The character arc of Robert Herjavec
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 14 September 1962 in Varazdin. Between then and now sit the family leaving the country in 1970, a University of Toronto degree in 1984, field producing at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics in 1984, a firing from Logiquest in 1990 and BRAK Systems founded in his basement, the sale to AT&T Canada in March 2000 for 30.2 million dollars, The Herjavec Group in 2003, two awards in 2012, a majority stake sold in February 2021, the Cyderes rebrand on 13 June 2022 and stepping down on 24 September 2024. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Robert Herjavec?
Fired, and then the basement.
He was born in Varazdin in 1962 and spent his early childhood in Zbjeg. In 1970, when he was eight, the family left the country, which had previously jailed his father, Vladimir Herjavec, for speaking out against the governing system. In 1984 he graduated from New College at the University of Toronto with a degree in English literature and political science, and worked as a field producer for Global TV at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, in the country he had left.
In 1990 he was fired from Logiquest. He founded BRAK Systems, a Canadian integrator of internet security software, from the basement of his home. It was sold to AT&T Canada, now Allstream, in March 2000 for 30.2 million dollars.
In 2003 he founded The Herjavec Group, which grew from three employees and four hundred thousand dollars of sales to over two hundred million dollars in annual revenue. He received the Ernst and Young Ontario Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Technology and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. Apax Partners acquired a majority stake in February 2021 and he stayed on as chief executive; the company merged with Fishtech Group and went live as Cyderes on 13 June 2022; and he announced he would step down as its chief executive on 24 September 2024. He has been a panellist on Dragons' Den in Canada, Shark Tank in the United States and Shark Tank in Australia, competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2015, and written three books.
The moments
Robert Herjavec's timeline.
The 1970s
The family left
Setback, and it changed everything. Eight years old, and out of the country.
The 1980s
The Sarajevo Olympics
Milestone. Back in the country he had left, with a camera crew.
English literature at Toronto
Milestone, and it changed his direction. English literature, which is not the obvious start for a security company.
The 1990s
Find another job, or build one
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: start it in the basement, taken, or find another employer. BRAK Systems was sold to AT&T Canada in March 2000 for 30.2 million dollars, and he founded The Herjavec Group in 2003.
He was fired
Setback, and it changed everything. Fired, and the company started in the same year and the same house.
The 2000s
Thirty million dollars
Milestone, and it changed everything. Thirty point two million dollars, from a basement.
The Herjavec Group
Milestone, and it changed everything. Three people and four hundred thousand dollars, to start again.
The 2010s
Two awards in one year
Milestone, and it changed his direction. An entrepreneur award and a medal from the country that took his family in.
Dancing with the Stars
Milestone. Sixth place, which is further than most chief executives get.
A third book
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Three books, from somebody who read English literature.
The 2020s
A majority stake sold
Milestone, and it changed everything. He sold most of it and kept running it.
It becomes Cyderes
Milestone, and it changed his direction. The name he built for nineteen years, replaced.
He stepped down
Milestone, and it changed everything. Out of the chair, thirty four years after the basement.
The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving started with a dismissal: 1990 is the worst year on the chart and the company worth thirty million dollars was founded in it.
What he wrote
Books by Robert Herjavec
- 2010
Driven
How to succeed in business and life, his first, written a decade after selling the company he had built in his basement.
- 2013
The Will to Win
Leading, competing, succeeding. Written while The Herjavec Group was growing from three employees towards two hundred million dollars of revenue.
- 2016
You Don't Have to Be a Shark
Creating your own success, released on 29 March 2016 by somebody who had by then spent years on television telling founders no.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His best company started the year he was fired. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Robert Herjavec: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
What is Robert Herjavec's character arc?
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What happened to The Herjavec Group?
What has Robert Herjavec written?
Is Robert Herjavec on Shark Tank?
When did Robert Herjavec step down as CEO?
Where does this timeline of Robert Herjavec's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with his.
Sources
- Robert Herjavec, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- AT&T Canada acquisition of BRAK Systems, March 2000.
- University of Toronto degree record, 1984, and publisher records for Driven, The Will to Win and You Don't Have to Be a Shark.