#012 — The Mark Cuban Stimulus Package
While the U.S. House and Senate near a deal on the 2009 Economic Stimulus plan, looks like the private sector is not waiting around for the government to fix all our woes.
Enter Mark Cuban, dot-com billionaire, HD television entrepreneur, and owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. He has proposed to invest his own money into private-sector ideas that need funding to get them over the hump and begin making money.
Open Source Funding
To get the economy moving, there are a few stipulations attached to submitting a proposal for funding. Primarily, it involves an open source funding environment — you must make available your business plan details for all to see online. Also, business ideas must break even after 60 days and become profitable in 90 days.
Here is Cuban’s “rules of the game”, if you will. Violate these, and receive a double-technical and get ejected from the game:
1. It can be an existing business or a start up.
2. It can not be a business that generates any revenue from advertising. Why ? Because I want this to be a business where you sell something and get paid for it. Thats the only way to get and stay profitable in such a short period of time.
3. It MUST BE CASH FLOW BREAK EVEN within 60 days
4. It must be profitable within 90 days.
5. Funding will be on a monthly basis. If you dont make your numbers, the funding stops
6. You must demonstrate as part of your plan that you sell your product or service for more than what it costs you to produce, fully encumbered
7. Everyone must work. The organization is completely flat. There are no employees reporting to managers. There is the founder/owners and everyone else
8. You must post your business plan here, or you can post it on slideshare.com , scribd.com or google docs, all completely public for anyone to see and/or download
9. I make no promises that if your business is profitable, that I will invest more money. Once you get the initial funding you are on your own
10. I will make no promises that I will be available to offer help. If I want to , I will. If not, I wont.
11. If you do get money, it goes into a bank that I specify, and I have the ability to watch the funds flow and the opportunity to require that I cosign any outflows.
12. In your business plan , make sure to specify how much equity I will receive or how I will get a return on my money.
13. No mult-level marketing programs.
The Beauty of it all?
The beauty of it all is the private sector trying to come up with the solutions to economic problems. Fundamentally, it just makes sense to allow the private sector to flourish before the government invests or spends taxpayer money. Also, this is open to anyone who has an idea and a plan.
On Mark Cuban
Cuban is a very polarizing figure. As full disclosure, I am a huge San Antonio Spurs fan. My favorite basketball franchise has been the bane of Cuban’s existence for a decade now. I do love his passion for the Mavs, HDNet, broadcast.com — he puts his heart & soul into his projects.
Love him or hate him, I can appreciate his entrepreneurial spirit.
So can your business plan impress Mark Cuban enough to receive investment seed money?? Let me know about it in the comments!
photo by mil8
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