Quotes from Peter Jones

American Inventor', a show I came up with launched in 2006. It's all of America's greatest and wackiest inventions rolled into one with a judging panel including the legendary George Foreman.

I passionately believe that you should start a company that you really believe in. Don't start something that you have no interest in, start something that you're passionate about.

When people pitch me their ideas in a T-shirt and jeans it shows they can't be bothered.

My kids certainly aren't going to have the money. They don't need it.

One of the biggest reasons entrepreneurs don't succeed is because they have too many chiefs. You've got to bring in the right people to make the right decisions.

If I'm filming 'Dragons' Den', we work flat out until 8pm, although I love seeing the weird, wonderful and plain delusional.

I want my kids to be polite and respectful, stand on their own two feet.

When I was 12 I worked with someone - it was actually an English teacher at my school, John Woodward. He was the only teacher in the school to have a top-of-the-range Porsche and all the trappings of success, so it was very interesting for me to find out how he did it. He was probably the wealthiest English teacher in the community.

Throughout my career, some of my best hires have been people who have bypassed the traditional route of university and learned their skills through apprenticeship schemes or alternative education courses.

All young people can benefit from practical business knowledge but especially those from the poorest parts of the country.

Whenever I invest, I invest in the person as well as the business.

If you want to make your own decisions about where you work, what you do, what you earn and what you buy, then being able to make money is an important factor.

So I went and got my first job at 28, trying to think what I am going to do, I've never worked for anybody, so I decided to go and write and send my CV off to everyone.

I passed my Lawn Tennis Association coaching exam, and I persuaded my local club to let me use a court after school and on Saturdays.

I'm 6ft 7in and I was a bit like a giraffe on the tennis court, though I did play at county level.

I've certainly learnt there's nothing more important than cash - cash flow issues are one of the biggest causes of company failures.

People have dreams, don't they? Young people have enormous vision for their futures. I think a lot of them are realising that they won't necessarily be Robbie Williams but they might be brilliant businessmen and businesswomen.

When I was eight, my parents saved up to send me to private school, but I found it so tough that I often escaped through the back fence to walk the four miles to my father's office in Windsor. I only lasted a few terms, but it didn't curb my ambition.

The first thing I think, I was building computers, I started to build a computer when I was 17 or 18 at home, an IBM compatible computer, and then I started to sell computers, and when I sold a computer to a company called Ligo I think, and they were selling systems which became blockbuster.

I've got my own businesses I run every day and I like to think I'm a nurturer rather than a firer, but the reality is, if somebody continues not to succeed and do the right thing for the business they lose the job because they are affecting the livelihoods of others.

The more people you meet, and the more people you have influence over your business can scale quicker.

There are lots of people who say you are born an entrepreneur - you either have that gene or not. I really disagree with that.

I always substitute the word 'feedback' for 'failure.'

For many young people on-the-job training and hands-on experience is the real route to employability, not a university education.