{"id":5404,"date":"2025-07-27T09:04:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T09:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404"},"modified":"2025-07-27T18:14:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T18:14:06","slug":"shark-tank-icon-kevin-oleary-reveals-the-3-things-he-looks-for-when-investing-his-millions-into-a-founder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Shark Tank\u2019 icon Kevin O\u2019Leary reveals the 3 things he looks for when investing his millions into a founder"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Multimillionaire entrepreneur Kevin O\u2019Leary knows a thing or two about picking the right people and ideas to invest in. Having worked with greats like Steve Jobs, not to mention his success on Shark Tank <\/em>backing businesses generating millions, he\u2019s picked up on a few key qualities in great founders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

O\u2019Leary looks for three qualities in the people he chooses to do business with. The 71-year-old investor tells Fortune<\/em> the most critical trait is having \u201cfounder\u2019s mindset\u201d: adopting a frame of mind that prioritizes \u201csignal,\u201d or what has to get done in the next 18 hours, while drowning out the \u201cnoise\u201d of everyday life and complications. He witnessed this demeanor while working with Jobs, when Apple was partnering with O\u2019Leary\u2019s $4.2 billion software company SoftKey Software Products. He requires that the founders he invests in have that same leadership ethos\u2014even if it\u2019s a quality that\u2019s hard to come by.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ability to see all the noise coming at you and filter it out, and focus on the three to five things you\u2019re going to get done, that\u2019s a remarkable attribute,\u201d O\u2019Leary tells Fortune.<\/em> \u201cYou find that in 30% of the people. Then you want to back those people, because if they\u2019re not successful in their first mandate, they\u2019re going to figure it out. That attribute is very important.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to the signal versus the noise, he currently operates on a 80:20 balance, just like Jobs did while running Apple, and looks for entrepreneurs who can keep their eye on the ball. <\/p>\n

O\u2019Leary admits that he didn\u2019t always have the right ratio in embodying the founder\u2019s mindset\u2014but now has achieved it, and looks for it in others.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to decide everyday, every 18 hours, what three to five things you have to get done,\u201d O\u2019Leary says. \u201cIt\u2019s not the big vision. It\u2019s what you have to get done in the next 18 hours that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two other traits a founder needs to have O\u2019Leary\u2019s backing<\/h2>\n

O\u2019Leary has heard hundreds\u2014if not thousands\u2014of entrepreneurs plead their business case while starring on Shark Tank. <\/em>Thanks to his intuition from decades in the game, he\u2019s worked alongside and invested in a lot of winners.<\/p>\n

In 2014, O\u2019Leary put $150,000 down for 80% of licensing profits of small photo-book subscription service Groovebook, which was later bought by Shutterfly for $14.5 million, making it one of the show\u2019s biggest acquisitions. <\/p>\n

He also had luck with<\/a> sustainable cleaning-products business Blueland, investing $270,000 for 3% equity and $0.50 per unit royalty until principal was recouped. By 2022, Blueland made over $100 million in lifetime sales and profitability, with its products now flying off the shelves of Target and Whole Foods every 10 seconds.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear the serial investor has developed a keen eye for what will work well. In addition to the \u201cfounder\u2019s mindset,\u201d the serial investor also emphasizes the importance of having a balanced listening-to-talking ratio and strong executional skills, which he says is \u201cimpossible to find.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He says he didn\u2019t always get the talking-to-listening balance right. Wall Street and Silicon Valley executives may think they should be the loudest and most outspoken people in the room\u2014but taking a backseat and giving others the floor is important, too. Not enough listening and too much talking may stifle great business ideas that get drowned out.<\/p>\n

\u201cReverse the ratio of talking and listening. Most people love to hear themselves talk\u2014I was guilty of that for years, and I\u2019ve reversed it,\u201d O\u2019Leary says. \u201cI listen two thirds of the time, and I talk one third of the time. That\u2019s my new ratio, and it\u2019s much more powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lastly, the baby boomer investor looks for unparalleled executional skills. Coming up with the next billion-dollar business venture is one thing, but getting it off the ground is another. <\/p>\n

O\u2019Leary looks for founders and teams that can get the job done\u2014even if it takes more than one try. Being an excellent executor doesn\u2019t always mean hitting a home run your first time at bat. Sometimes, O\u2019Leary says, investors and entrepreneurs need a little karma and luck.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat ideas are dime a dozen\u2014executional skills are impossible to find,\u201d O\u2019Leary continues. \u201cI\u2019ve invested in lots of teams over the years that screw up their first deal, they go to zero, and then I invest again, and I get a huge hit, because I know they\u2019re good.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m working on a deal right now with a team that I just finished a great execution with, and hopefully will be good on the second one. I like to work with people that I know have proven executional skills.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Multimillionaire entrepreneur Kevin O\u2019Leary knows a thing or two about picking the right people and ideas to invest in. Having worked with greats like Steve Jobs, not to mention his…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":5405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[902,2457,6669,3477,2635,6668,2069,2778,2779],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Shark Tank\u2019 icon Kevin O\u2019Leary reveals the 3 things he looks for when investing his millions into a founder - Frisco Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The multimillionaire entrepreneur and investor looks to do business with entrepreneurs who have a \u201cfounder\u2019s mindset."\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Shark Tank\u2019 icon Kevin O\u2019Leary reveals the 3 things he looks for when investing his millions into a founder - Frisco Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The multimillionaire entrepreneur and investor looks to do business with entrepreneurs who have a \u201cfounder\u2019s mindset."\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Frisco Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-27T09:04:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-27T18:14:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2199911221-e1753466926370.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Emma Burleigh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@FriscoTimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@FriscoTimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Emma Burleigh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Emma Burleigh\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/13d342c11e70527a91a87971d84701a0\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018Shark Tank\u2019 icon Kevin O\u2019Leary reveals the 3 things he looks for when investing his millions into a founder\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-27T09:04:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-27T18:14:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404\"},\"wordCount\":815,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2199911221-e1753466926370.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"founder\",\"icon\",\"investing\",\"Kevin\",\"millions\",\"OLeary\",\"reveals\",\"Shark\",\"Tank\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404\",\"name\":\"\u2018Shark Tank\u2019 icon Kevin O\u2019Leary reveals the 3 things he looks for when investing his millions into a founder - Frisco Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2199911221-e1753466926370.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-27T09:04:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-27T18:14:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"The multimillionaire entrepreneur and investor looks to do business with entrepreneurs who have a \u201cfounder\u2019s mindset."\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2199911221-e1753466926370.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2199911221-e1753466926370.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018Shark Tank\u2019 icon Kevin O\u2019Leary reveals the 3 things he looks for when investing his millions into a founder\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/\",\"name\":\"Frisco Times\",\"description\":\"Your Gateway to San Francisco's Stories\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Frisco Times\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cropped-\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cropped-\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Frisco Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/FriscoTimes\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/friscotimes\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/13d342c11e70527a91a87971d84701a0\",\"name\":\"Emma Burleigh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Emma Burleigh\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?author=365\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018Shark Tank\u2019 icon Kevin O\u2019Leary reveals the 3 things he looks for when investing his millions into a founder - Frisco Times","description":"The multimillionaire entrepreneur and investor looks to do business with entrepreneurs who have a \u201cfounder\u2019s mindset."","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018Shark Tank\u2019 icon Kevin O\u2019Leary reveals the 3 things he looks for when investing his millions into a founder - Frisco Times","og_description":"The multimillionaire entrepreneur and investor looks to do business with entrepreneurs who have a \u201cfounder\u2019s mindset."","og_url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404","og_site_name":"Frisco Times","article_published_time":"2025-07-27T09:04:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-27T18:14:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2199911221-e1753466926370.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Emma Burleigh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@FriscoTimes","twitter_site":"@FriscoTimes","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Emma Burleigh","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404"},"author":{"name":"Emma Burleigh","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/13d342c11e70527a91a87971d84701a0"},"headline":"\u2018Shark Tank\u2019 icon Kevin O\u2019Leary reveals the 3 things he looks for when investing his millions into a founder","datePublished":"2025-07-27T09:04:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-27T18:14:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404"},"wordCount":815,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2199911221-e1753466926370.jpg","keywords":["founder","icon","investing","Kevin","millions","OLeary","reveals","Shark","Tank"],"articleSection":["Business"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404","name":"\u2018Shark Tank\u2019 icon Kevin O\u2019Leary reveals the 3 things he looks for when investing his millions into a founder - Frisco Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2199911221-e1753466926370.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-27T09:04:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-27T18:14:06+00:00","description":"The multimillionaire entrepreneur and investor looks to do business with entrepreneurs who have a \u201cfounder\u2019s mindset."","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2199911221-e1753466926370.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2199911221-e1753466926370.jpg","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=5404#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018Shark Tank\u2019 icon Kevin O\u2019Leary reveals the 3 things he looks for when investing his millions into a founder"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/","name":"Frisco Times","description":"Your Gateway to San Francisco's Stories","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#organization","name":"Frisco Times","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cropped-\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cropped-\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20240625172131.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Frisco Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/FriscoTimes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/friscotimes\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/13d342c11e70527a91a87971d84701a0","name":"Emma Burleigh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g","caption":"Emma Burleigh"},"url":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?author=365"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5404"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/365"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5404"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5406,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5404\/revisions\/5406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}