I used to talk to Mark Cuban once a week or so. He might not know me now but in 2001, we were frequent email friends.
I had met a guy named Jim Griffin. He started a listserv called Pho. Pho was all about the entertainment business. Books, music, movies and TV. It was a great list and everyone was on it, including Mark.
Jim was actually the first person in the world to upload an .mp3 to the internet. He was the director of technology for Geffen records. I don't recall if he had permission or not, but he uploaded an Aerosmith song regardless. The rest as they say, it history.
MP3.com came (Michael Robertson was also on the Pho list and became a semi friend). Napster came. Metallica came, and went, and came back.
Cuban had sold his Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5.6 billion or something - cashing in at the very top. Michael waited too long, got sued into almost non-existence and ended up selling to the people suing him for $164 million - a nice payday, and nothing to sneeze at, but at it's height he could have fetched far more. A half a billion more.
Cuban started HDNET. The first ever total HD station. He needed content. Bought Rysher Entertainment. Wrote me an email that basically said, "I need content. If you have any, please send it to me and I personally guarantee it will be on air". I asked why he needed it since he bought Rysher. He tells me he bought it because he loved "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous" and wanted to air it, but after the deal went through he realized that it was all done on tape and tape was too cost prohibitive to convert into HD. It was a good company, but it was a loss.
Sensing a huge opportunity, a burgeoning friendship, and being asked personally by the man himself, I said sure. I would do what I could to help him out.
I contacted some people I knew back in Nashville. Contacted a lot of people. And then some more. HD was about 30 or more times more expensive to shoot. It's 2001. No one had anything shot on a new medium that very few even knew about. I'm out. I couldn't help Mark. They couldn't help Mark. Mark and I barely talked after that.
We've not talked in 14 years.
Now I see him on TV all the time. I read about him and all he's done. He pivoted. Owner of the Mavs. Owner of a movie theater chain. Doing this. Doing that. Still owns stations.
I believe in the pivot. The "Fail Fast" model of doing things. I don't believe in hanging on for dear life and hoping for the best on all things.
People sometimes say, "if you believe in something, you have to stick to it - make it work", that's all fine and dandy unless you watch as much Shark Tank as I do.
Fail fast. I didn't have the content. I had to pivot. I had to say no. I had to walk away.
How do you know when it's time to pivot. Just give up and change directions? It's easy. You pivot when it's time to pivot.
So many people go on Shark Tank and think their idea is great. Mark thought Rysher Entertainment was a great idea for HDNET ... it was a great idea for his movie theater chain. He pivoted.
When something doesn't work and isn't worth your time or effort, pivot.
For some things you need a slow, organic approach. You need time to see if they are going to take off and have a chance at doing something. But most things you attempt to do (whether business or relationships) you need to find out pretty fast whether or not they are worth your time and effort. Fail Fast. Pivot. Fail Fast. Pivot again.
The object is always moving forward and not (always) looking back.
I would have loved to help Mark out -- what my life could have been had I had access to $40,000 cameras and the ability to shoot a lot of content. To continue building that relationship. That friendship. Pocket change.
Pivot.
I don't look back. I pivot. And one day, he and I may actually do something together because I was able to say 'no, I can't help you' 15 years ago. You just never know.
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