NORTH DAKOTA – Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary is no stranger to North Dakota.
The businessman has already launched several investments in the state, including managing a $45 million direct investment program, Wonder Fund North Dakota. The program, according to the North Dakota Department of Commerce, will provide early-stage investments for small businesses.
Why invest in North Dakota
Paul Palandjian, CEO and General Partner of O’Leary Ventures, says there are several reasons that he and O’Leary spend a lot of their time in North Dakota.
“We got to know North Dakota almost serendipitously through a small investment we made through Shark Tank,” he said.
The investment is PRX Fitness, which saw enormous success.
That investment went on to build a manufacturing plant – and from there, O’Leary was invested in North Dakota.
“That drew Kevin to North Dakota, and it was when he first put boots on the ground on a follow-up for Shark Tank that he started to learn about the state,” Palandjian said.
It was only after O’Leary met with leaders that he came away with an understanding of the opportunities for business North Dakota had.
O’Leary, Palandjian and O’Leary Ventures have been most impressed with North Dakota’s culture, which Palandjian describes as ‘a preserved sense of lost Americana.’
North Dakota futures
Palandjian says North Dakota has ‘many fundamental super powers’ that make it suitable to capitalize on ‘five decades of megatrend’ in the years to come.
Those super powers include the 44 million acres – 39 million of which are agricultural – of land in the state, in addition to its richness in natural resources.
North Dakota is pro-business and has limited ‘red tape’, another “super power,” according to Palandjian.
North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong’s vision of the state is also a super power.
“He wants to put North Dakota right in the front of everybody’s dialogue in terms of where this country is going,” Palandjian said.
North Dakota “is a blank canvas”
North Dakota’s full potential has not yet been recognized.
“It’s all there, it’s like a blank canvas,” Palandjian said. “It’s not even started to realize its full potential, but all of the key ingredients are they.”
