Star of ABC’s Shark Tank, top business speaker, serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist and investor, featured in Harvard Business Review case study in 2023

Kevin O’Leary’s success story began in his native Canada, “with a big idea and zero cash.” In 1986, he founded SoftKey Software Products, later to be called The Learning Company, in his Toronto basement. Under O’Leary’s leadership, the company became a giant in its sector before it was acquired for $4.2 billion. Since then, O’Leary has founded or cofounded several ventures to great success.

Reflecting his commitment to “eco-preneurship,” O’Leary also co-hosted The Discovery Channel’s Project Earth series, which explored radical ideas to combat global warming.

A strong believer in financial education and fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs, O’Leary is the author of a bestselling series of books: Cold Hard Truth; Men, Women and Money; and Family, Kids and Money. He has spoken to future entrepreneurs at Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Notre Dame, Waterloo and McGill.

O’Leary received an honors bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and psychology from the University of Waterloo and an MBA in entrepreneurship from the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario.