world is constantly changing,” said Cuban. “Don’t stress. You’ll figure it out. When you’re 21, 22, 23, you’re allowed to [mess] up. So, while you’re at UT, try different things.”

Cuban said his 20s were a time when he challenged himself to figure out what business ventures worked best for him.

Cuban spoke about his financial burdens as an early entrepreneur, as well as his prosperous startup ideas, such as Internet streaming in the 1990s. He also joked about the “rock star” fun he now has as a multi-millionaire and shared personal college stories about business projects that he started, such as a bar near Indiana University — his alma mater.

Cuban’s story and advice is especially significant at a university such as UT, where many college students are trying to find successful business models as they enter the professional world, said Erika Storli, vice president of DSP Chapter Operations.

“Sometimes as students, you see other successful people and ask yourself why you can’t do better and feel like you’re failing,” Storli said. “[Cuban] showed that he failed and made so many mistakes, but he was able to get back up and keep going. I think that’s inspiring for the average college student.”

Storli said DSP chose Cuban because of his professional values, which she said the fraternity believes are important principles for college students to learn.  

Cuban’s visit to UT indicates how much he cares about helping the next generation, taxation graduate student Candice Dipaolo said.

 “He thinks that we’re important and that we’re the future, and he wants to empower us to believe that we can do anything we want,” Dipaolo said. “He is relatable because the details he tells about his life shows that at one time he was just like one of us and in
our position.”