Entrepreneurs in the Dragons' Den

Welcome to the second edition of this five part series where we are diving into to the profiles of each dragon that has appeared on the BBC’s hit show ‘Dragon’s Den’.

If you missed the first edition please feel free to have a look.

Dragon 5: Theo Paphitis

• Series 2 - 10 (Guest 17 & 18)

Theodoros or Theo Paphitis is a Greek-Cryptic British entrepreneur. Born in 1959 in Limassol, Cyprus, he was the second of three brothers and moved to the U.K. while he was young, moving to Old Trafford. His family stayed in Manchester for three years and moved to London when he was nine years old. Paphitis battled dyslexia during his time at school, however this enhanced his entrepreneurial spirit and his activities included running the school’s tuck shop at the age of 15.

Paphitis’ first foray into working life was working as a tea boy and filing clerk in London. After discovering his passion for retailing and sales at 18, he moved onto work as a sales assistant for Watches of Switzerland in Bond Street and later developed valuable experience in finance and property when he entered the world of insurance in a customer facing role. It is evident that despite Paphitis facing certain challenges with his dyslexia, he built a foundation of knowledge and developed skills that enabled him to become a successful entrepreneur in the future.

His earlier experience in retail would prove to be valuable as Paphitis revived the fortunes of several high street names such as Ryman, partners the Stationers; Stationery Box, La Senza, Contessa Lingerie and the home and garden retailer Robert Dyas. Paphitis’ approach of rebuilding businesses rather than seeing them going to the wall has been his trademark over the years; in fact, in an interview with Retail Weekly he said, “We buy a business on the basis that we’ll run it as if we’re going to own it forever. We’re not running it for a three-year smash and grab”. This somewhat unorthodox approach demonstrates his impressive ability to spot potential and nurture failing firms back to retail juggernauts. In 2015, he launched the Theo Paphitis Retail Group which combines many of his firms and the group comprises over 300 stores and 4,000 employees.

Paphitis’ other passion was sport, and this led him to becoming the Chairman of Millwall after taking them out of administration in 1997. The savvy entrepreneur used his previous knowledge in the world of business to turn their fortunes around and later led them onto the 2004 FA Cup Final and into European Football. Paphitis is probably best known for his work in reducing football hooliganism which Millwall were renowned for.

Paphitis was approached to become one of the “dragons” in the second series of Dragons’ Den in 2005 and remained until series 10. He was best-known for his straight-talking but approachable nature and made several investments during his time in the Den. The entrepreneur made 45 investments, as well as making one of the biggest investments in the show’s history by backing Zapper with £250,000 in exchange for 30% equity; however, the deal failed to go through after recording. His biggest deal which went through was a joint £100,000 investment for 20% equity in Magic Whiteboard alongside Debroah Meaden, which saw both of them recoup £800,000 on their initial investment.

Paphitis also revived Red Letter Days with fellow Dragon’s Den star Peter Jones, which was established by Rachel Elnaugh who was in the Den in its opening series. (link) He later returned for a guest appearance in Series 17 in 2019 and Series 18 in 2021.

According to The Sun, Theo Paphitis’ net worth is currently around £390 million.

Dragon 6: Richard Farleigh

• Series 3 - 4

Richard Farleigh was born in 1960 in Victoria, Australia. One of 11 children, Farleigh comes from a somewhat fractured childhood, where he along with his siblings were put up for adoption when he was just two years of age. Thankfully, he ended up with a loving foster family and apart from a brief visit when he was 4, he had very little contact with his biological parents and only rekindled his relationships with his siblings when he was an adult. A mostly unhappy child in high school, Farleigh’s brother introduced him to chess at the age of 12 and what started as a hobby soon became a passion. He quickly rose to the rank of Junior State Champion where he would travel the country attending chess tournaments. Years later he would represent Bermuda and Monaco in the Chess Olympics.

Farleigh’s first foray into the working world found him joining the leading Australian investment bank at the time, Bankers Trust Australia. The CEO of the company reportedly told colleagues that he did not believe that the sky and unconfident 23-year-old would never succeed and that “if he makes a buck for the bank, I’ll walk backwards to Bourke” – Farleigh ended up becoming the bank’s biggest single money earner.

By 1993, Farleigh was in his early 30s and earning a seven figure sum as a trader and was head-hunted for a secretive international hedge fund based in Bermuda.  After several years in this tropical spot which he described as “trader’s heaven”, he retired at the age of 34 and moved to Monaco.

Farleigh joined Dragons’ Den in 2006 where he was looking to “uncover the next big thing”. Farleigh was a fairly popular Dragon where he would offer constructive criticism , even when no entrepreneur was investing in the businesses that where showing their ideas. During his time on the show, he invested in 6 businesses; 5 with fellow Dragons and 1 individually. He even invested in the now famous Reggae Reggae Sauce with Peter Jones and sold his stake for a x10 return a year later. Farleigh’s net worth currently sits at around £100 million.

Dragon 7: James Caan

• Series 5 - 8

James Caan is a British-Pakistani entrepreneur and television personality. Born in 1960 in Lahore, Pakistan, Caan’s family emigrated to the United Kingdom when he was 2 years old. His father’s plan was for him to join the family business; however, Caan rejected this offer and left home at 16 and this caused a fracture in their relationship which lasted many years.

Caan started his career working various jobs and found himself working with several recruitment companies, which led him to start his own in 1987 named ‘Alexander Mann’. In 1993, he co-founded the executive headhunting firm Humana International, which eventually grew to 147 offices in 30 countries and in the same year he launched the trade magazine Recruitment International, which he sold in 2000. Caan later sold Alexander Mann for £95 million and joined the Advanced Management Program at Havard Business School, before starting a recruitment investment firm, Hamiliton Bradshaw (HB). HB is now an industry leader in its field, containing a portfolio that turns over in excess of £500 million.

Caan’s television career was not solely his stint on Dragon’s Den. In 2012, he was approached by CNBC to host the Business Class which would see Caan joined by experts from different industries, looking at the challenges and opportunities faced by UK SMEs. Each episode featured innovative business where the entrepreneurs would seek guidance from the experts to help them grow in their chosen marketplace.

During his time on Dragons’ Den, Caan made 18 investments in a variety of businesses, including dog treadmill business Fit Fur Life, a company specialising in ‘Toastabags’ and an easy-to-install blind business Blindsinabox. Caan’s most successful investment was a company called Rapstrap. He invested £150,000 with fellow Dragon Duncan Bannatyne in exchange for a 50% share in the business. Soon after his investment, the plastic distributor Hitachi-Maxell secured a £36 million contract for the product. Cann’s net worth currently sits at around £100 million according to several media outlets.

Dragon 8: Hilary Devey

• Series 9 -10

Hilary Devey was born in 1957 in Bolton, Lancashire. Looking at her family background, it is easy to see why trying to become successful was a huge driving force. As a 7-year-old, she witnessed her father’s central heating business enter bankruptcy and saw bailiffs remove furniture and household goods from her family home. Only after her birth did Devey’s mother find out that her father, Arthur Brewster, was already married with 4 other children. History repeated itself later on in her life when she was in a relationship with a Turkish Businessman, as after she gave birth to their son, a woman got in touch to say that he was already married. In her adolescence, she joined the Royal air Force in air traffic control and the supply accounts department after her parents would continuously move around the country managing pubs and hotels.

After working as a consultant for 2 years, Devey spotted a gap in the market by setting up Pall-Ex which was on of the first palletised goods distribution networks operating across Britain. Launching in 1996, Pall-Ex was established off the back of Devey not being able to get a bank loan for the business, and her funding the operation by selling her house. On their first night they distributed 117 pallets and they would later enter the European market and distribute thousands of pallets every night, creating partnerships across the continent.

The impact she had on a largely male dominated industry was quite incredible. She was the first female to win the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport’s Sir Robert Lawrence Award in 2009 and was presented with numerous other business executive honours. Pall-Ex is currently turning over circa £100 million, while gross profits were £10.9 million in 2021.

Devey was not a TV novice before joining the Dragons’ Den panel. She was involved in programmes such as the Secret Millionaire in 2008 and she was the presenter of the Business Inspector in 2010, which was a four-part documentary series which saw her use her business acumen and expertise to help transform struggling small businesses into successful profitable companies.

In 2011, Devey entered Dragons’ Den following the departure of James Caan. Devey made 8 investments during her stint on the show, but only 2 of them did the actual investment proceed post-production. She invested £75,000 with fellow dragon Theo Paphitis for a 20% stake in Shampooheads. Devey also invested £80,000 for 26% equity in Duvalay, a bespoke travel bedding firm.

Devey remained in the spotlight after leaving the show in 2012, by hosting numerous shows including ‘The Intern’ and ‘Running the Shop’. She was also awared a CBE in the Queen’s 2013 Birthday Honours for services to the transport industry and charity. Hilary Devey sadly passed away at the age of 65 after a long illness in 2022 at her holiday home in Morocco.