Cold Hard Truth: Learning From Dragons Den’s Kevin O’Leary On Business, Money And Life Part 7

September 26, 2011

“Do you have a business degree?” the professor demanded.

What was his point?  Is earning a business degree an assurance of success for entrepreneurs?  Not really.  I had successfully launched and managed companies dealing with Internet security and other computer-related aspects, but I achieved it without formal business training.  Jim Treliving’s early business training included experience as an RCMP officer, a career he abandoned in favour of delivering pizza orders from his car, which also served from time to time as his office and bedroom.  From the start, he built a billion dollar corporation.” – from Driven  

“(The professor) stood at the head of the table, the ink not quite dry on the $200,00 (certified) check, and proceeded to launch a hail of insults at the people bringing real money to the table – the Dragons.  It was fascinating to watch this academic, this dilettante, hijack the proceedings, the camera following his every move.  For twelve minutes he wrote a bunch of numbers on a board, presumably to demonstrate to a guy like Jim Treliving, a man worth millions, how to run a business.  After a while, I tuned out what the man was actually saying, paying attention instead to how his arrogance and ignorance seemed to suddenly drain the lifeblood – and the money – right out of the room.  Still, this man held us rapt with his assertion that our $200,000 investment was rather “measly”.  It was mesmerizing“ – from Cold Hard Truth

“Jim, who had mentioned earlier in the meeting that he had flown to the meeting on his private jet, interrupted the professor’s harangue to say, “You know, I have no idea what you’re talking about” …The professor fixed Jim with a scowl.  “If you spent more time dealing with business instead of flying around on your jet maybe you would know the answer … “– from Driven

The professor said, “You guys should feel lucky you’re making this investment in the company … let’s be honest.  It’s only $200,000, and that’s not a lot of money to any of us.”

Filed under: Inspiration

Tags: angel, capital, den, Dragon, investor, shark, startup, tank, venture