Mark Cuban started hustling money since he was a child—he sold baseball cards, trash bags and stamps when he was growing up in a working class family in Pittsburgh.
Now, his net worth is estimated to be $4.1 billion. The owner of the Dallas Mavericks and star of ABC’s Shark Tank has made a legacy for himself by investing in other companies and startups.
Here is a list of some that are located near the Boston area:
As Alice’s Table’s catchline goes, modern women don’t have time to be Martha, they need lifestyle delivered. The Boston-based company, founded by Alice Rossiter in 2015, received $250,000 when Rossiter pitched her startup on Shark Tank—The episode aired in January 2018. Cuban invested $125,000 for 5 percent of Alice's Table during the episode. Alice’s Table has classes around the country where women start their own businesses leading flower arrangement parties for other women to attend and have some creativity in their day.
Apptopia provides performance data on mobile apps. The information includes data on downloads, revenues, and actives user in addition to offering insights on how to increase revenue. The company, founded in 2011 by CEO Eliran Sapir and COO Jonathan C. Kay, announced an exclusive partnership with Bloomberg in February to provide mobile data to the finance industry. In 2016, Apptopia raised $2.7 million for its second seed round—investors in this round included Cuban and Ashton Kutcher.
BillShark helps to lower customers’ bills. Customers upload a photo of their bill, and BillShark negotiates the bill and helps reduce their monthly bills including TV, internet, and home security. The startup, based in Hopkinton, Mass., was founded in April 2016. As BostInno reported last year, co-founders Steve McKean and Brian Keaney announced the Cuban-backed status of their venture in April 2018—They were introduced to the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and star of ABC’s Shark Tank by mutual friends.
Catalant Technologies helps companies find on-demand business expertise with its software-as-a-service platform and programs. The company was founded in 2013 and formerly called HourlyNerd until 2016. Cuban first invested $450,000 in the company's seed round in 2013 then again invested in the summer of 2016. In January this year, Catalant announced that it was opening a new office in Rochester, New York and promised to create 45 tech jobs over three years.
Spraying DetraPel’s protective coating on clothes or fabric can protect items from spills and other stains. DetraPel, founded in 2013 by David Zamarin, manufactures and distributes protective coating product that is EPA compliant, eco-friendly, and non-toxic. DetraPel appeared on Shark Tank in January 2018, and walked out with a $200,000 deal from Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner for 25 percent of the company.
Netra software scans video imagery and text metadata. Netra tags images and videos that are posted on social media sites like Instagram and Twitter to identify the demographics of their customers, like age and gender. The company, founded in 2013 by Richard Lee and Shashi Kan, has been backed by Cuban since at least 2015.
Suspect Technologies aims to be the face imaging technology provider for law enforcement. The company’s software allows airport, law agency, and field facial recognition industries to redact people’s faces and identities in videos. Suspect’s CEO and co-founder Jacob Sniff told BostInno that he got Cuban’s attention by sending the him a cold email, which led to Cuban investing in the company. Suspect Technologies, founded in 2015 and based in Cambridge, raised $800,000 in a funding round late last year.
Zoba uses spatial analytics to better understand the relationships between different phenomena in order to improve the efficiency of cities. Zoba, co-founded by Joseph Brennan and Daniel Brennan in 2016, is predicting the demand for scooters and bikes in particular areas as scooter and bike sharing are quickly becoming staple commodities in cities. To support the mission, Zoba raised $2.9 million in January in a seed round led by CRV with participation from Founder Collective, Mark Cuban and others. Zoba has raised $3.45 million in venture capital. Following Cuban's lead, Boston venture capital firm Flybridge Capital also poured money in this Harvard spinoff.
