Kevin O'Leary
Kevin O'Leary
Terence Thomas Kevin O'Learyis a Canadian businessman, investor, journalist, writer, financial commentator and television personality. He is co-founder and Chairman of O'Leary Funds and the co-founder of SoftKey. He previously served as a commentator on Canada's CBC Television and CBC News Network, on the programme The Lang and O'Leary Exchange and hosted Redemption Inc. He is an investor on the ABC reality television series Shark Tank and was a venture capitalist "Dragon" on CBC Television's Dragons' Den...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionEntrepreneur
Date of Birth9 July 1954
CityMontreal, Canada
CountryCanada
Software is becoming no different than a videotape or a record album or a paperback book, and not all of us are ready for that change.
For whatever reason somebody can be convinced to buy a PC, it opens up a whole new market for all of us in the software business.
Until Americans feel that their core asset - their homes - are stabilized, they are not going to have the animal spirits and they will continue to have less buying power.
I'm not trying to make friends, I'm just trying to make money.
There's something very visceral about watching people beg for money. It's powerful.
Don't cry for money. It never cries for you.
I don't mind rude people. I want people that I can make money with, so if their executional abilities are good, and they're arrogant and rude, I don't care.
My problem with unions is they breed mediocrity.
Working 24 hours a day isn't enough anymore. You have to be willing to sacrifice everything to be successful, including your personal life, your family life, maybe more. If people think it's any less, they're wrong, and they will fail.
When you're an investor, you can look at the quantitative and qualitative elements of an investment, but there's a third aspect: What you feel in your gut.
We knew they were a good skating team. We came out trying to force their hand with some hitting and our guys got caught up in that a little bit too much. We lost sight of the puck and they're a very good team. They find their open players very well.
I'm proud to be on the CBC and to see the management here represents both sides of every story. This is what's unique about the new CBC: you get a Kevin O'Leary on it when five years ago you wouldn't.
Know everything about the companies and people you are going to be negotiating with. Insist on getting the names of everyone participating in the negotiations. Leave no stone unturned; find out as much as you can.
Once in a while, I see my fellow TV investors praise a business just because they like the entrepreneur behind it. That kind of thinking might make you feel warm and fuzzy inside - but let's get back to reality.