Robert Herjavec

Robert Herjavec has been on Shark Tank since the very first episode. He’s one of the original sharks, and over the years he’s become known as the nice one. Not pushover nice, just genuinely warm with the entrepreneurs who come through. He gets excited about products, he empathizes with founders, and he doesn’t tear people apart for fun. That said, he can still say no when the numbers don’t work.

His backstory is a big part of who he is on the show. Herjavec was born in Varaždin, Croatia, and his family immigrated to Canada when he was eight. They arrived with almost nothing. His dad worked in a factory. Robert has told the story many times about how his father never complained, just worked. That immigrant experience clearly shaped his whole approach to business.

He got into tech, founding BRAK Systems, a cybersecurity company that he sold to AT&T Canada in 2000 for $30.2 million. Then in 2003 he started The Herjavec Group, which grew into one of the largest IT security companies in Canada, doing over $200 million in annual revenue. Cybersecurity isn’t the flashiest industry, but it’s one where the stakes are real and the clients don’t mess around.

On Shark Tank, Robert tends to gravitate toward tech companies and products with clear consumer appeal. He’s good at seeing whether something can scale. And he has a habit of making deals that other sharks pass on, sometimes just because he believes in the person.

He also did Dancing with the Stars in 2015, which is how he met his wife Kym Johnson. That’s not really a business achievement but people always bring it up, so there you go.

Some career highlights:

• Original Shark Tank cast member since season 1
• Founded BRAK Systems, sold to AT&T Canada for $30.2 million
• Founded The Herjavec Group, one of Canada’s largest cybersecurity firms
• Immigrated to Canada from Croatia as a child, built his career from scratch