Robert Herjavec & Kevin O’Leary: Business Moguls and TV Personalities

It is amazing how business moguls are now sharing their knowledge on TV.  On shows like: The Apprentice, How I Made my Millions and Shark Tank young entrepreneurs can learn a lot from experts in the business world. In this article I want to share with you my perspective on the lives, accomplishments and interesting facts about two of my favorite venture capitalists:  Robert Herjavec and Kevin O’Leary. 

Robert Herjavec is one of North America’s most notorious business leaders.  Robert’s story is impressive. At a young age he and his parents escaped from communism in Yugoslavia and migrated to Halifax, Canada.

His family was very poor and didn’t know the English language. Despite all of the harsh times he had to go through he became one of the biggest business technology moguls in Canada and the United States. In Canada he did all kinds of jobs including: waiter and newspaper delivery.  At that time he realized that there was a lot of money in technology and started his company Brak Systems. He later sold that company to AT & T for $100 million dollars. After that, he helped with the negotiation of another technology company to Nokia for $225 million dollars.  After retiring he formed The Herjavec Group, which is the fastest growing technology company in Canada.  

Robert is also known as a shark in the show Shark Tank.  On the show he is an investor of ideas and/or products that he thinks are going to succeed in the business realm.  I am a huge fan of Robert’s work and I have learned a lot from his book “Driven.” For what I’ve seen on the show and read on the book, Robert is an amazing human being that cares a lot for his family. Before doing business with anyone, he really wants to see that the person has knowledge and passion for that idea. As soon as I saw the way he advises young entrepreneurs with good and bad ideas I said to myself that is a real businessman. 

"If you're emotional and you're great at something, the money will follow." - Robert Herjavec

On the other hand, Kevin O’Leary’s story is different. Kevin grew up in a middle class family in Canada. He attended the University of Waterloo where he got his Bachelors Degree in Environmental Studies and Anthropology and he received his MBA from The University of Western Ontario. As you can see, Kevin’s life was different than Robert’s.

Kevin started his software company in his basement with two partners with a $10,000 dollar loan from his mother.  Later on, that software company was sold to Mattel Toy Company for the sum of $3.7 billion dollars.  This man definitely knows how to make money. After that, Kevin formed the O’Leary Funds, an investment company. He owns a wine company and a mortgage one, too. He also is venture capital investor on shows like Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank alongside with Robert Herjavec.

The first time I saw Kevin on Shark Tank I thought he was the meanest businessperson in the world, but then I realized that he is just very honest when he gives advice about money. He doesn’t care if he hurts your feelings; he just wants to know how he can make more money out of your idea and/or product. Despite of his ruthless personality, I think he is one of the smartest men when it comes to business.

"Do you want to be rich or not? Let's get focused on that, buddy" - Kevin O'Leary

"Here's how I think of my money -- as soldiers -- I send them out to war everyday. I want them to take prisoners and come home, so there's more of them." - Kevin O'Leary

Looking at these two different moguls and their experiences I have come to the conclusion that investors are looking for key components in a business plan such as, product or service, financial information, competitive analysis, market analysis, strategies, risk analysis, among other things.  These are the key elements to know if a business plan is going to succeed.

Always remember to show investors how they are going to get their money back in your financials; and when you are pitching your idea or product go well-prepared and demonstrate your passion and hard work towards your dream.