"Made me who I am" Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec talks career tragedies and childhood 

From dirt floors in Croatia to a $600 million business empire, Robert Herjavec's journey reads like a Hollywood script. The Shark Tank star's rags-to-riches story took root when his family moved to Canada when he was just eight years old.

It was here that young Robert first faced the harsh realities of poverty in a new country. As he told Waterfront Magazine, wearing the same clothes daily led to ridicule from his classmates.

"That was a really shaping moment for me. I think my experiences at nine made me who I am today," Herjavec reflected.

Although he is now well-known because of his appearances on Shark Tank and Dragons' Den, Robert Herjavec didn't have an easy road to success. Rather, it was based on tenacity, unforeseen professional changes, and personal hardships that almost brought everything to a halt. His tale is a tribute to the strength of tenacity, demonstrating how the most trying times in life can spur remarkable achievement.

Robert Herjavec’s journey to success explored

Herjavec's early life in Croatia was marked by what he didn't know he was missing. Living in a small village with unpaved roads and dirt floors, poverty was his normal, until the family moved to Canada. The culture shock was immediate and harsh. Other children's reactions to his repeated outfits became a turning point, igniting a drive that would fuel his future success.

It's a common misconception that Robert Herjavec's first dream was to become an entrepreneur. After losing work and having to scramble to pay his expenses, life pushed him to make a decision. He first tried to balance his new business endeavor with his job, but ultimately he had to make a difficult choice.

His decision to fully commit to entrepreneurship paid off handsomely; he went on to sell his business for $30 million, setting the foundation for an empire worth $600 million.

Despite his financial success, Robert Herjavec's journey hasn't been without its valleys. During one particularly challenging period, overwhelming despair led him to seek purpose through volunteering at a Seattle homeless shelter.

This experience proved transformative, as he witnessed how people with far less could maintain hope and positivity. The lesson reshaped his perspective on adversity and success.

Behind the Shark Tank cameras

In his book "You Don't Have to be a Shark," Robert Herjavec pulls back the curtain on the show's intense filming schedule. The three-day filming cycles each have their own character. Day one serves as a warm-up, with the Sharks reuniting and catching up. Day two marks peak performance – "Day two is inevitably the best," Herjavec notes, as the investors are fully focused and most likely to make deals.

By day three, fatigue sets in. The pressures of being away from their businesses mount, and as Herjavec explains:

"It also becomes trickier to overlook little annoyances that were easy to shrug off a day or two earlier."

This tension occasionally boils over into dramatic moments, like his heated Season 6 argument with Lori Greiner and Daymond John over an entrepreneur's "handout."

Today's $600 million empire stands as a testament to Robert Herjavec's resilience and business acumen. From the Croatian child who didn't know he was poor to the savvy investor making deals on national television, his journey embodies the classic American dream.

Yet it's perhaps his openness about the struggles along the way – both personal and professional – that makes his story particularly compelling. In sharing both his triumphs and challenges, Herjavec offers a blueprint not just for business success, but for personal growth through adversity.

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Every season of Shark Tank is available to stream on Peacock.