Robert Herjavec told the Wall Street Journal his family fled Yugoslavia and arrived in Canada in 1970 with $50, suitcases and no English. They first stayed in a Toronto basement; he later founded BRAK Systems and sold it for $30 million in 2000.
Herjavec said his family left Zbjeg when he was 8 after his father, Vladimir, could no longer tolerate treatment by Yugoslav authorities. He said his father had been arrested 22 times for speaking out against the government. After a brief stay in an Italian motel, the family was denied entry to the U.S.; Herjavec said his father was advised to try Canada. They arrived in Halifax two weeks later aboard the SS Cristoforo Colombo.
His father began working at a gas station in Toronto, while his mother learned English and found receptionist work within nine months. The family became Canadian citizens, and his parents bought a two-bedroom house when he was 14. At 23, Herjavec worked without pay at LogiQuest for six months, becoming general manager three years later. He said a conversation with Ethernet co-inventor Bob Metcalfe convinced him Ethernet was the future.
