When Mark Cuban appeared before a packed-to-the-gills group of students in Room 211 of the Wayne Roberts ‘85 Building, it was no surprise that students spent the next hour leaning forward in their seats, listening to Cuban give his insight and share experiences from his investment career.
The billionaire investor and Dallas Mavericks minority owner didn’t bring a performative, media-safe demeanor — he spoke what he felt, cracked jokes and ultimately delivered trade secrets and powerful affirmations of his entrepreneurial journey to the driven and passionate ears of the Aggies, according to audience members.
Cuban’s message was simple: “If you can’t sell anything, sell your drive.”
According to members of the Aggie Investment Club, or AIC, which organized the event, Cuban’s words hit close to home.
Getting Cuban to Aggieland started with a shot-in-the-dark message, according to finance junior and AIC President Ishaan Shanbhag. He was scrolling through LinkedIn and stumbled across Cuban’s personal email. Half bored and half hopeful, Shanbhag sent an invite asking Cuban to be a guest speaker for AIC’s Speaker Series — and just three minutes later, he had a reply.
“I was jumping and running around my house — it was crazy,” Shanbhag said.
According to Shanbhag, that three-minute window set the stage for what was possibly one of AIC’s largest turnout events of the semester, setting the bar high for its Speaker Series.
Cuban stood out to AIC members from other successful figures of his caliber not because of his resume, but his relatability.
“We bring in a lot of very famous rich people, and we usually have to be very professional with them,” finance junior and AIC Travel Series Director Krishi Jalakam said. “But Mark was very casual — he was cussing around, doing jokes. I think that’s what’s special about Mark.”
The AIC officers said the talk reinforced lessons that AIC strives to live out on a daily basis.
“Cuban talked about never stopping,” Shanbhag said. “In our equity fund, sometimes we work 20 hours on a stock pitch only to realize it won’t work. But that drive — not stopping — is what we carry forward.”
Apart from the drive, Cuban emphasized the insatiable curiosity to learn as his most powerful habit, further buttressing his message that there is no exclusive method to succeeding in business and making money.
“Everyone has their own view,” finance junior and AIC Chief Investment Officer Gauravaram Ganesh Sudhakar said. “We reflect that in the club. Our meetings often turn into open discussions where people bring completely different approaches.”
Since its founding in 2000, AIC has grown into one of the largest student-run finance organizations at Texas A&M, boasting roughly 200 to 300 members each year. AIC holds general meetings covering finance phenomena and market trends, a Finance Development Program that introduces beginners to stock pitching and accounting and a managed equity fund seeded with $50,000 by the Texas A&M Foundation that has since grown to roughly $72,000.
“Each semester, we recruit 20 to 25 students to research and pitch stocks with the goal of outperforming the S&P 500,” Shanbhag said. “And we have in the past.”
AIC also travels to firms in Dallas and Houston — with upcoming trips planned for New York and Boston — where members connect directly with former students. Beyond talking finance, AIC officers say they value building relationships and community.
“What separates AIC from every other finance club is the friendships,” business honors sophomore and AIC Marketing Director Janak Krishnan said. “When I was a freshman and I joined AIC, I was too scared to talk to these guys. But I warmed up to them — they were first mentors, and now they’re some of my closest friends.”
It’s no coincidence that when they had asked Cuban who his closest circle was, he had a similar answer. Despite his massive network, Cuban emphasized that the people that helped shape him early on are the ones that matter the most to him.
“This guy knows, like, everyone in the world, right?” business honors senior and AIC member David Rabalais said. “He could’ve said celebrities and CEOs, but he brought up his high school and college friends. That’s what AIC is. 10 years down the road, they’ll still be my friends, and I’ll still be able to call them up.”
According to Shanbhag, a common misbelief AIC’s leadership feel they see is an aura of exclusiveness attributed to being a member of the organization, when in reality, inclusivity is a point of pride for AIC members.
“There’s a misconception that you have to be a finance nerd,” Shanbhag said. “Whether you don’t know anything about finance or you’re ready to pitch stocks, there’s a place for you here.”
In fact, AIC isn’t exclusive to finance majors; approximately 50% of AIC members are finance and business students.
“We’ve had pre-med people in our equity fund,” Ganesh said. “We want to show everyone has their own contribution to the finance world, and we’re spearheading that change.”
It doesn’t stop at inclusivity, however. AIC leaders say they actively develop and enable AIC’s members.. Between the world of finance and stocks and the intimidated but intrigued, AIC positions itself as a bridge.
“[Being in AIC] is being surrounded by people that can answer my questions any time, even at like 1 a.m.,” finance sophomore and AIC Human Resources & Recruitment Director Jess Whitehead said. “It’s been extremely, extremely helpful.”
Looking ahead, AIC leaders say they plan to expand their Speaker Series and connections with former students while continuing to get as many Aggies as possible familiar with financial literacy.
“If we can get just one person a year to start investing, I think we’ve done our job,” Rabalais said. “The more students at A&M we can reach with that goal, the better. You’re young — start investing now. That’s how you build your future.”
