Robert Herjavec shares how he got his start on 'Shark Tank'

ByJanet Davies WLS logo
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Robert Herjavec shares how he got start on 'Shark Tank'
Robert Herjavec, one of the sharks who looks for money-making ventures, has also done a season on "Dancing With the Stars."

CHICAGO -- "Shark Tank" is still going strong with people pitching their ideas to a panel of investors.

Robert Herjavec, one of the sharks who looks for money-making ventures, has also done a season on "Dancing With the Stars."

When asked if he's ever wanted to be on TV before, Herjavec said, "Probably in the back of my mind... I'm incredibly arrogant and I have a big ego!"

He added, "I had to audition. The first couple comes out, I ask them about their business, the guy next to me starts talking over me. I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, that guy's so rude.' I start talking, guy cuts me off. I stand up and I say, 'If you do that again, I'm gonna take you outside and beat you.' That was Kevin, and we got the job on the same day.

Despite his success, Herjavec remains humble.

"I was born with no talent - and most of the other Sharks were born with no talent - and up until you had a show like ours and you watched people on TV that were successful, they would be sports stars or something," he said. "But our show, you have five people who have very varied backgrounds and we've all had some level of success."

But just because an idea is popular with the Sharks doesn't make it a home run.

"The breathometer," Herjavec recalled. "We all invested, all five of us, the first time all of us did a deal, we put in $150,000. They ended up not doing well, we all lost all our money."

Herjavec didn't win the Mirror Ball Trophy on "Dancing With The Stars," but he won the heart of partner Kym Johnson - and married her! So, he still loves the show.

"Isn't it remarkable how every season you always look at the cast and go, 'Oh no,'" he said. "And then you get sucked into it."

"Shark Tank" airs Sunday nights on ABC.