Here's How Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec Built His $200 Million Empire
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Everyone wants to live in luxury just like how celebrities live an opulent lifestyle. Obviously, no one wants to live the rest of their lives suffering and wanting. This is the reason why people go to huge lengths to gain power and wealth. However, whether their money is gained through honest work or shady deals is anyone’s guess.
One inspiring man falls into the former category, amassing his vast richness through honest work and perseverance. Robert Herjavec, a judge on the TV show Shark Tank, is one of the world’s wealthiest businessmen. Robert reportedly has a net worth of $200 million. He also owns a couple of businesses, including founding his own: The Herjavec Group. But he wasn’t always this rich and famous.
He came from poverty and fled from conflict in his country. He started from the bottom as a newspaper delivery boy and worked his way into becoming the rich, successful man he is today. Curious to read more about Robert’s life and how he became a multi-millionaire? Keep on reading to find out!
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Robert Herjavec's Humble Beginnings
Robert Herjavec was born in Yugoslavia – now known as Croatia – in 1962. When he was eight years old, Robert and his family left the country. His father was previously incarcerated because he was a known dissenter against the regime. It was reported that Vladimir, his dad, was thrown into jail a total of 22 times. When the family arrived in Nova Scotia, they only had $20 and a single suitcase.
His family settled in Toronto where there's a lot of great restaurants around the city. A family friend offered their basement for over 18 months, just to help the family survive. Though the transition was difficult, Robert’s father eventually got a job at a factory with a salary of $76 a week. Robert says that his father was a really big influence on him. He recounted a time when he came home one day, complaining to his mom that his friends were making fun of him for being poor.
Robert’s dad heard this conversation and instructed Robert to never complain again. This became Robert’s guiding principle in life, one that even sparked a sense of courage in him. Robert also remembers a time when a traveling salesman persuaded his mom to buy a vacuum cleaner – one that was worth $500 or the equivalent of seven weeks of his dad’s salary. Due to this incident, Robert swore to protect his family from getting taken advantage of.
How Robert Herjavec Became A Multi-Millionaire
After Robert graduated with a degree in Political Science and English Literature from the prestigious University of Toronto, he worked odd jobs to support his family. This included delivering newspapers, waiting tables, and even working as a retail salesman. Soon after, Robert worked for a TV station called Global TV. He became a field producer for the Winter Olympic Games at the time. He also worked as an assistant director for a film called The Return of Billy Jack, and for another film called Cain and Abel.
He bid goodbye to his TV career and ventured into other industries. Robert landed a job at Logiquest, where he was expected to sell IBM mainframe emulation boards. The catch is though, he worked here for free. Though he earned no salary, he enjoyed the job immensely. He also made his way to become the president of the company, before he got fired in 1990.
Following his termination, Robert started a business with the founder of Avis Rent-A-Car, Warren Avis. Robert said that he became an entrepreneur because he needed to pay his mortgage. He later sold his business for $60,000. He used this as capital for his next venture.
The fellow Shark of Mr. Wonderful Kevin O'Leary turned all of his experience into making his own tech company: BRAK Systems, which he later sold to AT&T, a telecom company in the US, for $30.2 million. From there, Robert became the VP of Sales at another tech company called Ramp Network. He negotiated the sale of this company to Nokia for $225 million. Feeling content with his newfound wealth, he took a break to spend time with his wife and kids.
In 2003, he founded The Herjavec Group, which is a company that provides information security services to other companies. Because of his savvy mindset, Robert has grown his company’s sales to over $150 million within eleven years.
While Robert achieved his dreams, he remains humble and passionate about his work. He’s often giving out business advice to others, saying that people shouldn’t start a business that they don’t feel passionate about.
Robert Herjavec's Shark Tank Success
Robert is also recognized as one of the world’s top investors. He is a cast member of the show Shark Tank, where young entrepreneurs appear as contestants and pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges. This panel of judges, also known as the sharks, gets to choose whom they want to invest in. Some examples of the investments that Robert has made are Buggy Beds. Essentially, these beds have a system for bed bugs. All five sharks wanted to invest in this venture, but Robert won the heart of the owner.
Another one is Tipsy Elves, one of the show’s most popular and innovative business ventures. The company produces funky and fun-looking sweaters and clothing options for different occasions. Robert offered $100,000 to Tipsy Elves for 10% of its equity return. Currently, the company’s sales have an estimated $8 million. Talk about having a keen eye for gold!
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Sources: Business News Daily, Capitalism, Insider Growth
