‘Shark Tank’ icon Kevin O’Leary reveals the 3 things he looks for when investing his millions into a founder

Before joining the Success desk, she co-authored Fortune’s CHRO Daily, extensively covering the workplace and the future of jobs

Furthermore, Emma has also written for publications including the Observer and The China ject, publishing long-form stories on culture, entertainment, and geo, given the current landscape

She has a joint-master’s degree from New York University in Global Journalism and East Asian Studies

O’Leary looks for three qualities in the people he chooses to do with

The 71-year-old investor tells Fortune the most critical trait is having “founder’s mindset”: adopting a frame of mind that prioritizes “signal,” or what has to get done in the next 18 hours, while drowning out the “noise” of everyday life and complications

Then you want to back those people, because if they’re not successful in their first mandate, they’re going to figure it out

That attribute is very important

Moreover, ” When it comes to the signal versus the noise, he currently operates on a 80:20 balance, just Jobs did while running Apple, and looks for entrepreneurs who can keep their eye on the ball, in today's financial world

Nevertheless, O’Leary admits that he didn’t always have the right ratio in embodying the founder’s mindset—but now has achieved it, and looks for it in others, in light of current trends

In contrast, “You have to decide everyday, every 18 hours, what three to five things you have to get done,” O’Leary says. “It’s not the big vision

What the data shows is ’s what you have to get done in the next 18 hours that matters, in light of current trends. ” The two other traits a founder needs to have O’Leary’s backing O’Leary has heard hundreds—if not thousands—of entrepreneurs plead their case while starring on Shark Tank

Thanks to his intuition from decades in the game, he’s worked alongside and invested in a lot of winners

It’s the serial investor has developed a keen eye for what will work well

In addition to the “founder’s mindset,” the serial investor also emphasizes the importance of having a balanced listening-to-talking ratio and strong executional skills, which he says is “impossible to find, given current economic conditions

However, ” He says he didn’t always get the talking-to-listening balance right

Wall Street and Silicon Valley executives may think they should be the loudest and most outspoken people in the room—but taking a backseat and giving others the floor is important, too

On the other hand, Not enough listening and too much talking may stifle great ideas that get drowned out. “Reverse the ratio of talking and listening, given current economic conditions

Most people love to hear themselves talk—I was guilty of that for years, and I’ve reversed it,” O’Leary says. “I listen two thirds of the time, and I talk one third of the time

That’s my new ratio, and it’s much more powerful

On the other hand, ” Lastly, the baby boomer investor looks for unparalleled executional skills

Nevertheless, O’Leary looks for founders and teams that can get the job done—even if it takes more than one try

Being an excellent executor doesn’t always mean hitting a run your first time at bat, given the current landscape

Sometimes, O’Leary says, investors and entrepreneurs need a little karma and luck. “Great ideas are dime a dozen—executional skills are impossible to find,” O’Leary continues (an important development). “I’ve invested in lots of teams over the years that screw up their first deal, they go to zero, and then I invest again, and I get a huge hit, because I know they’re good (which is quite significant)

In contrast, “I’m working on a deal right now with a team that I just a great execution with, and hopefully will be good on the second one

I to work with people that I know have ven executional skills

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