Barbara Corcoran, founder of the prominent New York real estate brokerage firm The Corcoran Group and star investor on ABC's Shark Tank, spoke for more than an hour at The Champions School of Real Estate's keynote 2016 Houston event yesterday.

She shared her rags-to-riches story of turning a $1k loan from a boyfriend into a real estate empire. She shared stories of her journey from waitress to real estate mogul, her dealings with Donald Trump, and how she's used data to grow her business, reports the Houston Chronicle.

The loan wasn't her ex-boyfriend's best present. For Barbara, the best thing he did was insult her by saying she couldn't do it without him. She described the insult as the "gift of a lifetime." She elaborated, "An insult can be the best motivator. It became my motivator." She eventually sold her real estate business for $66M. I'd say she proved him wrong. [Chron]