Business and Policy Leader Events

Fireside Chat, Q&A and "Stern Tank" with Mark Cuban

NYU Stern’s Entertainment, Media and Techology (EMT) program and W. R. Berkley Innovation Labs hosted entrepreneur, investor and ABC “Shark Tank” judge Mark Cuban for a fireside chat with Professor Greg Coleman, a Q&A with the Stern community and a first-ever “Stern Tank,” featuring three NYU startups.

Left to right: Professor Greg Coleman, Mark Cuban, Professor Cynthia Franklin, Dean Raghu Sundaram
Left to right: Professor Greg Coleman, Mark Cuban, Professor Cynthia Franklin, Dean Raghu Sundaram



Following a welcome by NYU Stern Dean Raghu Sundaram, remarks by Professor Coleman and an introduction by MBA student and teaching fellow Sarah Kim, Professor Coleman amd Cuban covered a number of topics, ranging from the sale of Cuban’s first venture, MicroSolutions, what he looks for in prospective investments and how to identify and create business opportunities.

Professor Greg Coleman and Mark Cuban in Paulson Auditorium
Professor Greg Coleman and Mark Cuban in Paulson Auditorium

Cuban emphasized that the way entrepreneurs are perceived today is changing, underscoring the importance of a social component in new entrepreneurial ventures in addition to treating employees well. He shared that his strength lies in paying attention to and learning as much as possible about new technologies and applying them in ways that others have not yet attempted. Looking to the future, he pointed to AI as a force potentially more influential than the Internet.

Entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban
Entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban

After an introduction by Professor Cynthia Franklin, director of entrepreneurship at the W. R. Berkley Innovation Labs, three NYU startups presented their businesses to Cuban for his feedback: Josh Sakhai (BS ’18) of Ephemeral, Kobi Wu (MBA ’15) of VisuWall and Christopher Mitchell (NYU Courant PhD ’15) of Geopipe. Cuban talked through each venture’s business model and shared his recommendations.

Josh Sakhai (BS ‘18) of Ephemeral, a company developing tattoos that disappear over time
Josh Sakhai (BS ‘18) of Ephemeral, a company developing tattoos that disappear over time

Kobi Wu (EMBA ‘15) of VisuWall, a platform that allows landlords to offer empty storefronts to advertisers
Kobi Wu (EMBA ‘15) of VisuWall, a platform that allows landlords to offer empty storefronts to advertisers

Christopher Mitchell (NYU Courant PhD ‘15) of Geopipe, a company creating digital models of the real world built by algorithms
Christopher Mitchell (NYU Courant PhD ‘15) of Geopipe, a company creating digital models of the real world built by algorithms

Mark Cuban

See a selection of social media posts from the event below: