Their origins (growing up in Pennsylvania in modest circumstances) and their ultimate accomplishments (becoming Dallas professional sports royalty) are remarkably similar. But the paths that Mark Cuban and Micah Parsons followed on their journeys have been wildly different.
The 66-year-old Cuban, who just finished a 15-season run on Shark Tank, grew up in Pittsburgh and from an early age displayed the business acumen that would ultimately allow him to purchase the Mavericks for $285 million in 2000—and then sell a controlling interest in 2023 at a profit of more than $3 billion.
A native of Harrisburg, Parsons, 26, played linebacker at Penn State and was drafted by the Cowboys in the first round in 2021 draft. He’s parlayed his stellar play on the field into several business opportunities, including a deal with Bleacher Report to produce his podcast, The Edge with Micah Parsons.
As part of a video series called The Playbook, which was created by Sports Illustrated and Entrepreneur, the two sat down to discuss their respective journeys and their business philosophies. (They also played chess.)
Cuban: I always try to meet people who are above the rest, because lots of people have talent. But not a lot of people know how to use it.
Parsons: Yeah. I mean, I say I’m lucky. Just be sitting here right now. If you would’ve asked someone in Harrisburg 15 years ago will Micah Parsons be here, they’d tell you, “No way.”
Cuban: Well, [we’re] PA boys. I grew up in Pittsburgh. My dad did upholstery on cars, my mom did odd jobs, and no chance I was supposed to be here. No chance. If you would have talked to my friends back then, they’d be like, Hell no.
Parsons: How did you get into technology?
Cuban: I got fired basically ... I’ve never been a good employee, so [I figured] I’m going to start my own thing. I called it MicroSolutions. That’s when I was 24, and I didn’t take a vacation for the next seven years. And all I did was learn, learn, learn.
You’ve got to be able to have that focus. And I think that’s what really benefited me. Because technology was new to me, but I could focus, right? I could commit to things. I mean, I was a f--- up in a lot of ways, but when it came to learning things and selling and doing business, I could get focused.
I was always a grinder. Nobody could outwork me then or now.
Parsons: I had to establish that, bro. I got very lucky I got to college. But when I first got college, I wanted to give up because I wasn’t used to structure. I wasn’t used to discipline. I wasn’t used to someone commanding me to go to class. My roommate was another linebacker, Jesse Luketa. He was from Canada. I’ll never forget— we were struggling at the same time. And [then defensive coordinator Brent] Pry goes, “Jesse, we’re about to send your ass back to Ottawa.” And I’m like, Oh my God, they’re sending him back home. I’m from right up the road, they’re going to send me back. [Since then] I’ve just always had this obsession.
[But] I love grinding. I love what I do, and that’s why I’m happy with it. If you’re out chasing a dollar, you’ll never love what you do. So you’re never going to be happy.
Cuban: Warren Buffett just retired at 94 years old and somebody asked me for a quote. I used to go to Omaha and me and him would go get Dairy Queen, because his company owned Dairy Queen—and the dude was just amazing. Just a real down-to-earth guy.
I was shocked when he retired, and then somebody said, “Well, any comment on Warren Buffett retiring?”
I’m like, He’s only 94. I want to see what he’s going to do next. And that’s kind of the way I look at things. There’s always going to be a what’s next ...
Parsons: I want [to establish] my own Micah Parsons scholarship fund to send a kid off to school to give him an opportunity. Earn it through the nonstop grind that starts from your freshman year of high school. I think that’s something that probably would be my biggest moment.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mark Cuban and Micah Parsons Have More in Common Than You Might Think.