He might not be the richest or the nicest shark on ABC's Shark Tank, but Kevin O'Leary is always the most entertaining shark on the show. The Canadian business mogul is the shark with the most appearances on the show, having only missed three episodes. Before he became a common face on global TV screens, he appeared on Dragon's Den, the Canadian show that Shark Tank is based on.
Even though Kevin doesn't always land the biggest investments on the show, he is always a joy to watch, thanks to his sense of humor and ability to infuse creativity into every sentence. Some entrepreneurs consider him mean, but he always manages to get a laugh out of viewers.
"Can We Have A Moment Of Silence For That Dead Money?"
In the 26th episode of season 6, the founders of an umbrella rental company, BrellaBox, pitched their business on Shark Tank. The business model involved placing boxes of umbrellas in institutions and cities. People would then be able to rent them by paying $1.50 for 12 hours.
None of the sharks were impressed. Kevin was quick to ask them whether they had invested any of their own money into the business. When they confessed to spending thousands of dollars, Kevin suggested a moment of silence because that money was never going to be recouped.
"Stop The Madness!"
This is a remark that Kevin O'Leary has yelled at many entrepreneurs over the seasons. He tends to shout out these words whenever an entrepreneur asks for too much money or presents a product/business that he feels is ridiculous.
Other sharks don't always agree with him on the "madness" bit and neither do the entrepreneurs, but this never stops Kevin from questioning the sanity of the next person that walks into the room.
"I Don't Care If You Wear Goatskin. I Wanna Know If You're Making Any Money."
Sometimes entrepreneurs get carried away when they narrate their business journeys. They add plenty of unnecessary details and that's when Kevin steps in and pricks their bubble.
When one entrepreneur narrated how he quit his white-collar job in New York City to start a business, it felt like an inspiring moment. Then he mentioned how he had decided to wear tie-dye for the rest of his life instead of suits, as a sign of freedom. The suit-loving Kevin didn't care. He didn't want to hear about his fashion choices. All he wanted to know was whether he was making any money.
"As Usual, All Roads Lead Back To Mr. Wonderful."
Kevin loves his nickname, "Mr. Wonderful." And even though some entrepreneurs wouldn't consider him wonderful, he has no doubt that he is. The business mogul likes offering royalty deals instead of straight-up equity deals. Some entrepreneurs are not comfortable with this, so they usually wait to hear what the other sharks have to say first.
On a couple of occasions, no other shark bites, so the entrepreneurs are left with Kevin's offer, and that's when he usually delivers this magnificent quote. It's him or nothing.
"This Is A Very Bad Idea. It Howls At The Moon. You Should Take It Out Behind The Barn And Shoot It."
In the 13th episode of season 3, Scott Olson, the founder of Rollerblade and basically the person who brought inline skating to the world, pitched another idea to the sharks. He had built a futuristic transportation system that was more of an elevated mono-rail bike system. The product would help riders move around quickly in any urban environment.
In 0rder to make his business a success, he wanted a $3 million investment. All the sharks felt that the product was too costly and could only work in limited areas. Kevin went ahead to compare the idea to a creature of the night that should be shot.
"I'm Not Trying To Make Friends. You Want A Friend? Buy A Dog. I'm Trying To Make Money."
In the seventh episode of season 6, TITIN founder, Patrick Whaley, came to the tank seeking a $500,000 investment for a 5 percent stake in his company. The business involved selling compression gear to athletes.
Mark wanted to know the science behind the product, and when Patrick failed to explain himself well, the billionaire dropped out. However, every other shark made an offer. Patrick was skeptical about taking Kevin's offer because he felt he wouldn't be a good friend, and Kevin had a brutal response for him.
"Don't Cry About Money, It Never Cries For You."
Kevin has said these words to a couple of contestants who were emotional and defensive after being advised to ditch an idea after having poured thousands of dollars into it. Many even fought back, arguing that things would eventually pay off.
But Kevin feels that crying over spilled money is pointless. One needs to just abandon the bad idea and move on to the next one, no matter how much time, money and effort they have put into it.
"They're Gonna Crush You Like The Cockroaches You Are!"
Once in a while, Kevin offers a reality check to contestants who haven't spent much time thinking about their competition. More often than not, people step into the tank with ideas that can be easily replicated by bigger corporations or are already being done more effectively by other entrepreneurs.
When Kevin figures out that the entrepreneurs haven't spent much time thinking about how they'll deal with the competition, he tells them the truth: they're going to get crushed. Referring to them as cockroaches is a bit mean, but this is Kevin, after all.
“I’m A Member Of A Group Called The Chevaliers Du Tastevin. It's A Secret Society Of Wine Drinkers."
This was quite a flashy way to present yourself as a wine expert. When Kevin Waltermire pitched BevBoy — a floating cup holder that remains upright in water, Kevin was very much interested. He figured it would go hand in hand with a wine business that he had already invested in.
He thus began narrating how he joined a secret society of wine drinkers. He explained that the members meet frequently in a European city to drink wines as old as 1902. Sadly, Daymond still beat him to the deal.
"Goodbye, You're Dead To Me!"
Kevin doesn't take to rejection too kindly. He doesn't take it quietly either. Dozens of entrepreneurs haven't been impressed by his royalty offers, and they've been courageous enough to tell him "no."
Whenever this happens, Kevin never hesitates to let them know that he won't miss them one bit. He enjoys doing this even more when the entrepreneur has no other deal on the table.