What Was Mark Cuban’s Worst Shark Tank Investment?
Mark Cuban is well known for making great money moves such as buying than selling the Dallas Mavericks at an OUTRAGEOUS profit, and he even owns an ENTIRE TOWN in Texas.
We always hear about the great financial decisions but finance is also a RISKY business and not all of his investments have been good ones.
Cuban Recently Shared Details About The WORST Investment He's Ever Made On The TV Show Shark Tank.
If you've never seen the hit TV show "Shark Tank", Cuban and a group of investors known as "sharks" listen to investment pitches from entrepreneurs for a shot at getting funded to help their businesses grow.
The show has been on the air for over a decade and Cuban says he's invested over $20 million into 85 startups from the show, overall he's taken a NET LOSS across all the deals combined in a recent podcast interview.
However, Only One Stands Out As The WORST Investment He's Made On The Show.
On an episode of the "Full Send Podcast", Cuban shared that worst investment he ever made on the show was on a product called "The Breathometer" which was pitched as "the world's first smartphone breathalyzer" by an entrepreneur named Charles Michael Yim in 2013.
Let's Take A Look At The Pitch From The Original Episode
Yim claimed the device could send Blood Alcohol Content level readings to your phone and its gives the user the option to call a cab if you're too drunk. Sounds like a GREAT invention anyone (especially a Texan with the way DUI's are here) would want to pour money into.
All 5 sharks invested in Yim, pooling together $1 million investment for 30% stake which valued Yim's business at $3.3 Million.
According To Cuban, Yim Was Too Busy "Networking".
Cuban says that a few weeks after investing the money, he checked Yim's social media and saw him flying around the world hanging out with celebs and other billionaires while not actually working on the "breathometer".
Yim says he was "networking" on behalf of the business but Cuban says before you know it "all the money was gone" and he called it his "biggest beating".
So What Happened To Yim And The Breathometer?
According to a report from CNBC, Yim transitioned away from Breatometer in 2016 to work another product but the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Yim and Breathometer in 2017 alleging that the company misled consumers about the product.
That same month, Breathometer reached a settlement with the FTC over that complaint forcing them to refund everyone who brought it. Yim admits that he didn't commit to proper testing of the product but denies Cuban's allegations but says that the "sharks" could recoup some of their money soon because the company recently agreed to be acquired.
6 Common Scams Found in Texas
Gallery Credit: Billy Jenkins
Surprise! 10 Things More Dirty Than Most Texas Toilets
The Best Texas Lottery Scratch Offs to Make You an Instant Millionaire (Accurate as of August 15, 2024)
Gallery Credit: Texas Lottery