GoKawiilShark Tank's Robert Herjavec details refugee-to-entrepreneur path in WSJ profile
Robert Herjavec, an investor on ABC's 'Shark Tank,' recounted to the Wall Street Journal how his family fled Yugoslavia in 1970 with just $50 after his father was repeatedly arrested for opposing the Communist Party. He described arriving in Canada unable to speak English, working an unpaid office manager job in his early 20s to break into tech, and eventually earning equity that funded his 1990 founding of the Herjavec Group, an IT security firm.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The account frames Herjavec's business success as rooted in immigrant hardship and unpaid early labor, a narrative that reinforces his public persona on 'Shark Tank' as a mentor to entrepreneurs. His story also illustrates how sweat equity and unpaid work-for-stake arrangements can function as an alternative path into business ownership.
- Herjavec's family fled Yugoslavia in 1970 with $50 after his father's repeated arrests.
- He took an unpaid office manager job in his 20s that later turned into company equity.
- That payout funded the 1990 founding of Herjavec Group, now a major Canadian private company.
Source: entrepreneur.com — Jon Small, 2026-09-24
Published there as: “‘Shark Tank’ Star Robert Herjavec Shares His Incredible Origin Story: Immigrated With Just $50, Didn’t Speak English and Started in Business Working for Free”
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