Mark Cuban's time revolution: From startups to Shark Tank success

Mark Cuban, a well-known American entrepreneur, considers time one of life's most important values. At the SXSW conference, Cuban recounted how he took off his watch after selling his first startup for £4.6 million in the 1990s, symbolising that no one would "own his time" anymore.

This decision came after MicroSolutions was sold. 32-year-old Mark Cuban felt financially secure and could pursue his dreams.

- Time is the one asset you can never get back. You can never truly own [it] – Cuban stated. – I wanted to be ... in a position where I get to call my own shots [and] spend time the way I wanted to spend time. That was always my motivating factor – he added.

CNBC Make It reports that Cuban came to these conclusions by observing his father, who worked 60 hours per week at an upholstery company near Pittsburgh. Cuban recalled visits to his father's workplace, which made him realise that such work does not provide control over one's own time.

In the late 1990s, Cuban sold another business for £4.3 billion. In the same year, he made a record e-commerce purchase - the Gulfstream V business jet for over £30 million. The billionaire claims that this purchase allowed him to "buy him time."

Currently, 65-year-old Cuban wears an Apple Watch only to monitor his health. He is active in the Shark Tank programme, runs a pharmaceutical company, and manages the NBA team Dallas Mavericks.

– I wanted to make enough money so I didn’t have to respond to anybody else. I could make my own schedule and live my own life the way I wanted to do it – he explained in his MasterClass course.