The Dragon talks to Angela Wintle about schooling, stripy socks and how Dragons’ Den changed his life. A few sections I found interesting:
Routine I’m woken at about 6.15 when the kids bound in to say good morning. I shave, shower, get dressed and shovel down a bowl of Frosties, all in the space of 20 minutes. Then I head to the car, cappuccino in hand, where my driver takes me to my head office in Marlow. I have 16 investments and check the latest sales figures online on my way into work. I work long hours, usually clocking off at around 8pm, when I’ll often go on to a dinner lasting until midnight. If I’m filming Dragons’ Den, we work flat out until 8pm, although I love seeing the weird, wonderful and plain delusional.
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Business collapse I started my first major business when I was 21, providing computers and services to corporate clients. I had a comfortable lifestyle, but lost everything during the 1990s recession when several customers who owed me money went bust. I briefly moved back in with my parents, but I’ve never been one for crying into my soup. By 1998 I’d got enough money together to launch a telecommunications firm. When I told my bank manager I intended turning over £2 million pounds, he looked at me in disbelief, but we generated £14 million worth of sales in the first year.
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Stripy socks I’ve always worn stripy socks (pictured) and they’ve become a trademark, even though my staff think they’re the height of bad taste. In fact, I seem to have started a craze since wearing them on television and sell 30,000 pairs a month for charity through my shopping site, peterjonescollection.tv. When I met the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Kensington Palace, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to show them off. Much to my surprise, Prince Philip lifted his trouser legs to reveal his own pair.
