According to Fortune, billionaire Mark Cuban is telling his two college-age children to prioritize small companies over large corporations when job hunting. The Shark Tank star, worth $6 billion, argues that at big companies, AI skills feel “somewhat extraneous” since established IT teams already have that expertise. Meanwhile, 37% of small business owners currently use AI tools, with 71% planning to increase their investment. Cuban says small companies lack the resources for AI research and need graduates who can build “agentic AI projects” that deliver immediate results. This advice lands as Gen Z job seekers struggle because AI has replaced many entry-level tasks like data cleaning and summarization that used to get them in the door.
Why small companies need you
Here’s the thing Cuban gets that most people miss: small businesses are desperate for what recent graduates bring. They don’t have massive IT departments. They can’t afford teams of researchers. Basically, they’re running lean and need solutions yesterday. Cuban told Fortune that candidates stand out by building simple AI agents that automate the time-consuming tasks that normally go undone because “manual labor is too expensive.” Think about all those spreadsheets nobody wants to touch, receipt checking, editing work – the boring stuff that piles up. Small companies will literally pay you to make those problems disappear with AI.
The AI productivity gap
Now here’s where it gets really interesting. There’s a massive divide opening up between big and small companies when it comes to AI adoption. Since ChatGPT launched in 2022, the S&P 500 is up 74% while the small-cap Russell 2000 is only up 39%. That’s a huge gap. Large corporations are aggressively deploying AI tools and sometimes cutting headcount – a World Economic Forum survey found 40% of companies expect to reduce workforces in roles AI can automate. But small companies? They’re falling behind because they don’t have the resources. Which means they need people like Cuban’s kids to bridge that gap.
What you actually need to know
Cuban says it only takes “a basic understanding of programming and how AI models create agents” to make yourself valuable. I think he’s right – you don’t need to be an AI PhD. You just need to understand how to apply these tools to real business problems. On The Dumbest Guy In the Room podcast, he put it bluntly: “There’s going to be two types of companies in this country: There’s going to be those who are great at AI and those who used to be in business.” That might sound dramatic, but look at the numbers from that CNBC|Survey Monkey study – 71% of small businesses planning to increase AI investment means they’re ready to hire people who can deliver results.
The bigger picture
So what does this mean for job seekers? Basically, stop thinking about AI as just another skill on your resume. Think of it as your ticket to becoming essential at companies that desperately need help. Large corporations might offer stability, but will you really stand out? Probably not. Small companies give you the chance to make immediate impact. And in today’s job market, where AI has eliminated many traditional entry-level roles, creating your own path might be the smartest move. Cuban’s advice to his kids reflects a fundamental shift – the value isn’t just in knowing AI, but in knowing where that knowledge matters most.
