Quotes from Theo Paphitis

I'm an avid sailor, and my first time exploring the Dalmatian Coast and the Croatian islands was very special.

A small business can survive for a while without making a profit, but if its cashflow dries up, the impact is fatal.

If you cannot bore your friends to death about your own small business, then something is seriously wrong.

I'm incredibly passionate about business, about small businesses, and about kids being given the right skills so they are successful.

Entrepreneurship is just one thing that needs to be in schools.

What I've achieved with Boux Avenue is what I always wanted to achieve with La Senza.

I used to see Triumph TR7s and E-Type Jags, and I used to think, 'One day, I'm gonna have one of those.' I remember seeing an E-Type and walking round it 40 or 50 times.

There are huge misconceptions about people on benefits. They are labelled scroungers or cheats. The reality is that many who need that level of support are working, but their income is not enough to get out of debt or pay for basics like food and household bills. It's so close to the way I grew up.

I hate mornings.

Every successful high street needs a catalyst that starts making people want to come there, and independent shops can be that catalyst. If you want a new idea on the high street, you'll probably find it in an independent. I know I shouldn't say this, but new ideas rarely happen in chains. What we do is adopt it once we spot it in an independent.

I know I have been lucky in business, and I am keen now to spread goodwill to others, of course not forgetting that very often, you make your own luck by making use of every opportunity.

My whole business philosophy is based on a risk-reward ratio. But it's got to stack up. If it doesn't, don't do it. You might as well go to a casino.

My parents divorced, my brothers and I ended up living with my mother, and we were living with the choice of heating or eating. My mum was working, but she needed financial support to make ends meet. I had to have free school dinners and free school uniforms.

The minute I stepped foot on the shop floor and started serving in a retail environment, I knew it was the career for me. I was a shop assistant for just one day, and I thought, 'This is it. This is the rest of my life. This is all I want to do.'

'Dragons' Den' and 'The Apprentice' have opened people's eyes to what they can do.

A lot of multinationals have long, drawn-out processes and are pretty useless at putting products on the shelves quickly.

Young people are the entrepreneurs of the future, and we should be looking to them as one of our sources of innovation for the high streets of tomorrow.

Save money; never rely on other people to lend you money. We call it having 'walking the streets' money - money in your back pocket or bank account that belongs to you.

The statistics for investing in small businesses are such that the vast majority fail.

If the cash runs out, it's like a heart attack for you and your business. Keep that front and centre of your mind, and you will have financial security and not be struggling to pay the bills.

The more we learn about dyslexia, the more able we will be to help those with it.

Politicians are elected to do what is right, but too many are just doing what is right for the party.

When I was on 'Dragons' Den,' most of the letters I received were from people under 16. They wrote about their ideas, their views, their challenges. The audience is actually a very young audience.

It's very difficult for an entrepreneur to let go. It's very hard to sell a successful business. People sometimes hold on until the business has no value at all.