The Founder’s Mindset: Insights from Kevin O’Leary

What this episode is about

The discussion focuses on the pivotal mindset of successful entrepreneurship, emphasizing the importance of results over aesthetics in leadership and business performance. Kevin O'Leary shares his fundamental belief that the core of entrepreneurship lies in achieving tangible outcomes, driven by a deeper sense of purpose and commitment to excellence.

Key takeaways

• Results are the business equivalent of the score on the scoreboard; no goals, no wins.
• In a world full of opinions, only the bottom line speaks the truth: profit or loss.
• Ignoring results? That’s like playing a game without keeping track of the score—utterly pointless.
• Your critics may fuel your fire, but your results are the only endorsement that matters.
• In business, be a results junkie; it’s the only habit that pays dividends in legacy.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Mick Hunt (Host) · 15 min speaking
• Kevin O'Leary (Guest) · 22 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Insurance, Results, Wondercare, Kevin O'Leary
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Results, Founders Mindset, Shark Tank, Harvard
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Founders Mindset, Results
4. 15:00 – 20:00: Venture Capital, Shark Tank
5. 20:00 – 25:00: Tequila, QVC
6. 25:00 – 30:00: Results, Founders Mindset, Marty Supreme

Notable quotes from "The Founder’s Mindset: Insights from Kevin O’Leary"

• Unplugged. And today we are talking to my blueprint. He's the man who turned discipline into currency and results into legacy. Before the world called him Mr. Wonderful, I…

  about Results · at 0:04

• What drives me and what my because is I absolutely love it when people tell me I can't do something and that I shouldn't try because I'll never make it. I love that. I absolutely love that.

  about Kevin O'Leary · at 1:56

• Yeah, there's always a way if you're motivated. And I'm kicking ass with Wondercare right now. And I'm proud. So, all those people that told me I couldn't do it, [ __ ] you.

  about Wondercare · at 4:04

• About in teaching cohorts of young, I'm an executive fellow at Harvard, so I teach the HBA, the MBA, and the executive program, and I'm honored to do that. my son is going there right now and he won't come to my.

  about Harvard · at 7:55

• Because that's they don't have what it takes. And then there's a third that have the founders mindset that have in their head no matter how many times they try they're going to and they fail they're going to keep going till they win.

  about Founders Mindset · at 8:58

• Such extraordinary outcomes that they pay for all the mistakes. And so you're betting on a 20% outcome. We do slightly better on Shark Tank because we have television…

  about Shark Tank · at 16:47

• Absolutely. Absolutely. Another passion that we have is tequila. You have a couple of brands that I love and are some of my favorites. And one of my best friends in the world is celebrity.

  about Tequila · at 20:52

• Have an exclusive partnership with QVC because they buy all my production, all of it. And I sell millions of bottles a year with them. You can just order it on QVC. But it's…

  about QVC · at 22:14

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Kevin O'Leary — Person · Main guest · 1 mention · first at 4:07
  He is the featured guest ('Mr. Wonderful') discussing discipline, results, venture investing, and building businesses (e.g., Wondercare, tequila, QVC wine). His philosophies anchor the episode's guidance for entrepreneurs.

Companies & orgs

• Wondercare — Company · Referenced company / case study · 2 mentions · first at 3:35
  O'Leary cites Wondercare as proof he can enter hard markets by mobilizing followers to generate thousands of policy requests with near-zero acquisition cost.
• Harvard — Company · Referenced institution · 1 mention · first at 8:01
  O'Leary cites his role teaching at Harvard to support his views on consultants vs founders and to describe observed population segments in business cohorts.
• QVC — Company · Referenced distribution partner · 1 mention · first at 22:14
  O'Leary cites QVC as a key channel that buys his wine production and enables high-volume sales, illustrating scalable distribution partnerships.

Concepts & topics

• Results — Concept · Core topic · 9 mentions · first at 0:09
  A central theme: results are framed as the measurable language of business, tied to credibility, freedom, and leadership respect rather than likability.
• Founders Mindset — Concept · Core topic · 5 mentions · first at 9:02
  O'Leary describes it as the ability to operate amid constant risk, persist through repeated failure, and handle emotional volatility (euphoria/depression) in startups.
• Venture Capital — Concept · Core topic · 4 mentions · first at 16:14
  O'Leary explains venture math (10 deals, 2 winners), return of capital vs return on capital, and why royalties mitigate risk in high-risk startup investing.
  Then the first dollar in is where you return. So a million and $1, you've made $1 return. So the concept is return of capital, not return on capital, is what you're looking for in venture investing.
• Insurance — Concept · Core topic / example industry · 4 mentions · first at 2:23
  Insurance is used as O'Leary's example of breaking into a regulated, incumbent-dominated market via audience leverage; it also connects to Mick Hunt's career background.
  Watch insurance. The insurance market is incredibly difficult to break into because it's highly regulated in every state and it's impossible to acquire customers from the behemoths.
• Tequila — Concept · Referenced product category · 4 mentions · first at 20:52
  Used to discuss O'Leary's consumer product philosophy: purity, no additives, premium positioning, and direct-to-consumer sales via his website.
• American Dream — Concept · Referenced concept / motivational frame · 1 mention · first at 5:04
  O'Leary frames entrepreneurship as the American Dream: identify a pain point, build a solution, and persist despite naysayers to create wealth and freedom.
  Team of people that come with me and I want to make them all rich and I just, this is the American dream.

Media & podcasts

• Shark Tank — Media · Referenced media platform · 4 mentions · first at 8:13
  Used as the primary context for O'Leary's investing approach (royalties, venture risk) and his public persona as 'Mr. Wonderful,' including the show's distribution advantage for customer acquisition.
• Marty Supreme — Media · Referenced upcoming film · 1 mention · first at 26:02
  O'Leary references his participation in the film to illustrate his current creative pursuits (photography, learning) after achieving financial freedom.
  Shot a magazine spread on the weekend with a photographer for our new movie, Marty Supreme coming out Christmas Day. I'm in that movie with Gwennneth Palo and Timothy Shalom. I'm Gwen Paltro's husband in it.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged. And today we are talking to my blueprint. He's the man who turned discipline into currency and results into legacy. Before the world called him Mr. Wonderful, I called him the blueprint because everything that I teach about leadership, about accountability, about performance, he's the force that made excellence the expectation. Again, ladies and gentlemen, welcome. My guy, you know him as Mr. Wonderful. Kevin O, welcome to the show, sir.

0:33 Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I appreciate you. You know, I I said that you're the blueprint, and here's why. Early on, watching you back on the days of the dragon's den and and then reading your books. You taught me something that I think most business leaders and entrepreneurs miss, and that's that results matter. We care about a lot of things that that are cute, that are nice to haves, but at the end of the day, results matter the most. And so, I owe you that because everything about all of my businesses, my teams will tell you, the philosophies that I teach are centered around you telling me that one day. Everything is cute, but results matter the most. So, I owe you that.

1:16 Well, thank you. But, you know, that that is a consistent and it's perpetual and is really important more today than ever.

1:23 Absolutely. Absolutely. [clears throat] And before we get into where that started, like I always like to ask my guests, what's your because, right, like Simon Synynic taught us to start with why. And for a lot of folks, your why is your family, right? Maybe your friends or your businesses. But I think your because something deeper. If I were to ask you why, your kids are your why. You normally start with because, A, B, and C. And so I care about your because. So if I were to say, Mr. Wonderful. What's your because? What's your purpose?

1:54 What's your mission today? What drives me and what my because is is I absolutely love it when people tell me I can't do something and that I shouldn't try because I'll never make it. I love that. I absolutely love that.

2:11 Yeah. And and every once in a while when I hear something like that, it's usually in industries that are, you know, wellestablished. Um, and I'll give you an example.

2:23 Watch insurance. The insurance market is incredibly difficult to break into because it's highly regulated in every state and it's impossible to acquire customers from the behemoths.

2:40 And you know who they are. Yeah. And I'm a watch collector and so I'm not happy with my insurance options and many other watch owners are not happy either because the basic problem is you put it on your home plan, you know, as a rider and then 10 years later your Rolex is stolen or lost and it's worth five or 10 times what you bought it for and they're paying you out a depreciated value. That's one of the problems with many house plans. But I remember people saying to me, "Oh, you can't get into that business." And I say, "Bullshit.

3:13 Watch this." And my secret sauce is my mill my army of followers that I tell the truth to.

3:21 Yeah. And millions of them, over 10 million of them, and I say to them, "Hey guys, does anybody want to try a different idea for watch insurance?" I don't if you don't want it, don't worry about it. but I'm going to I'm going to create this company called Wondercare and it's going to do an incredible job on watch insurance. Does anybody want a policy? And I put one of those out there and got 3,500 policy requests. And I showed it to Chub and said, "Have you ever seen anything like this? Have you ever been able to get 3,000 policy requests with zero customer acquisition cost? Has anybody you known ever done that?

3:58 Why don't you partner with me?" and they looked at it said, "Whoa." Okay. So, yeah,

4:05 there's always a way if you're motivated. And I'm kicking ass with Wondercare right now. And I'm proud. So, all those people that told me I couldn't do it,

4:15 [ __ ] you. That's how I feel about it. Absolutely. And here's what Mr. Wonderful didn't know about me is that my career and life started in the insurance space, in the property and casualty. So, business insurance and the home side. So, I personally am about to send all of my clients and followersformational wonderare because you're right, the the basic insurance writer, whatever you set it for day one, typically is what it is 12 years later. Now, you have something that you can't ever get replaced. So, kudos to you for breaking.

4:52 I appreciate it. But that, you know, that's my that's what that's what keeps me going. I I want to I I want to win. and I want to compete. I got a great team of people that come with me and I want to make them all rich and I I just, you know, this is the American dream. That's what it is. You got to find a painoint. You got to come up with a solution and you got to drive it home. That's how it works. And you can't let anything get in your way. Particularly people that say you can't do it. That's just noise. Absolute noise. Don't worry about them.

5:18 Yep. And again, that's why you're my blueprint. That's why you're the the person that I follow and believe in. And you talk about winning. And to me that ties into the results, right? Because you taught me that, Mick, results create freedom. Results create credibility. Results create legacy. Why do you believe that results are the true language of of business and leadership?

5:40 Because you can measure them. It's very simple. Business is very binary. Either you make money or you lose money. And there's no in between. You're either profitable or you're not. you know, break even, that's okay. But that's on the way to one side or the other. You're either on the way up to being profitable or on the way down when you're breaking even to losing money. And so, it's just a way stop. It's like a bus stop on the way. Setting goals allows you to put measurement into the model. And so, results are the outcome of your team agreeing on the road map. And you know, you can pivot, you can change based on new information, but if you don't get results, you're going to fail. And there's no, you know, messing around with it. You you got to set a goal. You got to make it. You, you know, there's no room for excuses.

6:35 There's always an excuse, but there's no room for it. You have to deliver. You have to figure way around the obstacle, and you got to go get it done. And the great managers, the great leaders get stuff done. And you know it's sometimes they don't it gets prickly but you're not trying to win friends in business. You're trying to have people respect you. And the way they respect you is you deliver results. I do business with a lot of [ __ ] that are not nice people.

7:06 Yeah. But boy are they productive. And that's why I'm doing business with them. you know, they don't come to my cookout, but I do business with them and I risk money with them and I invest in them because they deliver results.

7:19 Yeah. It's not You can't make everybody happy. It's that's not what the game is about. The game is setting a goal and achieving it. And along the way, there's going to be some people you offend. Well, that's too bad.

7:30 That's life, right? That's life, you know. And on the way to winning and getting results, something that you talk about is a critical pillar in what you believe in is discipline. You you told me, or not just me, but you told the world in a bunch of master classes and conversations that success is built on discipline, not desires. Where did that mindset start for you?

7:52 Well, there's something I've learned about in teaching cohorts of young, you know, I I I'm an executive fellow at Harvard, so I teach the HBA, the MBA, and the executive program, and I'm honored to do that. You know, my son is going there right now and he won't come to my classes. He doesn't want that Shark Tank stuff. You know, I I don't blame him. I get it. But what I've learned, if you look at a class, you look at the cohort, let's say there's 240 people in it, a third of them are going to be consultants, and they're going to live a life of mediocrity. They'll never make a decision of any consequence and they will they will float around in a in an ooze a prim a useless primortal ooze of just nothingness

8:47 and they eventually will go to hell for being consulted and I tell them that they don't like to hear that but it's true. A third are wannabe entrepreneurs who are going to try multiple times and fail [clears throat]

8:58 because that's they don't have what it takes. And then there's a third that have the founders mindset that that have in their head no matter how many times they try they're going to and they fail they're going to keep going till they win.

9:11 Yeah. Because they know they don't have to win one time and every time they fail they learn an important lesson.

9:15 Mhm. Founders mindset is the the ability to work in an environment of risk and understand that risk is the ocean you're floating in. It's every day has risk. Every day something that you didn't plan on is going to happen to you. Every day it's up and down. And the reason I can tell you that with certainty in my portfolio of companies, you know, over 50 of them, this is in the startup venture area. I do other stuff, but this is the kind of the Shark Tank, you know, companies, but beyond just Shark Tank,

9:52 every morning I get up at 5:45 and I ride my bike when sunset for an hour and 20 minutes. That's my exercise routine. And I listen to all the feeds from around the world from business cable and BBC and CNBC and Fox and CNN and get the seven stories of the day. And while I'm listening in that hour and 20 minutes, the phone starts ringing. Interrupts the feed. No problem. And every day there's a story of total depression,

10:19 total woe and destruction for one of my compan. Oh no, I just got sued. Oh, I just got kicked out of Walmart. Oh, I just this or I just that. It's a disaster.

10:26 Mhm. And then 20 minutes later, it's total euphoria. Oh, I just got a million hundred million dollar offer for our business and you own 30% of it. You have the right of first refusal. What do you want to do? That's in the same hour,

10:41 right? And and so you got to get used to the ups and downs in the in the you know founders mindset that are going to happen to you, the total euphoria to the total depression. And that's all in one day.

10:55 Yeah. And so those are the people you want to invest in that can handle it, that just can take the hit,

11:02 figure out a way around it, and move on. And and that's about a third of the population.

11:08 Yeah. The other twothirds are going to work for them. And there's nothing dishonorable about that.

11:12 But only a third have the founders mindset. Does that make sense? It [clears throat] totally makes sense. And I want to double down on something that I know you've been talking about for the last couple of years and I had to change something that I was doing because one of my businesses I was labeled as a consultant and I heard Kevin Ori say you should never hire a consultant and if you have one right now you better fire them as quickly as you can. But I understood what you were saying for the people that are listening and watching. break that philosophy down on why you can't be beholden to consultants forever and and why it can be and probably is a detriment to your business growth and strategy

11:58 because they've never made payroll. They have no idea how to run a business. They speculate based on what they see out there on what should be done right and done wrong. and they've never ever ever ever not once made a decision of consequence where they own the results

12:17 ever. They're worthless. They have no idea what it's like to make life and death decisions in a business. They have no idea on how to process that. They just make recommendations based on their experiences as a consultant which are worthless. And so why pay for that? Like why would you do that? Why don't you actually give somebody equity that you respect their opinions and let them take risk with you as a partner and then you mitigate what happens to you? I mean, when I see these reports, the the size of telephone books that these giant S&P 500 companies, you know, pay for

13:02 Mhm. It disgusts me. I I just think what a waste of shareholder value. Like just what a waste. And you know, look, I don't disrespect consulting firms. I just don't use them. I don't I don't understand why anybody would. It's just another opinion.

13:23 Mhm. Tied to zero risk. Yeah. And one of my companies, we literally changed what we do when I heard you say that because we were labeled as consultants, but not in the the sense of what you describe as a consultant, but we were in that bucket. And I said, "Here's the deal. We will be tied to equity to prove that what we do and say actually matters or we only go in to do a specific tangible thing and we get in and we get out. Meaning, we're not going to be there forever. We're going to come in and actually fix a problem, not give you advice or tell you how things are or charge 200 grand to to change your marketing strategy. You taught me that and you made me change a business philosophy and I applaud you because you challenged me. Like,

14:13 well, you know, Mick, I I like the idea you've got there. If you told me a consulting firm was willing to take on risk in their decisions, in other words, get paid on success only,

14:23 right? That's interesting. That's half the battle won. Say, look, you take stock, you give us a recommendation, we implement your recommendation. If the stock goes up, you get a piece of the action,

14:34 right? If it goes down, you added no value. And in fact, maybe your recommendation was worthless in the first place. I mean, it's kind of I'd like to see them take risk, not just get paid upfront. I mean, anyways, it's, you know, I've been doing this a long time. I've seen consultants come and go and I tell I tell young students that are going to do that what's very attractive about it is the $350,000 base when you come out of your second year you know in one of these business schools but that's it.

15:07 Yeah. You know an entrepreneur could work five years and that's just a rounding error of their outcome. They could get 35 they get $350 million outcome but a consultant just floats in that sea of mediocrity forever. And the more hours they build, they make a little bit more. But they never achieve greatness. They've never done anything of consequence. And then they're that horrible outcome. Consultants all go to hell. I mean, I feel so sorry for them.

15:31 No, you changed me. You changed me. And I'm going to switch gears. I'm going to get in trouble right here because, you know, Damon's my mentor. I met you through Damon, obviously. But I've always said the shark investor that I appreciate and taught me the most in investing was Mr. Wonderful. And and here's where I'm going to say the truth because you know I was on set. You've also changed the mind of a lot of sharks and they start to invest your way too. talk to us about, you know, why you would in certain instances royalties actually matter more and you'd rather invest that way with the royalty. Like explain that to the folks.

16:14 Well, let's let's talk about venture capital. Certainly all the Shark Tank deals, they're the highest risk investment you can make

16:21 and you never know with certainty what's going to work and what isn't. So, you got to do seven to 10 deals a year

16:26 because you don't know which two are going to make it and pay for the other mistakes.

16:29 Yeah. But in venture capital and this is way back since the 50s. I think 1954 they started when the first venture capital funds started in Boston area. You you do 10 deals, you wait five to seven years and only two out of 10 work. The others fail or just you know drift off into mediocrity. But those two are such extraordinary outcomes that they pay for all the mistakes. And so you're betting on a 20% outcome. We do slightly better on Shark Tank because we have television supporting customer acquisition cost. That's remarkable. 110 million people see the show in syndication every year.

17:01 Yeah. So that matters for entrepreneurs, but the concept is, you know, you give somebody a million dollars on Sharp.

17:09 You're not going to make a return until you get the million dollars back and then the first dollar in is where you return. So a million and $1, you've made $1 return. So the concept is return of capital, not return on capital, is what you're looking for in venture investing. So, a royalty mitigates some of that risk. It says from every dollar of revenue before it goes through the meat grinder of the income statement, you're going to get your 7% or whatever it is.

17:38 And in [clears throat] the beginning, 17 years ago, all the other sharks went, "Oh, I would never do that." yada yada yada woof woof woof woof yada yada yada yada. Now, they all do it,

17:47 right? Why? Because that's the right way to invest with this high risk, right? You can take a taste of equity. You get a royalty. The royalty can be perpetual or not. It can be based on a, you know, some kind of a determined return like like 3x on your money, then the royalty goes away. But one way or another, I'm getting a royalty and and you know, and all of a sudden, Lori to my left squawking like a chicken, wanting royalties. Barbara on my right squawking like a chicken, wanting royalties. By the way, the only reason Barbara gets to the set every year is I buy her a new brew. And I'm very happy to do that.

18:20 But, you know, the whole point is they're figuring it out, too. They're grasshoppers that are learning the ways of venture capital. And then there's Cuban. Even he started thinking about royalties. And that guy took a long time to train. No, but like me now as an investor, like that's usually the first option that I'm offering. And when people ber, they don't understand. Again, I take this from Mr. Wonderful. I usually say you don't believe in yourself. You want someone else to believe in you or your product more than you do, and I'm unwilling to do that. But if you're willing to to have a royalty conversation, I know that you actually believe in in what you do. And again, I learned that from you because I see you do it every season.

19:06 Well, I think you're on to the right path here. I mean, look, it's been time proven. It's been 17 years. I mean, it's not like it's yesterday.

19:13 So, these are the things that I care about. There you go. There you go. All right, Mr. Wonderful. There's other things that we have in common that you didn't know. One, our love for the New England Patriots.

19:27 H I have an uncle who is in the Patriot Hall of Fame. So Stanley Morgan, alltime wide receiver for the Patriots in the Patriot Hall of Fame. I go to three or four Patriots.

19:38 That's an honor for your family, man. That's a big deal. It's a huge deal. It's a huge deal. But our Patriots, we're starting to come back a little bit. like the Pittsburgh had a little

19:49 the whole history of Brady and Bellichuk and Craft and all of that story is so rich in New England and I was living there. My kids were growing up during that period. It was just unbelievable

20:01 the that the the camaraderie of of the community with that team and and Craft is such a great guy and and he gives back and you know I've got to know him a little bit. He's amazing and the family's amazing. they they really care about the community they service that it's not often owners well many are but but he's probably the the best example in the league of integrating the team's values with that of the community and you know Boston is one hell of a sports town

20:33 yes if you're not winning they spit you out like you know a bad date like it's really bad

20:41 you don't get to you got to perform perform. I don't care if it's hockey, baseball,

20:46 football, you got to perform or the fans get ugly. And I love that about that, Tim.

20:52 Absolutely. Absolutely. Another passion that we have is tequila. You have a couple of brands that I love and and are some of my favorites. And one of my best friends in the world is uh celebrity chef Robert Irvine, who also has a passion for tequila. We've sipped some of your tequilas together. When did that love of tequila come about?

21:13 You know, it's I I really try and limit what I drink. I want pure substances with no additives and really no sugar.

21:24 And so there's only two drinks that I drink. I drink really good wines. Most of them I blend myself.

21:30 Yep. And I drink my tequila because my tequila is actually the plant is grown for six years and then pressed on location. Mhm.

21:40 Zero additives, nothing in it. No sugar, no additives. I do a blanco and a reposado. And I love them because they're pure.

21:49 And so if you're going to drink alcohol, make it really good because I can't stand hangovers. I hate all the additives that are put into so many inexpensive. Now, fortunately, that tequila, that's, you know, over a hundred bucks a bottle. But for those that care, you can get it at kevinly.com and you can order it there. I think it's the best tequila I've ever tasted. And you know, of course, I'm talking my own book. And of course, Larry Fine Wines. I have an exclusive partnership with QVC because they they buy all my production, all of it. And I sell millions of bottles a year with them. You can just order it on QVC. But

22:24 it's it's about the desire to bring something really healthy and good. And I'm not saying alcohol is healthy, but if you're going to drink it, make sure it's good stuff.

22:32 Yeah. You you already went there, so I was going to tell people kevin ol.com senor mavioso is mine. That that is mine. Like I I love it.

22:43 It's Mr. Wonderful in Mexican. I love it. Yep. Yep. I I love it. I like So Robert Irvine and I shake it on ice and let the agave rise. And

22:54 yeah, we By the way, the design of the bottle, the label was from Tattoo Panda in Miami. And that's and a guy has he's never the the association in Mexico that allows

23:07 really it's very controlled. They saw Tattoo Panda's design of my eyes and they said this is phenomenal. And if you look at the bottle it's just stunning. I mean Tattoo Panda is a genius. It's just, you know, I love the guy and and and he's actually designing or at least part of a team that's designing a watch for me, a one-of-a-kind of a shark swimming in a coral reef. And

23:32 beautiful, beautiful. Well, I know you're you're you're busy. You have a lot going on. So, I'm blessed that you took some time with me today. So before I get into my rapid fire, my quick five questions, I I I want to ask you this, and you hit on it a little bit earlier, but but the fire that remains in you, right? You've accomplished so much. Most people, you know, they can check boxes and say, "I'm here. I'm done." And kind of shut it down, but you continue to have that drive after all the wins. What continues to drive you now?

24:07 It's a great question, but I and I thought, you know, the answer comes from the past because when I when I had my first big liquidity event, the nine of us that were founders the next morning, we were never doing it. This is the sale of the learning company to Mattel,

24:24 4.2 billion. We never did it for the money. We were so passionate about winning and being number one in our sector in software, reference software, educational software, math and reading skills, reader rapid, carman San Diego. We even did miss. We did so many titles all around the world, many countries. And and it was it was a phenomenal team. But we started with nothing. And then one day we wake up and we're we're rich and but it didn't matter. We all came back to work because we didn't know anything else. We didn't know what else to do.

24:56 And I eventually said, "Well, I'm going to take a vacation. I'm going to go to every beach on Earth. Just want to sit on every one of the beaches on Earth. Cyprus, Thailand, Cambodia, you know, Singapore, like everywhere where there's a beach, I want to try it." And I I did that for about 18 months. And boy, was I bored out of my mind.

25:15 And [clears throat] I thought, I got to get back in the game. Yeah. I got to do something with the rest of my life. I want to do stuff. I don't need to, but I want to. And so when you get to that place where you've achieved financial freedom, you spend your hours doing the things that are you really are passionate about.

25:33 Yes, sir. And that takes you to a new level because you want to even work harder. I want to be a better guitarist and so I have to find time to practice and I do and I've gotten way better than I was even a few years ago. I want to be a better photographer. I own every piece of known, you know, photographic equipment. I just shot a magazine spread on on the weekend with a photographer for our for our new movie, Marty Supreme coming out Christmas Day. I'm in that movie with Gwennneth Palo and Timothy Shalom. I'm Gwen Paltro's husband in it.

26:11 He shot that shoot with an Olympus camera from the late 80s, a tiny Olympus camera, a film camera, and the results were stunning. Andy Warhol like and I thought that is genius. I've never done that. So, I learned something from him.

26:31 And I scoured the earth to find one of these Olympus cameras because they're they stopped making them a long time ago. And I found a guy that had two of them and they're they're on my desk right now. I I did the deal last night and he he hand delivered them this morning and I'm going to go get film and I'm going to start shooting with those. So I'm learning. I'm learning. The whole point is I'm learning and I want to keep learning.

26:56 I you know I collect watches like you know you I mean one of a kind Chanel the crash from Cartier. These are extraordinary watches.

27:07 Wow. I love that. I love the watch community. So these things motivate me more than money.

27:14 I don't need more money. I need more time. And so I want to use my time in the best way I can, including, you know, doing this with you. This is important to me. I wouldn't do this if I didn't want to. And because I think it's very important that we have this narrative, we have this discussion to help young entrepreneurs on their journey.

27:32 That's my real mission. If you're thinking about being an entrepreneur, you're only onethird of the population. Now's the time to start now. Because don't talk yourself out of it saying, "Oh, I'm too nervous. I can't do that." You don't know what's going to happen.

27:47 You got to try. And if you don't try, you'll never get the outcome you want. I mean, or if you're happy working for somebody the rest of your life, or even worse, don't be a consultant. Please don't go to hell. Don't do that.

28:01 No, but you're exactly right. I mean, I talk to to young people all the time. I I get asked this question a lot and I always hate it. Like, Mick, if you could talk to the 16-year-old version of yourself, what would you say? I'm like, why would I do that when I can't when I can go talk to 16-year-olds, when I can go talk to real 18 year olds and impact their lives? And I tell them the same thing our grandparents told me. There's more resources for you to be a business leader, to be an entrepreneur than there ever has been. Right?

28:31 access it. But you've got to have that that earning for learning, as I like to call it, which you just talked about so eloquently, the the information that young people have today, and not just young people, but society has today to go start a business. Um, the resources, the the knowledge to be able to tap in to a Mr. Wonderful, right? I mean, you speak all over the country and you give so many nuggets of wisdom at all of your speeches and all your master classes. People can go get that, right? They don't have to go hire you for an hour.

29:06 They can buy a ticket to an event that you're at because you're going to give everybody everything that they need right there. But I don't think people are taking advantage of it the way that they could or should. And so I try to help them understand where these resources are because to me it's critically important.

29:21 Well, I really appreciate it. I mean that's it's you know people say you're the mean shark. I'm not the mean shark. I just tell the truth and and you got to deal with the truth. If you think I'm bad, wait till the real world hits you. Wait till the real market

29:36 chews you up and spits you out three times before you get it right. I mean that's how it works. And that's okay because that's in we talked about earlier the the founders mindset. You got to be ready to take it all cuz some guy in Mumbai or Shanghai wants to kick your ass and you got to get competitive and they're going to work 25 hours a day, 8 days a week. So, you're going to have to do the same thing. But the whole idea is if you get if you're successful, you bought yourself total freedom to work even harder because that's what you're going to do. You're going to keep going. And that's what every entrepreneur I know when they tell me their success story, they're working harder today than they ever have because they love what they do. I love what I do. I really love getting up in the morning and taking it all on and the phone calls come and all the drama and all that stuff. It's wonderful. It's

30:21 it's it's just a great fiber of life and you know I try and spend as much time as I can with my family. We you generally work it out on weekends,

30:29 but I love it and I think I wish this for everybody. I really do. There you go. All right, Mr. Random, I'm going to ask you five rapid fire questions to get you out of here. So, first one, you're on stage performing. What's your guitar solo moment? What song are you playing?

30:46 That my answer is changing because what I'm really learning, the essence of a guitar is the blues

30:55 and the and and the the way you get feel out of a guitar is you play the blues in any key you want. It's a simple three chord structure that makes a guitar speak. And so if you tell me, you know, I want a solo, just give me the classic three chord blues. You can go E A D or you can go E AB. I don't care. And I'm going to riff with you. But I'm really working going back to the old blues Masters back from BB King even earlier and seeing how those guys slowed it down. They slowed it down and they knew their pentatonic and they knew to add that note. That's what I'm practicing because I used to be one of these guys from the 70s rock where I be working like a bee just ripping up and down like fast as I could.

31:45 That's [ __ ] Real. If you listen to John Mayer or Eric Clapton, they get it. They just get it. They slow it down and they rip the soul out of the instrument and you can hear it.

31:59 Yeah. Yeah. Love it. Love it. Next question. If I were to hire Kevin Oly to to photograph my event, what's the fee?

32:09 I mean, what what equipment would I use? No. What's the fee? What's your charge?

32:13 Oh. Oh, I have agents for that. You don't want to hire me. You know what? I you know what I've learned to do is to be fair to everybody because on the speaking circuit which I've found recently I really enjoy and I do all the sectors all 11 sectors of the economy.

32:33 Yeah. I let the market decide and I work with a great team at big speak and there's about 14 people on my team.

32:41 Yeah. And we we hand select the opportunities and I I keep changing the sectors because it makes me better. I learn so much. I'm I'm doing three speeches this week. One in Boston, one in Houston, one in Austin, and then there's actually four and another one in New York.

32:59 That's a lot of work in one week. But they're all different sectors, and I've been working and studying and and just so when I show up, I got to know my stuff. So, it makes me a better person.

33:11 Love it. Love it. You just closed a big deal and you want to celebrate with the meal. Where are you eating? Depends what city, but I would say in Miami it would be Casatua on James Street. So that's on the beach

33:28 outside in the garden. In New York it's got to be the Polo Lounge downstairs. Love that place. The vibe is so amazing and media.

33:38 Sometimes I go to the Aman Club there. There's a an incredible sushi restaurant inside that. In Toronto, Canada, I go to my own restaurant there, Blue Boine. Also one of the best. It ain't cheap, but it's pretty good. And it's attached to where the Blue Jays are playing, so people are loving that.

33:58 And in San Francisco, maybe LA, I'll pick LA. Two places, AVA and Cass Chipriani.

34:10 So those are kind of my celebratory places, and I've celebrated deals in all of those places. Love it. Love it. If you had to do a deal randomly with the shark, which shark would it be?

34:24 Oh, I get asked I get asked this all the time. The guy I love doing business with is Mr. Wonderful.

34:29 I love that guy. I mean, you can't go wrong with a deal with Mr. Wonderful, so I'm sticking with that.

34:35 Love it. Last question, Mr. Wonderful. This is just more of a a a shout out to you and who you are. And I'm trying not to get emotional on this because you you really do mean the world to me, man. Like the advice that you give, the the time that you actually take to interact with people and and people don't see this, but I got to see this with my own eyes, man. Like you take time to to talk to people, to to answer questions, to give advice. If you had to give advice to the entrepreneur that's thinking about taking that step and saying, "I'm gonna start a business," what are the what's the first one or two things that they need to do to to make that happen?

35:15 If you're just starting out, it's a good idea to go work for somebody in the industry you like for a year or two as an apprentice, even if they don't pay you. You learn so much in that 18 or 24 months that is so powerful for your success later. you know, you just you're an apprentice and then you go start your own thing, but you have so much knowledge about your industry and contacts and the dos and don'ts of the practice.

35:37 That's how they do it in Switzerland. That's how they do it in France. That's how they do it in Germany. That's how they do it in England. That's how they do it in Australia, Italy. The the apprentice programs

35:47 for kids as young as 14. That's how the watch industry works. [clears throat] Rolex does a fantastic job of identifying talent and letting them learn about watchmaking before they have commit their life to it. They can make good money as a watchmaker, but they have to have the talent. And so the apprentice program helps with that. I would say that. And then the other thing is just do it. I mean, don't worry about failure. You are 100% going to fail. I guarantee you, you will fail. Maybe three times, but it only takes one success

36:18 and you set your yourself free for life. And so, it's worth the shot. That's the founders's mindset right there.

36:24 There you go. Ladies and gentlemen, this has been the blueprint of my business success. Kevin Ori, Mr. Wonderful. Mr. Wonderful, thank you. I again, I know how busy you are. It meant the world that you took some time out of your schedule just to to talk with me in the audience and and I'm forever in debt to the person and the human that you are. I love you.

36:43 Thank you so much. I appreciate it. You got it. And to all the viewers and listeners, remember your because is your superpower. Go unleash it. You've been plugged into Mick Unplugged. Don't just listen, take action. Rate and subscribe. Follow me on social and get the full experience at mickhuntofficial.com. Keep building, keep leading, and most importantly, keep dominating.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "The Founder’s Mindset: Insights from Kevin O’Leary"?

Mick Hunt (Host), Kevin O'Leary (Guest).

What is "The Founder’s Mindset: Insights from Kevin O’Leary" about?

The discussion focuses on the pivotal mindset of successful entrepreneurship, emphasizing the importance of results over aesthetics in leadership and business performance. Kevin O'Leary shares his fundamental belief that the core of entrepreneurship lies in achieving tangible outcomes, driven by a deeper sense of purpose and commitment to excellence.

What is mentioned in this Mick Unplugged Podcast episode?

12 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Kevin O'Leary, Results, Founders Mindset, Shark Tank, Venture Capital, Insurance. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "The Founder’s Mindset: Insights from Kevin O’Leary"?

The episode runs 37 min; the transcript is about 6,930 words in 114 timestamped sections.

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