With Shark Tank Season 17 airing on CBS, millionaire investor Kevin O’Leary is in the limelight again. He has made a name for blunt feedback and hard-nosed deals. However, O’Leary does not feel that the directness is personal. He recently revealed that it is a habit learnt from his mother and one he leans on.
Kevin O’Leary prefers ‘to tell the truth’ on Shark Tank
The Canadian entrepreneur and TV personality, lovingly called Mr. Wonderful, revealed a simple rule his mother, Georgette, gave him that stuck. It is because he has seen honesty working better in business and in life.
Speaking to Parade, Kevin O’Leary explained, “I prefer to tell the truth; it’s so much easier that way. My mother told me early on, ‘If you always tell the truth, you will never have to remember what you said,’ and so I carried that forward.”
This has led O’Leary to speak his mind on Shark Tank, but it sometimes causes controversy on the internet. Undeterred, he continues to tell the truth and whether a business idea will work or not.
Mr. Wonderful added, “Not everybody likes my approach, and I don’t care. It’s important in business to explain that it’s just my opinion, but if I think it’s a loser, I am going to tell you why. I am not going to invest in it if I think it’s a dog, so come back with something else.”
Moreover, Kevin O’Leary sees himself as the reality check for business owners who pitch their companies on Shark Tank. He says that it is important to realize if a business is failing. Thus, he has no problem in telling the owners about the same, however mean it may sound.
O’Leary explained, “The whole thing is, when I see entrepreneurs three years into a deal and it’s not working, I say, ‘Not only are you wasting your valuable resource of money, you’re wasting your time.’ It is clear to me that you only have so many years, so why are you doing this stupid thing? It’s begging to be taken behind the barn and shot.”
The 71-year-old also emphasized the importance of accepting failure to achieve success. “You just have to deal with it, and if you can’t deal with it, you don’t understand the entrepreneurial journey. You have to accept failure and measure it and understand what you did wrong or why it didn’t work, and then get on with something else,” he elaborated.
Originally reported by Preksha Sharma on ComingSoon.net.
