Episode 483: Mark Cuban's Cold Email Empire: How $750K Investments Turn Into Billion-Dollar Returns

Summary

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Habits and Hustle – Episode 483

“Mark Cuban's Cold Email Empire: How $750K Investments Turn Into Billion-Dollar Returns”
Host: Jennifer Cohen
Guest: Mark Cuban
Date: September 12, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this highly engaging episode, Jennifer Cohen sits down with legendary entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban to dissect the principles, mindset, and stories behind his investment successes—including multi-million-dollar deals sparked by cold emails. Cuban reveals the habits driving his legendary hustle, his no-nonsense approach to mentorship, and why curiosity is his business superpower. Special focus is given to his transformative investments in Alyssa’s Healthy Cookies, Relativity Space, and especially Cost Plus Drugs, a company aiming to massively disrupt the healthcare space.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Mark Cuban’s Lean Team and Breakfast Rituals

• (01:58) Cuban operates with a surprisingly small core group, even with TV and investment obligations—just 12 people help manage all his Shark Tank and other deals.

  • “Just in dealing with the Shark Tank and other deals? Probably 12.” — Mark Cuban [01:58]

• Alyssa’s Healthy Cookies: Cuban and Cohen bond over their love for Alyssa’s Healthy Cookies, a Shark Tank investment.

  • Backstory: The founder, Doug, went from being homeless to running a $20 million revenue business—all kickstarted by a cold sample to Cuban.
  • Cuban’s insight: The initial product was good but impractical (“the cookie would fall apart”), so he suggested rebranding into “Healthy Bites.”

• Nutrition Focus: Cuban eats Alyssa’s Healthy Cookies every morning for breakfast—8 bites for just 360 calories.

  • “It’s like eating healthy cereal, only it tastes better.” — Mark Cuban [04:13]

• No Ads, Just Repeat Customers: The brand spends “not a penny” on advertising, thriving strictly on product quality and consumer loyalty.

  • “We’ll make $10 million in profits.” — Mark Cuban [05:13]

Investment Philosophy: Product First, People Second

• (06:41–07:14):

  • Product is Cuban’s #1 criterion. Then he evaluates the entrepreneur’s execution ability.
  • “Product first, because you can have great people, but if it’s not going to sell, it’s not going to work.” — Mark Cuban [06:47]
  • “Is this something where I say to myself, why didn’t I think of that?” — Mark Cuban [06:52]

• People Matter—But Only If Product Passes:

  • Once the product convinces him, then he “looks at the entrepreneur and says, ‘can these people do it?’”

Shark Tank Realities and Due Diligence

• (07:42–09:03):
  • Pitches on Shark Tank are much longer than what viewers see: “Intense ones, 90 minutes to two hours; medium ones, an hour.” [07:52]
  • Sharks know nothing about contestants beforehand—they’re only vetted by producers.
    • “We know nothing about them when they walk into the room.” — Mark Cuban [08:00]
  • Due diligence happens after an on-air handshake. 75% of Cuban’s early deals went through, but more are “ghosted” now as contestants use the exposure as a commercial.

Team Dynamics Among Sharks

• (09:07–09:55):
  • Cuban enjoys partnering with Barbara Corcoran, because she’s people-first while he’s product-first.
    • “We complement each other really well.” — Mark Cuban [09:12]
  • Insights into other sharks:
    • Kevin O’Leary “doesn’t do a lot of deals,” Robert is “too nice,” and Lori excels in QVC-friendly products.

Cuban’s Personal Backstory: From Underdog to Billionaire

• (10:07–12:13):
  • Childhood hustle: selling baseball cards, garbage bags, etc.
  • Humble beginnings: Grew up with little money, had steel caps on teeth as a teen because they were cheaper—“Every time I smiled...there would be these two teeth at the bottom that were steel colored.” — Mark Cuban [10:52]
  • “Picture me at 16.” (Cuban shows a photo: 5'8", 30 pounds heavier than now.) [11:32]
• On Self-Confidence and Work Ethic:
  • “The one thing in life you can control is your effort. And so that’s just my style.” — Mark Cuban [12:44]
  • “Most people don’t do the work. And so that's what gave me confidence because I knew I do the work prepared and that set me apart always.” — Mark Cuban [13:14]

The Power of Curiosity and Learning

• (13:21–15:29):
  • “Curiosity is one of the greatest business skills anybody can have.” — Mark Cuban [13:21]
  • Cuban spends hours daily learning about new things (“four hours a day”).
  • Journey into tech: Landed at a software store in Dallas, learned by reading manuals, taught himself to code and sell.
  • No mentors: Cuban never had a mentor. Prefers learning by figuring things out himself.
    • “[Mentorship is] not that I don’t believe in them. To each their own. But...going through the process of figuring things out is a skill.” — Mark Cuban [15:40]

Access and Cold Emails: Mark Cuban’s Open Inbox

• (16:21–18:38):
  • He gets inundated with email requests—“my email is public.” — Mark Cuban [17:45]
  • Instead of mentorship, he answers single, well-asked questions—otherwise, “I just hit the delete key. It takes me two seconds.” [18:11]
  • “I’ve literally gotten emails where I’ve invested probably over a hundred million dollars from people I don’t know.” — Mark Cuban [18:21]
    • Notable Deals from Cold Emails:
      • Relativity Space: 3D printed rockets, now worth billions. Cuban gave $750K for ~20% (heavily diluted, “now worth...a whole lot of money”). [18:44–19:17]
      • Cost Plus Drugs: Co-founded after Dr. Ash Mayansko cold-emailed him.

Cost Plus Drugs: Disrupting Big Pharma

• (19:19–26:00):

  • Origin Story: Dr. Ash Mayansko, a radiologist and mathematician, cold-emailed Cuban with the idea for a compounding pharmacy to lower generic drug costs.

    • “He sends me an email...wanted to create a compounding pharmacy to make generic drugs that are often out of supply...I’m like well that's pretty cool, but that's too short sighted. We gotta do it for all generics.” — Mark Cuban [19:46]

  • How It Works:

    • Full price transparency (“we tell you exactly what our cost is for any drug we sell”), only mark up is 15%, plus $3 pharmacy handling and $5 shipping.
    • Recent metrics: nearly 1,000 generic drugs, aiming for close to 2,000 by year-end.
    • Cost Plus Drugs now often beats not just full retail prices, but people’s insurance co-pays.
      • “We thought we were going to mainly deal with people without insurance, but...people with insurance, we’re more often than not cheaper than people’s co-pays.” — Mark Cuban [22:08]

  • Broader Impact:

    • Study found just 77 drugs on Cost Plus could save Medicare $3.6 billion/year.
    • Commitment to sell all legally prescribable drugs, including those controversial in some states post-Roe v. Wade like certain birth control and mifepristone generics. [24:08]

  • Business Model:

    • No ads, no membership, no hidden fees.
      • “You don’t have to pay a monthly fee, none of that stuff...just straight up. We take our cost plus 15%.” — Mark Cuban [25:33]
    • Exponential growth: “We’re way past what we thought would be two years in.” — Mark Cuban [25:53]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Effort and Self-Improvement:
  • “The one thing in life you can control is your effort.” — Mark Cuban [12:44]
• On Learning:
  • “Curiosity is one of the greatest business skills anybody can have.” — Mark Cuban [13:21]
• On Investment Philosophy:
  • “Product first, because you can have great people, but if it’s not going to sell, it’s not going to work.” — Mark Cuban [06:47]
• On Cold Emails:
  • “I’ve literally gotten emails where I’ve invested probably over a hundred million dollars from people I don’t know.” — Mark Cuban [18:21]
• On Pharmaceutical Disruption:
  • “In this country in 2022, we should never be in a position where you have to choose between your rent, your food and your medication.” — Mark Cuban [22:08]
• On Cost Plus Drugs’ Promise:
  • “You don’t have to pay a monthly fee, none of that stuff. You don’t need a card. It’s just straight up. We take our cost plus 15%.” — Mark Cuban [25:33]
• On Business’s Rapid Growth:
  • “We’re way past what we thought would be two years in.” — Mark Cuban [25:53]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 01:58 — Mark’s core team size; Alyssa’s Healthy Cookies deep dive
• 06:41 — Cuban’s investment criteria
• 07:42-08:14 — Shark Tank pitch realities and deals
• 10:07-12:13 — Childhood hustling and self-confidence
• 13:14-15:29 — Curiosity, learning, and no mentors
• 16:21-18:38 — Cold emails and discovering game-changing investments
• 19:19-22:29 — The founding and model of Cost Plus Drugs
• 24:19-26:00 — Growth, expanded access, and still disrupting

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Conclusion

This episode highlights why Mark Cuban stands out—not only for his sharp business instincts, but for his hands-on, unfiltered approach. From revolutionizing breakfast with simple, nutritious habits, to reading and responding personally to cold emails, to launching companies disrupting entire industries, Cuban shows the raw, daily habits and beliefs that fuel billion-dollar outcomes. Whether you’re a founder, a hustler, or an everyday listener, his advice remains actionable: put in the work, never stop learning, and never underestimate the power of a single email.

Transcript

[A]

Hi guys, it's Tony Robbins. You're listening to Habits and Hustle. Crush it.

[B]

Hey friends. You're listening to Fitness Friday on the Habits and Hustle podcast where myself and my friends share quick and very actionable advice for you becoming your healthiest self. So stay tuned and let me know how you leveled up.

[A]

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[B]

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[A]

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[B]

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[A]

Just in dealing with the Shark Tank and other deals? Probably 12. That's all? Yeah.

[B]

Oh, that's it?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah, you have one. This is like a side note. Alyssa's cookies or.

[A]

Yeah, this is healthy cookies.

[B]

Oh my God, I'm obsessed with those.

[A]

So my item every morning for breakfast, no exceptions.

[B]

They are delicious. You can't get them on the west coast.

[A]

Yeah, you can. You can get them at Ralph's, I think.

[B]

No, no, trust me, I've checked. Because I found them in Florida at the super bowl two years ago and I became obsessed with them. And you can only get them at like public Safeway. And I on the website, it was a whole schmad ray, so I never ended up ordering them. But I called them a bunch. I was wondering when they're going to be here because they are so delicious.

[A]

No, because I know, because one of my deal parts with Shark Tank is they got to have Alyssa's there during the day for me to munch on. So they're here. I'll find out for you. But you got to hear the Story about. Yeah. This guy Doug sent me an email saying basically he was living out of his car and broke. And he sent me samples of these cookies. And the first thing I always do at any. When anybody sends me any food is I look at the nutritional information.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, because if it's all fat, sugar, or whatever, I'm not going to be interested.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So this is huge cookie. And I turn it over. It's 190 calories for enormous cook. That's not bad. Then I look. It's like, no added sugar. I'm like, that's good. All the fiber, you know, Huge amount of fiber. Like, a whole day's worth of fiber and then protein.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm like, okay, let's see how this thing tastes. So I break off a little piece. I'm like, this is good. I'm like, what's wrong with it? What's. You know? So then I go to pull the cookie out of the wrapper, and it falls apart. And I'm like, that's the problem. Because when people go to buy a cookie, they want to eat a cookie.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So I made them change it to Healthy Bites. Because the way their whole manufacturing process works, it's really easy to combine it with a little bit of moisture and put it together so it tastes moist. Right, Right. And they're just these little bites, and they stay together. Put eight into a package, and with eight of them, it's only 360 calories. Right. So I eat. Yeah. So 45 each. So I eat, like, all eight of them for breakfast.

[B]

Oh, that's what I do, too. You can't just eat four or two.

[A]

No, no. And it's only 360 calories for breakfast. And I'm getting my fiber. I'm getting. You know, it's like eating healthy cereal, only it tastes better.

[B]

It's delicious. And you don't. And you feel like you're actually giving. Like, you don't feel like you're depriving yourself with it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's what I felt like. I feel like. But I. For. This is like two years ago or three years ago with COVID I can't remember everything, like, blends, but I haven't looked for the last. Probably a year. But I did. I was, like, obsessive over them.

[A]

We got to find you where they are up here, because I know they are. And. And I order them either from Amazon or from Amazon.

[B]

I guess it could be.

[A]

Yeah. And from. Right. From the website, Alyssa's Healthy Cookies website.

[B]

I should just do that, too. Are they doing well?

[A]

Oh, Russian food. This guy. This guy went from living out of his car and Help us. Helping him get started. I mean, I went to Central Market in Dallas and did one tasting thing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then it just blew up from there.

[B]

Really?

[A]

And that was more than 10 years ago. Now they'll do just under $20 million in revenue. But that's not even the good part. We spend no money on advertising. Not a nippy.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Not a penny.

[B]

Yeah. Nobody knew what they were when I was telling them.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And.

[A]

But people go in there and buy them, and they. But people who buy them keep on buying them over and over and over again, and we'll make $10 million in profits.

[B]

That is amazing.

[A]

So this guy went from living out of his car to, like, being Mr. Badass down in Florida, making millions of dollars a year.

[B]

That's incredible. You know, it's funny that you say that, because for the super. It was for, like, Maxim, super bowl, par. And the whole st. Like, everybody who was doing it. Everyone became obsessed with these things. And we would buy. We would. We would, like, clean the shelf of every single.

[A]

Yeah. Like, I go in there and I buy, like, six at a time, eight at a time, wherever I'm traveling easily. Sure. For sure. I mean, Alyssa's Healthy Cookies, and now we have a vegan version, and we've got a chocolate version. Yeah. They're all really, really, really good. And, like, if you got a little bit of time, you throw them in the microwave and they get really, like, smushy. Yes. Off. They're great. They're great. And they've got a little travel pack, so you can. I take them in the row with me in my little computer bag and back to back. Yeah. So I can travel with them, and I always have something healthy.

[B]

Okay. We got to find out about this west coast thing, because that. Yeah, because that doesn't make sense. You must. What's with you and oats, though? With mush.

[A]

Mush, yeah. Yeah.

[B]

I'm Canadian mush.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And do you just love oats?

[A]

No, it's not that at all. I like things that are tasty and healthy.

[B]

Yeah, it's true.

[A]

You know, and you know, Ashley, the female entrepreneur behind it, is just insane. I mean, she's just amazing. Yeah. She's a force of nature. So when you get companies like that and the entrepreneurs are amazing and the product's amazing and it's healthy. Yeah, why not?

[B]

Totally. What's the one thing you look for when you do an investment with a startup Is it the people or is it the product?

[A]

Product first, because you can have great people, but if it's not going to sell, it's not going to work. But, you know, I look to see. Is this something where I say to myself, why didn't I think of that? Yeah, that's the first thing. And then even if it's not quite that, I'm like, okay, you know, if I'm looking to buy it or typical consumer company is looking to buy, is this something that's going to be compelling, differentiated, easy to buy? And if it passed those test, then I look at the entrepreneur and say, okay, can these people do it?

[B]

Yeah. Well, you know, I find it interesting. I always stare at you when I watch this show because I feel like you're very decisive.

[A]

And that's not the answer I wanted after you said that.

[B]

Well, maybe I stare at you, but this is like an ad, you know, a family show. But what would. Why is it that, like, I feel like it's my. Maybe it's just my opinion, but, like, you're, like, so decisive that you, like, could. Either you like someone, I feel, or you don't like them. Like, you know, pretty quickly.

[A]

Well, remember, there's a lot of editing that goes on.

[B]

I know. That's what say. Is it just because of the editing?

[A]

It's because of the editing.

[B]

Because how long is each pitch really in real life?

[A]

Stupid ones, 20 to 30 minutes.

[B]

Oh, wow.

[A]

Intense ones, 90 minutes to two hours. Medium ones, an hour.

[B]

Oh, so they're. So that's why. Because they're such. They're so much longer.

[A]

It's our money, and we know nothing about them when they walk into the room.

[B]

So they're not vetted all.

[A]

They're vetted by producers, but not by us. So we know nothing about them. Here comes Jan. They'll say, this is Jen, and that's it.

[B]

So you really. So it really is a surprise when people walk in.

[A]

Yeah, no idea whatsoever.

[B]

So then what happens? Like, well, then you guys do due diligence.

[A]

Right after we say yes to a deal. We can do due diligence.

[B]

So what's the. What's the ratio or how much percentage of things that go through?

[A]

So early on, for me, it was about 75%, but now we get more and more people who just come on for the commercial.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so they'll say, oh, great, we got a deal. And then they'll ghost it.

[B]

They. They do.

[A]

They do. Yeah.

[B]

Because I've had a few people come on here, or I've met in, like, real life, whatever. And like, they said that they went on and it was not you, actually. Other people, other sharks wouldn't close the deal. Wouldn't close the deal. And it just like.

[A]

Or try to change it.

[B]

It dragged on and dragged on.

[A]

Yeah, that's not me. Yeah. Some of the other ones will do that where they'll, like, try to change the deal terms and this and that. And that's up to them. Right. However they do it. But if I agree to it, I'll agree to it. But if you drag me out, then you're playing with fire.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Because either you want to do a deal and you agree to what you agree to or not.

[B]

Yeah. And who's your favorite shark besides, you.

[A]

Know, I like Barbara, the work with.

[B]

Yeah, I like her too, because we.

[A]

Complement each other because she's really. She looks at people first, and I look at deal first or product service first. And so we complement each other really well.

[B]

Right. So do you do most of the deals you do, you do with her, though?

[A]

If I can, yeah.

[B]

If I can, yeah. How about those other two? We'll move off of this. But, like, I'm so fascinated by the show. Like, how about the Mr. Wonderful?

[A]

Yeah, he's okay, but Kevin doesn't do a lot of deals.

[B]

He also wastes people's time.

[A]

Yeah, that's your shtick.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And so. But he's a great guy, so. Yeah, he's a really good guy. He's not like he is on tv.

[B]

Oh, he's not.

[A]

No, he's a really good guy.

[B]

The other one seems very nice, Rob.

[A]

Robert's too nice, you know? Yeah, but he's a good guy, too. Lori does a good job. You know, Lori is all about her wheelhouse. Things that she can just plug in and sell QVC or whatever she's going to be great at.

[B]

Right. So then I want to ask you back way because you, when you were a kid, obviously, you were selling the baseball cards and the garbage bags and, like, stamped everything for those basketball shoes that your dad didn't want to get you.

[A]

Y.

[B]

Like, you were like a bo. You were like a born hustler. Like, you just were.

[A]

Without question.

[B]

Without question. So were you, like, the guy? Like, if I went to school with you, would I be like, oh, that guy's for sure going to be a billionaire. That guy's for sure going to be successful.

[A]

No, no. You probably didn't even know who I was. You. You'd be cute and I'd be the.

[B]

Little fat guy I don't know. I don't know if I'd be the.

[A]

Cute one back then either.

[B]

But.

[A]

Yeah, like when I was 16. No, when I was 15, 14, 14 freshman in high school, I was playing baseball and I ran into a bicycle and my parents, like my dad did upholstery in cars, didn't have a whole lot. And like, rather than getting me caps because I broke two teeth running into a bicycle and rather than getting me caps that matched all my other teeth, they got me stainless steel caps so that because they would last longer, they were cheaper.

[B]

No way.

[A]

So every time I smiled, even like in my high school graduation picture, like there would be these two teeth at the bottom that were steel colored.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Yeah. I mean, and like if I showed you my 16 year old picture, I was like five eight, five nine, weigh 30 pounds more than I do now.

[B]

Really? Can I see a picture? Do you have one? Let me see. That is so. I would never have guessed it because you seem super.

[A]

Yeah. Things change.

[B]

No kidding. Things definitely, you know. Yes. $4.7 billion later, things definitely change. But like you seem very. I mean, I don't know.

[A]

Picture me at 16.

[B]

My God. No it isn't.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

This does not even look like you.

[A]

That's me at 16.

[B]

Wow. Wow. I don't even know what to say. The teeth are gone. Like you got them fixed.

[A]

No, no, no, no. You just can't see it there.

[B]

No, I'm saying right now. Yeah, you got them fixed after you kind of like got out of this whole face. That's insane. So like you showing everybody. It's pretty amazing actually. I would never.

[A]

But also, it's one handsome motherfucker.

[B]

Right? I was gonna say. The truth is like at the time, if you saw some pictures of me when I was 15, 16, it would. It's mortifying, you know. Exactly. Thank you. You don't be so, you know, dramatic there. But like the point is that still, like, you are not. No, like you, you seem to have like a, A confidence though, a self confidence. What. Where did it come from to even do all these deals and wheeling and dealing?

[A]

I mean, there's two different things, right? Like being confident about run girls when you're 16.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then being in business, like in business you can just do the work, right? You know, I think. Yeah, you do the work. So you pick whatever topic and if I need to learn it for business, for whatever reason, I can just spend the time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And it's just up to me, you know, it's like the same you know, the one thing in life you can control is your effort. Absolutely. And so that's just my style. I mean, you know, I learned early, early, early on that most people didn't.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, and whether it's learning how to code, whether it's learning about business, whether reading this book or watching that video, you can figure out, yeah, most people don't do it. And so that, that's what gave me confidence because I knew I do, I do the work prepared and that, that set me apart always.

[B]

So you're just like you, you love. I, I read this a bazillion times and I know if you've said this like you just love to learn like four hours a day.

[A]

Curiosity is one of the greatest business skills anybody can have.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And once you're curious and you find something that's interesting to you, particularly if it fits what you're trying to accomplish, then it's just a matter of taking the time to learn it.

[B]

Right. Let me share my daily routine game changer with you. It's the Momentous3. I've been using their protein, their creatine and omega 3 combo for months now and the results are undeniable. These nutrients are key for long term health and performance, but hard to get enough of through diet alone. The Kriya pure creatine boosts both physical and your mental performance. The grass fed whey tastes great with no weird aftertaste. And their Omega 3 is a must for recovery. Since adding these, my energy, my recovery and my overall well being has really improved. So if you want better performance, this is the way to go. Visit livemomentous.com and use my code Jen for 35% off your first subscription. That's livemomentous.com code Jen for 35% off your 1st subscription. Trust me, you'll be happy you did. Were you always just very interested in like computers and not computers necessarily? Yeah, that's my software. What do you call it? Like.

[A]

Yeah, all the above. Right. Technology. And it wasn't until when I got to Dallas, I got a job working for a software store and I had to learn it all right there and then on my own and, and that's really what got me into it. I found out that because, you know, I didn't mind reading software manuals, hardware manuals, whatever.

[B]

Right.

[A]

That um, that gave me an edge and I could sell. So you combine the two together and I was taught myself how to program and you know, I, I did really well as a salesperson selling software until I Got fired, you know, and then I started my own company and the rest is history.

[B]

Well also like you're very self reliant, like you don't like mentors. You never had a mentor, right?

[A]

No. Never? Nope.

[B]

What's your reason for like do you like, because when people have asked you that before, you're like, no, I don't believe in them.

[A]

It's not that I don't believe in them. To each their own. But it's just like you just going through the process of figuring things out is a skill.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Learning how to understand a market or a company or a product or service is a skill.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And you know, there really aren't shortcuts. And I get, you know, having a mentor to introduce you to people and all that kind of stuff. But you know, those same people will introduce you just as a referral if you have a great product or service and you're good at what you do.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And that's the way I always looked at it.

[B]

And like, so like what do you do? Because you're in the situation now where everybody wants you to be their mentor or something from you all the time. All the time. Right.

[A]

Say fuck off.

[B]

Did you say that? Does it work? Does it work?

[A]

Because especially the 16 year old kids.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Right.

[A]

No, I mean it just depends on the circumstances. Like typically what I'll do is just say, you know, send me an email.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And if it's a question I can answer, I will. And as long as they don't ask me 50 questions, you know, as long as they don't ask me things that are easily answered just by searching online.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You know, then I'll try to help them because sometimes, I mean, it's crazy. Even like probably what I would have done, like 12, 13 year old kids that'll email me with business questions, you know, it's very, you could tell it's very self serving, you know, or I'll get parents emailing me for their kids.

[B]

And so they do what they say.

[A]

Yeah, it's just like, oh, my son or daughter is really interested in abc. Can you answer these questions? I'm like, no, I'm not going to answer them for you. Now if your son or daughter took the initiative.

[B]

Right.

[A]

What's insane? Not to go too far. Like now I'll get emails from parents of adults, you know, 22, 24, 28 years old, you know, asking for job advice for their kids. Or will I? I'm like, hell no, you know, crazy.

[B]

The model culture we have now I.

[A]

Don'T know if it's culture per se or just like these people, parents that are just like a lot of them. Yeah, helicopter parents to the 9,000th degree.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

And I'm like, no, you know, I just won't respond.

[B]

Information like, you're so accessible, though.

[A]

Like, yeah, my email is public.

[B]

Like, so I was going to say like, like every. How do you not have. Like, aren't you just inundated all day? I know you have 10 phones you carry around.

[A]

Well, no, I got two. Yeah. Well, three I have. Yeah. Just in case I need better service or I can be working on one and whatever, talking other. But in any event, like, you know how you can just set up preview mode in your email? So I just read the preview and if it's interesting, I read it and if it's not, I hit the delete key. It takes me two seconds.

[B]

Wow, you must be doing that all day, though.

[A]

Yeah, you know, it doesn't matter if I'm eating lunch or doing whatever, you know, that's, you know, me time where I can just bang through them and there's always something interesting there. And I've literally gotten emails where I've invested probably over a hundred million dollars from people I don't know. And a lot of. There's one company that I invested in, I don't know how many millions now, and they're out here in LA and they're begging me to come visit because I've never, never met the guy. Relativity Space.

[B]

And that's what it's called?

[A]

Yeah, Relativity space. They do 3D printing for space rockets. For. For rockets.

[B]

Oh, my gosh.

[A]

Yeah. And it's enormous. And you know, I think their Last valuation was $4 billion, which made my stuff worth like a whole lot of money.

[B]

No kidding.

[A]

Because it was just these guys from Dallas who were. Told me about, you know, they want to use 3D printing, they. To build rockets. I'm like, that's really cool. I asked him questions, did some homework. They answered all the questions. Great. And everything. And so I gave them like 75, 750 grand for 20% or 25% of the company. Now I've been diluted significantly since then because they've raised a bunch, but. And, you know, even as I put in more but yeah, it's worth, you know, enough cover all my bad investments.

[B]

That is amazing.

[A]

And I never met the guys.

[B]

You never met them?

[A]

Yeah. With the cost plus drugs. Dr. Ash Mayansko. That was a cold email.

[B]

I was going to say, tell the Story. That is crazy. The guy just called, like just email.

[A]

Yeah, just emailed me. Guy named Dr. Ashmansky who is a radiologist, practicing radiologist, also has a PhD in math and statistics, also did one year of law school just for the fun of it. I mean just insanely smart. Everything comes easy to him intellectually. And he sends me an email.

[B]

What was the subject line?

[A]

I don't even remember. But it was basically saying that he wanted to create a compounding pharmacy to make generic drugs that are often out of supply. Right. And because they're out of supply, the people who make them can charge anything they want. Because if you happen to have that disease that needs it, you're going to do all you can to get it. And I'm like, well that's pretty cool, but that's too short sighted. We got to do it for all generics.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And so this is going on four years ago we started what turned out to be a company called costplusdrugs.com and I kind of massaged the whole business plan and invested and basically we have built this company. If you go to costplus drugs.com we tell you exactly what our cost is for any drug we sell. We just added 113 more today. So now we're closing in on a thousand different SKUs today alone. Because yesterday you added a few reduced prices yesterday.

[B]

Oh, those are the. Okay.

[A]

And added a bunch today. And so you know, just the fact you're reducing prices on drugs at all is insane. Right?

[B]

People are, That's a real problem.

[A]

No, it's a huge problem. Right. That's why we, we did this. And so now if you go to costplusdrugs.com and you put in a monotab which is for people with leukemia as I found out, and you could see that our cost is $45 and we sell it for or $48 and we sell it for $54. Right. You'll see our cost. We add 15%. That's it. It's $3 for the pharmacy handling fee and $5 for shipping.

[B]

That's, that's like a, that's like a game changer.

[A]

That is a disruptor, changing a lot of things. You know, it's crazy some things that we didn't even expect to see somebody because they see our, our costs, let alone our pricing now they, a lot of the, the bidding that goes on for different insurance companies and, and somebody did some research that said if for just 77 of our of our drugs, buying a Basic quantities. If Medicare buy from us instead of where they buy now, it would say $3.6 billion a year. And that's just 77 drugs. And you know, that's crazy. Now we've got more than 900, so you can see where it's going. But. But, you know, in this country in 2022, we should never be in a position where you have to choose between your rent, your food and your medication.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And we've been able to change that. And, you know, we were thought we were going to primarily deal with people without insurance, but as it turns out, not only were people without insurance really benefiting and saving a ton of money, but people with insurance were more often than not cheaper than people's CO pays.

[B]

Yeah, that's what I was going to say to you. Because CO pays alone are so high. Yeah.

[A]

So, I mean, you might have a $25 co pay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, and if any of our. You're buying a drug that less than 25 bucks, you're saving money, that is.

[B]

Well, actually, the other thing is, like, you have to hit a minimum. So for me, I don't even bother. I have to just pay out of pocket until I hit a place where it's so expensive that like this even, like it doesn't even matter where you are socioeconomically, it's so helpful.

[A]

Yep. So you check us out, Cost plus drugs dot com. Just go in there, look for the medication or your parents or your aunts, your uncles, your grandparents, whatever. And if we have it, we will save you money, guaranteed.

[B]

That's amazing. So, like, even like something like a good rx, Right. That was, you know, that crushed and all these other ones are coming in.

[A]

Go to Gooder X is great. But any of the coupon companies, what they do is they work within the system.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And so you'll see, like the Walmart's two, you know, two miles away is a different price than the Walmart's one mile away.

[B]

Right. And cvs, you know, can save you.

[A]

Different price then if you go. Yeah. And if they. If you go back two weeks later, it's a completely different price. And so with ours, it's just the same price.

[B]

Right.

[A]

No matter what. Now you can't just go pick it up because we mail it to you. Right. But it'll show up in three to seven days. And you can order as, you know, whatever quantity you want. And the more, the bigger the quantity. As long as your doctor prescribes it, the lower the price you'll pay. So, guys, out there that want, you know, generic calis. I mean, it's like 18 cents a tablet where it was, you know, who knows how much otherwise.

[B]

So how do you every. Like, how are you guys, like, what's your projection like by next year, are you going to have how many drugs and like, what's available to have over.

[A]

You know, close to 2000 by year end. And, you know, and there's other things like methyl. Methyl Roxane. I forget which drug it is that, you know, is really an issue right now because of Roe versus Wade being overturned.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You know, birth control. So our pricing, you know, both are generic. And so our pricing is so much lower. So people can buy, you know, birth control far less expensively than they could before.

[B]

Right.

[A]

This drug that has a lot of different uses, but because one of them is for. Could potentially cause a medical abortion, there's a lot of pharmacists who won't sell it now, particularly in Southern states. So we'll sell all that stuff. You know, as long as it's prescribable and we can carry it, we'll sell it.

[B]

That is. And I went last night and I looked around like, it's. So it's also very simple. Yeah. It's user friendly. Yeah.

[A]

Just put it in. Yeah. So, you know, if you're buying birth control, you just put in whatever brand you use and we'll show you the generic version and you can, you know, buy it. You know, what did I just say? I was talking to somebody. Three count 48, you know, for $25 or whatever is like just insanely low versus.

[B]

And also I saw there was a button there where it's like, well, if you don't have a drug, I can say, okay, I'm looking for.

[A]

Yeah, just sign up and tell us what drug you're looking for.

[B]

Yeah. And then what's the pro. Can you guys, like, if you get enough requests, are you guys.

[A]

We try to. Yeah, we try to. We're trying to add everything, but it's just good to know if we, you know, if we get a ton of people asking for one specific drug, then we'll prioritize that first.

[B]

Now, is that your major thing right now that you're excited for? Yeah, that's like. That you're super excited for. That is more than game changing. Like, I mean, when I heard it, when I initially heard about it, I was like, I was. I didn't even believe it because I thought it was too good to be true.

[A]

That's what a lot of people say, what's the catch? Yeah, you know, we don't sell your information. You don't have to pay a monthly fee, none of that stuff. You don't need a card. It's just straight up. You know, we take our cost plus 15%, and then we just hope we sell enough to cover all our costs.

[B]

And did I? Is it true that you guys now have already surpassed what you thought you were going to?

[A]

Yeah, I mean, we're way past what we thought would be two years in.

[B]

That's amazing.

[A]

Yeah, it's incredible.

[B]

So no wonder you're, like, all in on that one.

[A]

Yeah.