How 5 Minutes with Mark Cuban Birthed the Idea of Five

Years ago — before the thought of FIVE existed — my co-founder and I secured a meeting with one of the most famous investors on the planet: Mark Cuban.

Without it, FIVE wouldn’t exist.

We met at a restaurant at the Ritz Carlton in Boston during Mark’s lunch hour to pitch him on the business idea we had spent months crafting. He promised us 5 minutes, and although we were lucky enough to score 15 he rejected our pitch, but gave us actionable advice on how we could adjust the model to make it more appealing.

The rejection stung, but the expert knowledge he shared encouraged us to reposition our company.

A week later, we raised $6 million.

We had spent nine months trying all these different ideas and having all these conversations, yet after one 15-minute lunch, everything clicked.

My conversation with Mark was the catalyst for what FIVE has become today. Having access to an expert of Mark’s caliber, even for a short time, gave us the kick we needed to think about our business in a smarter way.

Our focus is to find these expert creators who can solve their audience’s problems, and equip them to do it … efficiently.

This platform isn't built for Mark Cuban or the CEO of Goldman Sachs. It’s for creators who are experts in their field that are building a business on top of social and are being rewarded for their time and expertise..

And to be honest with you, FIVE v1 was about trying to get Mark Cuban and Tony Robbins. But how many people have $1 million or $250,000 to spend for a consultation phone call?

The original framework of FIVE wanted to provide frictionless communication between people who were hungry & motivated and the experts they couldn't get access to. That’s where our repositioning came in, and how FIVE began to change into what it is now.

People are monetizing their time and their knowledge all around the internet. Whether it be Patreon, Substack or OnlyFans, individuals are building businesses around their accessibility to others. This isn’t some fad, either; it’s a real movement.

There are tons of creators who are building businesses right now that haven’t reached celebrity fame yet. We’re connecting with creators — experts like you — who can monetize their knowledge and accessibility to build an engaging community that wants to learn from them.

Thanks for following along