Peter Jones

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

“When you do make losses, or you have businesses that don't succeed, it's about knowing when to stop and do something else.”

“Business is about making money but it is also about having fun, so get your character across.”

“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.”

“One of the things that slightly annoys me in business is that we use words like innovation. Young people often think innovation is about doing something new, but actually it's not. It's about doing something better than your competition.”

“Knowledge-based apprenticeships kickstart careers. Just look at British fashion designer Karen Millen, for example, who learned her craft through an apprenticeship scheme.”

“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.”

“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 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.”

“I think a lot of people are getting bored of audition-based shows, along the lines of 'Strictly Come Dancing' or 'The X-Factor'. I know I am. But 'Dragons' Den' will have a longer shelf-life than all of them because it's fundamentally real in a way that other shows aren't.”

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

“My father was an air conditioning engineer and we lived in a three-bedroom terraced house in Langley before moving to a four-bedroom house in Maidenhead, where my parents still live.”

“We've all seen those spoiled little brats that end up being given everything and on their 17th birthday get a Ferrari. That whole thing I just can't bear it.”

“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.”

“I find it very, very difficult to watch myself on TV.”

“I lost my computer business when I was 29 because I gave credit to firms I didn't investigate. I lost my house and had to move back in with my parents and then I lived in an office for six months.”

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

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

“I really don't want to encourage young people to think that life is about money only. Life is about being able to give yourself choice.”

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