"Thrown in jail 22 times" — When Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec opened up about his dad's past

In a special "Profile" segment featured in a Shark Tank episode, Robert Herjavec opened up about his early life in Yugoslavia. He shared how his family's challenging living conditions ultimately led them to immigrate to Canada in search of a better future.

During the segment released on March 14, 2022, Robert Herjavec opened up about his early life in Yugoslavia., he mentioned that Yugoslavia was a "great country" for someone who was a part of the Communist Party. He further elaborated and shared that his father was an "anti-communist" person and used to say "bad things" about communism.

Robert added that because of his opposing views, his father ended up in prison 22 times. The Shark Tank investor mentioned that when his father went to jail for the last time, he was told that if he came back again, then he'd never get a chance to return. That's when his father decided to move and immigrate to Canada.

"Yugoslavia was a great country if you were part of the Communist Party. My dad was very anti-communist and would say all kinds of bad things about communism. He got thrown in jail 22 times and the last time he got thrown in he was told 'If you come back you will never return,'" Robert shared.

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Shark Tank investor Robert Herjavec reflects on his struggling past and how he became successful

During Shark Tank's "Profile" segment Robert Herjavec shared that when he was born in Croatia it was more of a communist country and was called Yugoslavia at the time.

At the time, his family was living in a poor condition, however, it never occurred to him that they were poor since all of his neighboring families used to live that way. Howevre, when his father was sent to prison for the 22nd time and was threatened with his life, they decided to move to Canada.

Robert further noted that when his father was in Yugoslavia he was "such a happy guy" and was working in the manager position at his firm. Howevre, when they immigrated to Canada, his dad was sweeping the floors in the factory and he was never the same.

"I think I'm like every other kid, You never appreciate your parents until they're gone. And I just think how hard he worked to give me that opportunity and I just feel such a need to justify that sacrifice," he added.

Further in his "profile" segment, the Shark Tank investor shared that when he was growing up, he was very "unfocused" and didn't know what he wanted to do with his life.

Later in his 20s, he learned about a computer job opening from his friend that was offering $30,000 as its starting salary. He went for the job interview and that's how he began working in the field of computer business. Years later, he went on to become the founder of one of the world's largest cybersecurity companies, the Herjavec Group.

"The Herjavec Group is one of the world's largest cyber security companies. I'm really passionate about it because it feels like we do good. I really think world is changing. The Internet has a lot of good, but has a lot of potential to be bad. And by protecting companies, we're making the world a safer place," he continued.

Robert pointed out that what makes him different from other sharks is the fact that he is an "actual immigrant" and it shapes how he perceives himself. He further empathized that life is hard and if someone wants to get ahead, they would have to put in the work.

"I'm proud of the success I've had by only in the sense that it justifies the sacrifice for my parents. To work that hard and go through that much pain and then for me to squander it and not do something with my life that would have been undeserving for them," the Shark Tank star concluded.

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Shark Tank season 16 episodes air every Friday on ABC.