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The “Shark Tank” star made the remarks in a Thursday post about X, referring to a term coined by Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham.
Graham published an essay on the subject on Sunday, in which he contrasts the hands-on approach of founders with the delegating nature of managers.
“Hire great people and give them the space to work — that sounds great when explained like that, but in reality, judging by founder after founder’s report, it often means hiring professional con artists and having them ruin your company,” Graham writes in the essay.
Graham’s essay doesn’t specify which business leaders are in “founder mode,” but Referring to the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb Brian Chesky and The late Apple founder Steve Jobs.
Cuban himself spoke out on the matter on Tuesday, saying in a post on X that founders need to focus on the business.
“They need to be self-aware and find people who can offer skills they don’t have and who won’t hold them back,” Cuban wrote.
“If you fall into the trap of thinking that management hiring is some kind of magic bullet, it will make things worse — and that’s it. If the founders and founding teams are not the magic bullet, you’re in for a tough road ahead,” he added.
You’re right. Once product-market fit is achieved, founders will dive into whatever needs doing. It’s a nonstop race to get the plane in the air.
They need to be self-aware and find others who can offer skills that they don’t have. And also…
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) September 2, 2024
But while “founder mode” may be more closely associated with the tech world and Silicon Valley, Cuban believes Harris is an example of just that.
Cuban’s praise came after he commented on Harris’s stance on entrepreneurship during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“She’s talked more about entrepreneurs and helping them access investment and making it easier for people to invest in startups than any president I’ve ever heard,” Cuban told CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin.
Cuban initially supported President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign but switched his support after Harris became the Democratic nominee.
In an interview with CNBC, Cuban said he has been in regular contact with Harris’ team and has offered to join the administration if she wins in November.
“I said to her team, ‘Look, submit my name to the SEC,'” Cuban told Sorkin. “Things need to change.”
Cuban and Harris’ campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside regular working hours.