Shark Tank investor and finance personality Kevin O'Leary joined the cacophony of voices in the industry sharing their perspectives on the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank Friday, March 10. Mr. Wonderful saw the opportunity to promote a service he thought could help start-ups secure investors.
"SVB shut down. When a crisis hits, put all your options on the table," the investor tweeted the morning of March 13. "Platforms like @StartEngineLA are here to help you secure funding you need, on your own terms." O'Leary also included a link to the site.
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The company, StartEngine, functions similarly to a crowdfunding platform, but instead of donating money in exchange for perks or products, the site allows independent investors to buy shares in blooming startups. Kevin O'Leary is also a paid spokesperson for the company.
O'Leary did follow up this tweet with a transparent statement about his work for the SmartEngine. But that didn't stop commenters from remarking on the opportunistic nature of his response to the situation.
While several commenters felt that O'Leary's choice to promote his own business during the crash was gauche, others went right for the throat. Several responses mentioned the investor's previous involvement with the cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX which recently fell from grace.
