Kevin O’Leary became a household name after being one of the original dragons on “Dragons’ Den,” following that up with a number of books and a spot on the US version of the reality show “Shark Tank.” Today O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, is known from coast to coast as the brutally honest (and sometimes harsh) investment mogul who is also extremely intelligent, well-spoken, and charitable – which is why Bell Media has acquired him to appear as an expert on a number of their TV and radio programs.
Despite his busy schedule, O’Leary talked to CraveOnline at 5pm on a Friday afternoon, bantering about being fired from his first job (which was humiliating and the best thing that could have ever happened to him, he said), the groundbreaking new season of “Shark Tank,” and where O’Leary would invest his money if he had to start building his empire from scratch.
CraveOnline: Tell us about your new job with Bell Media?
Kevin O’Leary: It’s an interesting dilemma for someone like me who has spent a lot of time with the CBC and had a great outcome. But shooting “Shark Tank” for the past four months (it’s going to be extraordinary TV), I want to be close to that asset and CTV is airing it – I believe it will be a remarkable hit, no question about it, and I wanted to get closer to that asset and be a part of what will happen on CTV. They also have other properties that I’m interested in.
I’m not a journalist but a columnist – I’m trying to get the loudest voice I can get and CTV is it. They have such a broad platform for someone like me.
Can you tell us about the upcoming season of “Shark Tank”?
It’s the sixth season and has become one of the top-viewed shows in North America for families. It’s an iconic show because we bring products on there and they sell millions within that first weekend. It’s a remarkable platform. “Shark Tank” deals with all different areas of business: biotech, consumer goods, all kinds of technology, defense, and people interested in business can watch from anywhere in the world and learn something. I think it will have a long run. We’re now shooting this season and you ain’t seen nothing yet. It’s off the charts!
How did the nickname “Mr. Wonderful” come about?
I’ve been trying to find the moment it occurred. I’m the only shark that tells the truth and it gets me into trouble. I think it happened in Season 1 – I made an offer and Barbara (Corcoran) thought I was being too aggressive. And she said to me, “Well aren’t you ‘Mr. Wonderful’” and I said, “Yes I am.” It’s now what people know me as. I show up in Des Moines, Iowa and my hotel reservation is under “Mr. Wonderful.”
Do you ever watch the show?
I do watch it because I’m so interested to see how they edit it. It’s remarkable because most of those deals you see on “Shark Tank” are actually very long presentations. We can only put 7-8 minutes on TV, so I love to see how they edit it to fit. I actually helped an editor I know get a job at “Shark Tank” because he was so masterful at cutting and keeping the story intact. I’m always fascinated to watch the show because I remember the whole 1½ hour pitch, particularly the deals that I close, and it’s interesting to see them in 6 ½ minutes.
Do you ever think “I was too harsh” or “I wasn’t harsh enough”?
No. I never worry about that. If you always tell the truth all the time you never have to remember what you said ever. When it’s coming out of my mouth I’m always measuring, “Is this honest?” I may hurt their feelings but it’s irrelevant – in money it’s black and white.
At what age did your infatuation with money begin?
I was working at an ice cream store at my first job ever. I was a teen in grade 10 and got a job as a scooper at McGoo’s ice cream parlour in the mall. My second day there my boss told me, “You’ve gotta scrape the gum off of the floor,” so I said, “No, I was hired as a scooper – I don’t do gum,” and she told me, “Yes you do – you do whatever I say,” and she fired me. That was very important because it was very humiliating. I had to bike home and tell my parents and I was terrified and humiliated. And I realized then that it’s very bad if you’re not the boss. It was a life experience for me and I decided then that I would never work for anybody again and I never did.
I’ve tried to find that woman because she gave me such a great gift – she gave me a reason to never be an employee. The funny thing is, today I could buy that mall and bulldoze it!
If you had to build your fortune over again from the ground up, where would you start?
I think I’d work in Asian markets and maybe South America and Brazil. The economy in North America has stagnated for a long time. We’ve had our great periods of growth but when I look at the opportunities, you should be servicing something in a market like Cambodia, Ethiopia, where growth is 20%. So I think that the next big thing is Asia.
Photo: Brian To/WENN.com
