Thursday, September 30, 2010 |

First aired on Q (23/09/10)
Robert Herjavec achieved fortune by building and selling multi-million dollar companies. He emigrated to Canada with his family from Zgjeb, Croatia, when he was 10 years old and went on to discover his flair for finance. After graduating from the University of Toronto, Herjavec began his career in software sales for IBM before leaving to reach greater heights: developing, and selling for millions of dollars, his own software and internet security companies. Need numbers? AT&T purchased his internet security company BRAK Systems for $100 million and RAMP Networks, a company where he headed the sales department, was sold to Nokia for $225 million.
By 2006, Herjavec had already made a fortune — but he gained fame, too, when he agreed to sit on the panel of CBC-TV's Dragons' Den. On the show, now in its sixth season, aspiring entrepreneurs pitch to five business magnates for investment capital to take their company to the next level.
The CEO and CBC star has now added author to his lengthy resumé. His memoir, Driven, chronicles his rags-to-riches rise as well as offering wannabe tycoons principles to live and work by in order to achieve success.
While Herjavec enjoys the many perks of financial success, acquiring material goods isn't what drives him: it's the constant desire to better himself. Herjavec is always up for challenges and sees everything as an opportunity. It's this full-throttle approach to life that pushed him to sign up for Dragon's Den (a venture he was originally reluctant to join) and to write his memoirs — a task that he says is unlike anything else he's ever done.
"I think I'm successful because I love what I do," Herjavec explained to Q host Jian Ghomeshi. "Great money and great wealth, I always say, doesn't make you any different. It just makes you more of what you are."
Given this philosophy, we can't help but wonder what's next for Robert Herjavec.Related content:
Visit Q's website.
Visit Dragon Den's website.