Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
You've been telling yourself the same story. That you need more money to start. That you need the perfect plan before you move. That fear is the reason you're stuck. Here's the truth: the only thing holding you back is the belief that something outside of you has to change before you can begin.
Robert Herjavec went from arriving in America with nothing to building and selling companies worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He's one of the most recognizable faces on Shark Tank, and in this episode, he breaks down the exact mindset shifts that turned urgency into wealth, why most people quit before they compound, and the leadership mistake that quietly destroys great companies. From structuring earnouts with no money down to scaling a $400 million business without raising a dime, Robert reveals the frameworks that separate people who stay broke from people who build empires.
In this episode, you'll learn:
* Why fear is what holds most people back and how the fear of hard work without guaranteed results is the real killer, not the work itself
* The poverty versus wealth mindset: why working to make a living keeps you stuck and how shifting to building wealth changes everything
* How Robert bought 13 businesses with no outside funding using earnouts, seller financing, and cash flow leverage, and why you don't need money in the bank to do deals
* The biggest mistake founders make when pitching: asking people to listen instead of making them want to hear, and why humility and subconscious alignment close deals before you even open your mouth
* How to value a company the right way: understanding industry multiples, EBITDA, and why people fail because they price based on what they need instead of what the business is worth
Stop waiting for permission. Stop waiting for certainty. The life you want is on the other side of the decision you're avoiding.
My new book, Own Or Be Owned, is all about building a business so good it doesn't need you. More profit, less pain. It's out *September 18,* grab your ticket to the launch event here: https://contrarianthinking.biz/oobo_bigdeal - cs
___________
00:00:00 Introduction: Fear Is What Holds You Back, Not Lack of Money
00:03:07 The 10-Year Grind: Running Until Your Legs Fall Off
00:07:24 A Players vs B Players: How Long Do You Wallow in Misery?
00:10:33 The Fast No Is a Gift: Stop Being a Maybe-er
00:11:34 Your Bad Day Is Somebody's Dream: Perspective and Purity of Joy
00:13:03 Become an Expert in Something: The 20s Are Your Foundation
00:15:22 The Kylie Jenner Business Lesson: Don't Confuse Stuff with Vision
00:18:55 How Rare Is a Billion Dollars? The SpaceX Millionaire Story
00:21:25 You Can Get Rich Even If You Hate Rich People
00:25:29 Democracy Is a Car Wash: Small Business Is the Right Message for America
00:26:58 Urgency Gets You Out of Poverty, Patience Gets You to Wealth
00:30:00 Fail Quickly: Test at 20% with Paying Customers, Not at 100% with Beta Users
00:31:19 10 Billion Dollars in Sales: Great Salespeople Sell Value, Not Product
00:33:06 The Leverage Switch: When Sharks Start Selling the Pitcher
00:36:05 The Three Numbers You Better Know: EBITDA, Multiples, and Industry Comps
00:38:35 Scale Is a Two-Edged Sword: When Your Skill Becomes Your Weakness
00:41:11 The Million, Ten Million, Hundred Million Business: What Changes at Each Level
00:43:32 The World-Class CFO Hire: When Robert Stopped Being the Bottleneck
00:46:05 Buying 13 Businesses with No Outside Funding: The Earnout Strategy
00:49:14 Money Is Not Holding You Back, Your Lack of Knowledge Is
00:49:59 The Baby Boomer Exit Crisis: Millions of Businesses with No Succession Plan
00:52:55 Third-Party Verification: People Believe What Others Say About You
00:54:03 I'm Really Proud I Built 400 Million with My Own Money
00:55:58 The Equity Operator vs the Business Operator: Why Projections Are Bullshit
00:58:18 When It's Self-Evident in Tech, It's Probably Too Late
01:02:25 The Accelerator Stuck: How Precarious Is Life?
01:06:03 We Are Not a Family, We Are a Team: The Benevolent Dictator
01:07:40 Poverty Mindset vs Wealth Mindset: It's Great to Dream, Better to Pay Your Bills
___________
*MORE FROM BIGDEAL*
🎥 YouTube: youtube.com/@podcastbigdeal
📸 Instagram: instagram.com/bigdeal.podcast
📽️ TikTok: tiktok.com/@big.deal.pod
*MORE FROM CODIE SANCHEZ*
🎥 YouTube: youtube.com/@codiesanchezct
📸 Instagram: instagram.com/codiesanchez
📽️ TikTok: tiktok.com/@realcodiesanchez
*OTHER THINGS WE DO*
🌐 Our community: contrarianthinking.typeform.com/to/WBztXXID
📰 Free newsletter: https://contrarianthinking.biz/3XWLlZp
📚 Biz buying course: https://contrarianthinking.biz/3NhjGgN
🏠 Resibrands: resibrands.com
💰 CT Capital: https://contrarianthinking.biz/4eRyGOk
🏦 Main St Hold Co: https://contrarianthinking.biz/3YfGa8u
You've been telling yourself the same story. That you need more money to start. That you need the perfect plan before you move. That fear is the reason you're stuck. Here's the truth: the only thing holding you back is the belief that something outside of you has to change before you can begin.
Robert Herjavec went from arriving in America with nothing to building and selling companies worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He's one of the most recognizable faces on Shark Tank, and in this episode, he breaks down the exact mindset shifts that turned urgency into wealth, why most people quit before they compound, and the leadership mistake that quietly destroys great companies. From structuring earnouts with no money down to scaling a $400 million business without raising a dime, Robert reveals the frameworks that separate people who stay broke from people who build empires.
In this episode, you'll learn:
* Why fear is what holds most people back and how the fear of hard work without guaranteed results is the real killer, not the work itself
* The poverty versus wealth mindset: why working to make a living keeps you stuck and how shifting to building wealth changes everything
* How Robert bought 13 businesses with no outside funding using earnouts, seller financing, and cash flow leverage, and why you don't need money in the bank to do deals
* The biggest mistake founders make when pitching: asking people to listen instead of making them want to hear, and why humility and subconscious alignment close deals before you even open your mouth
* How to value a company the right way: understanding industry multiples, EBITDA, and why people fail because they price based on what they need instead of what the business is worth
Stop waiting for permission. Stop waiting for certainty. The life you want is on the other side of the decision you're avoiding.
My new book, Own Or Be Owned, is all about building a business so good it doesn't need you. More profit, less pain. It's out *September 18,* grab your ticket to the launch event here: https://contrarianthinking.biz/oobo_bigdeal - cs
___________
00:00:00 Introduction: Fear Is What Holds You Back, Not Lack of Money
00:03:07 The 10-Year Grind: Running Until Your Legs Fall Off
00:07:24 A Players vs B Players: How Long Do You Wallow in Misery?
00:10:33 The Fast No Is a Gift: Stop Being a Maybe-er
00:11:34 Your Bad Day Is Somebody's Dream: Perspective and Purity of Joy
00:13:03 Become an Expert in Something: The 20s Are Your Foundation
00:15:22 The Kylie Jenner Business Lesson: Don't Confuse Stuff with Vision
00:18:55 How Rare Is a Billion Dollars? The SpaceX Millionaire Story
00:21:25 You Can Get Rich Even If You Hate Rich People
00:25:29 Democracy Is a Car Wash: Small Business Is the Right Message for America
00:26:58 Urgency Gets You Out of Poverty, Patience Gets You to Wealth
00:30:00 Fail Quickly: Test at 20% with Paying Customers, Not at 100% with Beta Users
00:31:19 10 Billion Dollars in Sales: Great Salespeople Sell Value, Not Product
00:33:06 The Leverage Switch: When Sharks Start Selling the Pitcher
00:36:05 The Three Numbers You Better Know: EBITDA, Multiples, and Industry Comps
00:38:35 Scale Is a Two-Edged Sword: When Your Skill Becomes Your Weakness
00:41:11 The Million, Ten Million, Hundred Million Business: What Changes at Each Level
00:43:32 The World-Class CFO Hire: When Robert Stopped Being the Bottleneck
00:46:05 Buying 13 Businesses with No Outside Funding: The Earnout Strategy
00:49:14 Money Is Not Holding You Back, Your Lack of Knowledge Is
00:49:59 The Baby Boomer Exit Crisis: Millions of Businesses with No Succession Plan
00:52:55 Third-Party Verification: People Believe What Others Say About You
00:54:03 I'm Really Proud I Built 400 Million with My Own Money
00:55:58 The Equity Operator vs the Business Operator: Why Projections Are Bullshit
00:58:18 When It's Self-Evident in Tech, It's Probably Too Late
01:02:25 The Accelerator Stuck: How Precarious Is Life?
01:06:03 We Are Not a Family, We Are a Team: The Benevolent Dictator
01:07:40 Poverty Mindset vs Wealth Mindset: It's Great to Dream, Better to Pay Your Bills
___________
*MORE FROM BIGDEAL*
🎥 YouTube: youtube.com/@podcastbigdeal
📸 Instagram: instagram.com/bigdeal.podcast
📽️ TikTok: tiktok.com/@big.deal.pod
*MORE FROM CODIE SANCHEZ*
🎥 YouTube: youtube.com/@codiesanchezct
📸 Instagram: instagram.com/codiesanchez
📽️ TikTok: tiktok.com/@realcodiesanchez
*OTHER THINGS WE DO*
🌐 Our community: contrarianthinking.typeform.com/to/WBztXXID
📰 Free newsletter: https://contrarianthinking.biz/3XWLlZp
📚 Biz buying course: https://contrarianthinking.biz/3NhjGgN
🏠 Resibrands: resibrands.com
💰 CT Capital: https://contrarianthinking.biz/4eRyGOk
🏦 Main St Hold Co: https://contrarianthinking.biz/3YfGa8u
