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MICHAEL WEKERLE

WHEN YOU THINK OF MICHAEL WEKERLE, YOU THINK WOLF OF BAY STREET. TORONTO FINANCIER AND PHILANTHROPIST HAS BUILT A MASSIVE BRAND FOR HIMSELF THROUGH STOCKS, REAL ESTATE & INVESTING, SPENDING 4 YEARS ON A CBC TV SHOW DRAGON’S DEN, WHICH CURRENTLY LIVES ON NETFLIX. IN 2014, WEKERLE ANNOUNCED THAT HE WAS BUYING THE BUILDING AND VOWED TO RESTORE THE EL MOCAMBO AND ITS NEON PALMS TO THEIR FORMER GLORY. THE WORLD-FAMOUS EL MOCAMBO HAS RETURNED IN A SPECTACULAR FASHION TOUTING STATE OF THE ART AUDIO AND VIDEO CONTROL ROOMS , TWO EXPANDED PERFORMANCE STAGES , IMPROVED SIGHT LINES AND WORLD CLASS PA & LIGHTING. CURRENTLY WEKERLE RUNS HIS FAMOUS NIGHTCLUB IN THE HEART OF TORONTO & ACTIVELY CONSULTS ON THE BOARD-OF-DIRECTORS FOR MOGO.TO was great. I did four years of Dragon’s Den replacing Kevin O’Leary, who went to the U.S. to start Shark Tank, and it was a great experience. CBC is a great organization. They treated me very well.”

What do businesses have to have in order to secure a deal with a Dragon or an investor like yourself?

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WEK: I always say that number one, you would have to have proper management and you would have to define management with skin in the game. You have to have your own money invested. So it means as much to you as it does to the investor putting in the money. Nobody wants to come in and invest in somebody that’s in for a free ride with options. Always make sure in any company you invest in, you understand who the principles are, what is their background. Make sure your due diligence is extreme, so you understand what their motivation is. What is their path of success? Is this one company of a hundred or is this their only company? How much have they invested? Do they have focus? Do they have the capability of building a team? Do they have the capability of being a leader to take it and do they have a business that has barriers of entrance.

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