Mark Cuban Says AI Job Seekers Should Target Small-To-Medium Companies Rather Than Big Corporations
The seasoned entrepreneur advises job seekers to dedicate their spare time to mastering AI, adding that smaller firms are the best places to showcase those skills.
Mark Cuban, the billionaire investor and serial entrepreneur, has long advocated that people of all ages should focus on building their understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) and put those skills to use in advancing their careers.
In a recent podcast, he suggested that job seekers should showcase their AI expertise to smaller firms rather than the big corporations pouring money into the technology. The 67-year-old investor advised job seekers to put their AI knowledge to work in small enterprises rather than trying to land positions at the corporate giants.
Speaking at the “Dumbest Guy in the Room” podcast with CivicScience CEO John Dick, he said, “They (small firms) have to compete differently, and they don’t have the resources to just, you know, have a huge IT department.”
“So, they’re going to go to kids just like we saw with the early days of the internet. You hired young kids who were more comfortable with it, who learned it already and could come in and implement new things.”
Cuban acknowledged that major corporations are pouring vast sums into developing and integrating AI systems capable of automating a wide range of tasks once handled by people. However, he noted that much of this investment is going towards attracting senior-level technical talent, leaving fewer openings for ordinary job seekers.
“The large companies are trying to use AI to cut back and they have the resources to understand how to implement it, apply it to processes. They have great AI people,” said Cuban.
He further explained how exploring job opportunities at small companies could work in favour of AI-skilled workers.
“Small- to medium-size companies don’t have that depth,” Cuban told CNBC. “They are typically entrepreneurially driven and don’t have the flexibility to have people research things. Bringing a new graduate on to work on agentic AI projects is inexpensive for them and can get them immediate results.”
Cuban added that smaller firms outnumber big corporations and tend to approach AI adoption in their own way, often relying on new hires to help them integrate the technology effectively. He pointed to his own company, Cost Plus Drugs, as proof of how this can be done in practice.
“Small- to medium-sized businesses like our size companies, we need people that understand AI and agentics, (and) can go and look at our processes and automate them using AI,” Cuban said.
“And as we grow it, you know, (recruits) help us become more productive, competitive, and profitable using AI. And so I think redirecting kids as they graduate from college, in particular, to small- to medium-sized businesses as opposed to trying to work for a big company (is wise),” he added.
