SUCCESS FACTORS
Mergers , Acquisitions , And Getting Your MSP Ready To Sell For BIG Money
Advice From A Shark To MSPs
I t was the 1970s , and Terence Thomas Kevin O ’ Leary was set to change the world . He had graduated with a degree in environmental studies and psychology and was determined to make a difference in the real world . However , his course was set to take a different turn thanks to some honest , sage advice .
“ Look , you ’ re going to starve to death ,” O ’ Leary ’ s stepfather , George , said to him . “ You ’ re not going to make any money . Go back to business school .” So , that ’ s what O ’ Leary did . More than 40 years later , O ’ Leary , better known as Mr . Wonderful , has taken his stepfather ’ s advice and excelled beyond anything that young college graduate could have ever anticipated . Shortly after business school , O ’ Leary partnered with some of his classmates , founded Special Events Television , and never looked back . Multiple businesses , successful investments , and millions of dollars later , O ’ Leary has established himself as one of the world ’ s foremost business leaders , authors , TV personalities , and political influencers . O ’ Leary regularly invests in burgeoning companies through ABC ’ s “ Shark Tank ,” launching products into household names , and today , he serves as the chairman of O ’ Shares Investments ETF .
O ’ Leary recently shared his expertise and the lessons he ’ s learned on his way to success with Robin Robins and an exclusive group of her Tennessee-based marketing company , Technology Marketing Toolkit . Pulling from his decades of triumphs and failures , O ’ Leary shattered the belief that chaos and mistakes are anything but opportunities .
His Dad ’ s Grit And His Stepdad ’ s Advice
Terence O ’ Leary was a proud Irishman . He worked hard in sales to provide for his wife , Georgette , and their growing family . When his first son was born on July 9 , 1954 , Terence knew he needed a strong , long , Irish name that he could carry with him for the rest of his life .
Terence Thomas Kevin O ’ Leary was the first child of Terence and Georgette and was fondly nicknamed Kevin for the rest of his life . His brother , Shane , soon followed , and life was good , albeit not without its obstacles . Both Georgette and Terence pulled double duty to give their sons the best life they could , and it was simple and beautiful — while it lasted .
At age 37 , Terence died , leaving Georgette and her two young sons to pick up the pieces of their lives and carry on without him . “ Times looked tough ,” Kevin recalled . That is until Georgette met George . The couple fell in love , got married , and Kevin and Shane had a father figure in their lives again . The new family packed up their quiet Canadian life and began jetting across the globe , moving every two years as part of George ’ s career with the United Nations . By the time he was a teenager , Kevin had been to Egypt , France , Japan , Tunisia , Ethiopia , Cyprus , Cambodia , and Switzerland , building an appreciation for how small the world really was and gaining an education far more valuable than what the textbooks at school in Canada could have provided .
“ You name it , I ’ ve been there ,” Kevin shared . “ Living in all these places and seeing them had a profound impact on me … [ I had ]
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