“Poverty wasn’t my mindset -“ Shark Tank investor Robert Herjavec opens up about his childhood

On February 5, an interview clip from The School of Greatness podcast was posted to the host Lewis Howes's Instagram account, where Robert Herjavec made an appearance. In the reel, Herjavec, a Shark Tank investor, recalled his childhood and shared his journey to changing his mindset and achieving success.

He said:

"Poverty wasn't my mindset. And I think that's a big difference."

The clip's caption mentions Robert's "humble beginnings" as an immigrant who came to Canada with his family.

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Shark Tank investor Robert Herjavec reflects on his journey to becoming successful

In the interview clip, the Shark Tank investor talked about his parents immigrating to Canada with one suitcase. Herjavec also said he would get bullied at school.

Despite the hardships his family faced and the financial crisis they were in, Herjavec believes poverty is a "learned mindset" and so is abundance. Opening about his childhood, he recalled:

"I remember the first day of school and kids picking on me, making fun of me, and telling me I'm a poor immigrant. I mean, it was my mom and dad escaping from a country, coming to Canada on a boat with one suitcase, didn't speak the language, had no money, my dad was in jail, and could never go back."

The Shark Tank star continued explaining how a car, house, or jet cannot bring fulfillment in his life. He said:

"I think poverty is a learned mindset and I think abundance is a learned mindset. There is no car I want to buy or no jet that I need to buy or no home I need to buy to fulfill me, I want to feel when I am on my deathbed that I say I couldn't have done more."

In another interview with the Toronto Water Front Magazine in September 2023, Herjevec shared details of his childhood in Croatia. He mentioned that he used to live in a village and didn't realize he was "poor" until he came to Canada.

Herjavec would wear the same clothes to school, his mom was a receptionist and his dad used to work at a factory.

Robert continued elaborating on how his childhood experiences shaped him and developed his mindset of getting out of poverty. The Shark Tank investor said:

"I think my experiences at nine made me who I am today. When you have something that’s challenging, it either breaks you or makes you. It definitely broke me for a while, but then I just got to a point where I didn’t want to be that person anymore."

Fans can follow Robert on his official Instagram account. All previous episodes of Shark Tank are available to stream exclusively on ABC.