From the UAE, Kevin O'Leary Shares His No-Nonsense Advice for Entrepreneurs
You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Kevin O'Leary has recently been appointed brand ambassador for ONE Development, the UAE-born international real estate company. In a strategic partnership with ONE Development founder and Chairman Ali Al Gebely, O'Leary will play a key role in supporting the company's global expansion efforts.
On the sidelines of a special event by ONE Development, O'Leary sat down for an exclusive interview with Entrepreneur Middle East to share his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Don't be afraid to start "Most entrepreneurs have a hard time making the first step to start. They should do it in their 20s, because that is when you have time and you don't have as many responsibilities, and you can make plenty of mistakes, which is great. I would rather invest in an entrepreneur that has felt the sting of failure a few times than one who thinks they can do it right the first time. They never can. It is so hard."
Prepare your pitch "Learn to articulate the opportunity in 90 seconds or less, because no one is going to give any more time than that."
Focus on execution "More important than a great idea is your ability to execute on it. Because great ideas are a dime a dozen. Executional skills are very hard to find. If you can find a young man or woman who looks and has the confidence to execute, that makes me interested in investing."
Know your numbers "You have got to know your numbers. How fast is the market growing? What are the gross margins? How many competitors are there? You got to know that stuff. That is the DNA of a great entrepreneur. Then obviously, you want to be in a market that is growing. It is like all boats rise in a rising tide, and so try and find regions of the world where businesses are being started in a high growth environment like here. There is a reason entrepreneurship is so prevalent here. The regulatory environment is very good. The tax rates are really competitive. The weather is great, and the economy is growing at an extraordinary rate because it is multi sectoral. I predict pretty good things for this place."
Related: The UAE Advantage: Kevin O'Leary's Perspective
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