"I was that unusual kid" - When Shark Tank's Mark Cuban opened up about his upbringing 

Mark Cuban, the Shark Tank investor, is known for his business excellence and drive. However, his journey did not begin in the same tax bracket as he is right now.

Originating from a humble home in Pittsburgh, Mark's parents were working-class folks. Talking about the same in an interview with Yahoo Finance, the Shark Tank investor opened up about his parents and childhood.

Reminiscing about the days, Mark says that his dad worked hard in an upholstery, six days a week with 12-hour shifts, to be able to provide for them. The job was a risky one, and his father even ended up losing an eye because of an accident at work.

Even his mom worked "odd jobs," and Mark says that they were just hoping for "something better." His parents were children of Russian immigrants who were just trying to give their children a better life than they had.

Talking about himself, Mark said that he was different from the rest of the kids and had various drives and interests. He was already drawn to business and how it works and would often find himself reading books about the same. Revealing about the same, the Shark Tank investor said,

"I was that unusual kid that I'd rather read about Ted Turner than go to the movies. So I think that created a foundation. My parents and my dad used to always say, 'I don't understand what you're doing, but I'm glad you're doing it.'

He added,

And so I had my ups and downs along the way, of course, but I just put in the time and was fortunate enough to really get excited about business, and that paid off benefits over the long haul."

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Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban opens up about his childhood

Mark Cuban, the Shark Tank investor, claimed that he loved reading instead of going out to the movies with other kids. He also found his interest in sales and read more books about it.

He then started experimenting with various things himself and used to sell baseball cards, garbage bags, and stamps. His goal was not to make money but to understand the dynamics of a business that ultimately set him up for future success.

Mark says that his parents often did not understand what he was doing but, despite that, were supportive of his interests. This freedom allowed him to explore various opportunities and even fail at a few till he found what he was good at.

However, this journey did not come without setbacks. The Shark Tank investor says that he moved to Dallas and started working as a bartender. When he tried to enter the tech world, he was immediately fired.

But his curiosity to learn about new subject areas is what kept him going. Talking about the same, he said,

"When I got started, after I was a bartender when I first came to Dallas, I got into the PC industry, got fired, and started my own company. But there I learned early on that there was always something new, and most people didn't put in the time to learn it."

This made him understand that success is a continuous effort. Mark says that it requires constant learning and relentless curiosity. To this day, the Shark Tank investor claims he remains a student of technology and is trying to learn new aspects such as AI and other evolving fields in his business domain.

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Shark Tank Season 16 episodes, they be released weekly on ABC at 8 PM Eastern Time on Fridays, and later, you can watch them on Hulu.