Image from kevinoleary.com

We recently had a chance to speak with Kevin O’Leary of Dragon’s Den fame and get his insights on the future of Canada’s economy, building a personal brand, careers and more.

A big thanks to Massive Media and MNP for putting on the event with Kevin on November 8th, and helping to make this happen.

Enjoy the interview:

Interview Transcript (in progress draft)

Welcome everyone this is Michael Zipursky of FreshGigs.ca and today we have someone special on the line. I have with us none other than Kevin O’Leary. Kevin is well known as a Star on the T.V shows Dragons Den in Canada and Shark Tank in the U.S. He’s launched his own line of wine called “O’Leary Fine Wines” and is a founder at O’Leary Funds, an investment fund. Kevin, welcome.

Kevin O’ Leary: Thank you very much.

Michael Zipursky: I want to start by asking you about branding. You’re a master of personal branding which is evident from your success on T.V and your other ventures. What would you suggest to someone that wants to build their own personal brand, what attributes are important, what actions would you say are necessary and can you share with us some specific steps that you took?

If you’re always worried what other people think of you, you won’t establish your brand and you won’t break through.

Kevin O’ Leary: I think the key to brand building for an individual is honesty. [Each person can connect that to either print, radio, television, internet whatever vehicle they are using. Their communication has to be based on honesty and a two-way dialogue.] And sometimes that’s difficult because sometimes particularly in my case the truth is sometimes quiet brutal because we are dealing with money which is very black and white. So, sometimes it’s very harsh to say to somebody, this is a bad idea you’re losing your money I wouldn’t invest in you. But that’s the truth and I think all the time at least in my case being honest has benefited me…and has enabled me to build a brand around financial services and goods… I mean that’s what I do. Wine is a hobby of mine obviously but may main businesses are O’Leary Funds we have [over a billion dollars] under management, O’Leary mortgages which I am launching very soon and I am very proud of that. But it is based on the appeal that you can trust me even though my message maybe harsh. And you know that is the truth as far as I’m concerned and I think it’s important.

Michael Zipursky: There may be people listening to this that want to be able to express their opinion so clearly but find it a real challenge because they don’t want to hurt people’s feelings or go up against the status quo. What would you say to those people?

Kevin O’ Leary: Well, that’s a mistake. If you’re always worried what other people think of you, you won’t establish your brand and you won’t break through. You can’t do that. You have to be honest to yourself above all. Speak your message the way you feel that make sense to you. It maybe not connect with everybody. [You can’t try to please everybody.] And the key to telling the truth is you always speak the truth and you never have to remember what you said. It will always be the truth today, tomorrow or a hundred years from now. So, at the end of the day that’s what I have found has been the constant. The other challenge of brand building that people want to communicate is finding the platform that fits them.  I’ve seen tremendous successes on the internet, great successes on the radio, in print, in television it’s difficult to be good at all things so you’ve got to find out the one that fits your personality and work with that. And I think that there’s a lot of trial and error too. I’ve been doing this now for 11 years and I found that it works for me or it doesn’t.

Micheal Zipursky: Kevin, you are on both Dragon’s Den in Canada and Shark Tank in the U.S. You’ve done business in both countries. What are the real differences between working and doing business in Canada versus the U.S? Continue reading →