THEO PAPHITIS

Wherever I go in the world, I put aside several days to go visit the stores.

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.

What makes business exciting is that you don't need a fancy degree, and anyone can do it.

I am the most conservative person you will ever come across, and that's because I'm good at reducing risks while leaving the potential rewards high.

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.

I admire people who have passion and energy.

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

The great virtue of the web, its ease of communication, has also become its Achilles' heel in that it has polluted the air with meaningless babble and egomaniacal drivel.

What the entrepreneur gets on 'Dragons' Den' is direct access to people with masses of experience who can actually make quick decisions.

People in emerging markets want to do business with the U.K. I don't see why the U.K. should be penalised for this.

I'm not into cats; they aren't my bag.

The eight years I spent at Millwall were among the best times of my life.

I didn't have a great childhood, and neither did Debbie, my wife, so we both try to give the kids not only the material things we never had but also the hugs and the love.

I started work at 13, had three or four part-time jobs, and learnt very quickly the values of work.

I've always maintained the basic business principles of keeping it simple, doing your homework, hard work, and common sense.

I hate mornings.

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.

Great customer service does not come by chance. It is the result of training and ensuring there are enough assistants to serve the customers.

I was useless in the classroom; I would spend my time looking out of the window after the first 10 minutes. But when you do an apprenticeship, you don't have to wait for the teacher to tell you when it's time to start, because you are on the shop floor learning for real.

In Cyprus, our house was right on the beach. I could walk out of our front door, cross a road, and there was the sea.

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.

I'm not a risktaker. I'm the total opposite.

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

For me, the high street is a key part of how we live, what sort of community we are, how we get our news, and how we get our gossip.

The decisions you make when you leave school define the rest of your life. So, in terms of making the right choices for your financial security as you get older, my best advice is to do something you have an interest in and are passionate about, as you'll be working for a long time.