Shelley DuBois

sdubois@tennessean.com

Entrepreneur, television "shark" and NBA owner Mark Cuban visited the Omni hotel in downtown Nashville on Wednesday to impart wisdom about how he became a billionaire to a room full of hungry-eyed business hopefuls.

He spoke as part of the annual GrowCo conference, hosted by Inc. magazine. The conference is billed as a tech-centric networking fest where representatives from successful companies can advise the next generation of budding entrepreneurs.

The audience gave Cuban a standing ovation as he took the stage next to his interviewer, Inc.'s editor-in-chief, Eric Schurenberg. Cuban then prepped the audience that he was going to go "full Mark Cuban" during the interview. "I just want to warn everybody, if anybody is upset by cursing ... I apologize in advance."

Cuban shared his thoughts on a variety of subjects during the course of the conversation, many of his one-liners eliciting applause from attendees.

Here's some of what he said:

On whether he takes his success for granted: Every day, I look in the mirror and I just make sure I don't pinch myself so I don't wake up.

On his success after selling tech company MicroSolutions: I literally retired at 29 with a lifetime pass on American Airlines, and my goal was to party with as many people as possible.

On becoming an entrepreneur after getting fired from two jobs: Those back-to-back experiences confirmed what I already knew — that I was a (bad) employee.

On the fact that his purchase of a G5 airplane was the largest known online purchase: It was $41 million for an airplane. I can tell you without hesitation, it is really good to be able to do that.

On owning the Mavericks: Everybody thinks that we are in the basketball business. It's an NBA game; we're not in the basketball business. We're in the business of creating unique experiences.

On his relationship with former NBA Commissioner David Stern: We get along great. And the few things we didn't agree on, he had the authority to fine me on.

On whether or not he will vote to oust Clippers owner Donald Sterling: You'll find out. I know how I'm going to vote, but I'm not ready to comment on it.

On how to keep bigotry out of the NBA: You don't. There's no law against stupid.

On stupidity in general: I'm the one guy who says don't force the stupid people to be quiet — I want to know who the morons are.

On bigotry in general: I know I'm prejudiced and I know I'm bigoted in a lot of different ways. If I see a black kid in a hoodie on my side of the street, I'll move to the other side of the street. If I see a white guy with a shaved head and tattoos, I'll move back to the other side of the street. None of us have pure thoughts; we all live in glass houses.

On how to fix the national economy: Until you fix the student loan bubble, we don't have a chance. Everything else is shifting lawn chairs on the deck of the Titanic.

On the TV show "Shark Tank": "Shark Tank" sends a message to everybody that the American dream is alive.

On the companies he's funded on "Shark Tank": They're all my babies.

On why he still works: I love to compete. Somebody out there is competing with me and I want to kick your (butt).

Reach Shelley DuBois at sdubois@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter @shelleydubois.