#theo paphitis

Sport Relief, March 2016.  Theo Paphitis’ Sport Relief Track Day, L-R:  Ben “The Stig” Collins, model Jodie Kidd, entrepreneur Theo Paphitis, former racing driver Mark Blundell, and actors Trevor Eve and Neil Morrissey.

Cumbrian entrepreneur receives business boost from Dragons' Den star Theo Paphitis Rachel Gaw from Workington, Cumbria, has been recognised by Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis as one of his Small Business Sunday winners. Rachel’s Workington based firm Go Your Own Way received the business boost Full story: https://www.cumbriacrack.com/2020/03/27/cumbrian-entrepreneur-receives-business-boost-from-dragons-den-star-theo-paphitis/

Dragon's Den Meet for Windermere Businesswoman Local award-winning businesswoman Alison Magee-Barker of AJ Lakes Consultancy met Theo Paphitis of Dragon’s Den fame as she added another accolade to her shelf. Full story: https://www.cumbriacrack.com/2020/03/04/dragons-den-meet-for-windermere-businesswoman/

Penrith brothers high tech garden pod business expands with new showroom A Cumbrian family run business brings vision and tech to garden buildings. Roseberry Cabins was started by Penrith lad Dan Brown in 2011 Full story: http://www.cumbriacrack.com/2017/04/25/penrith-brothers-high-tech-garden-pod-business-expands-new-showroom/

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(via Norwich‐based Digital Marketing Agency Presents New Social Media Website With Retail Entrepreneur Theo Paphitis - via ResponseSource.com)

The recruitment entrepreneur and qualified psychotherapist was 11 when her father's business failed and the family home was repossessed. The event was an A-bomb on her formative years, and the tremors could still be felt as she approached university age. Kathleen always aspired to work in media and was accepted to study advertising at Bournemouth University. But the family's financial health had worsened and funding further education became impossible. So instead of heading to the coast to learn, Kathleen moved to London to work. “The only thing I could do was type, so I got a job as a secretary,” she says. “I was 18 years old and wore catsuits to work – I had no sense of what was appropriate.” Kathleen soon landed a job as PA for one Theo Paphitis, the then founder of Movie & Media Sports – a company selling perimeter advertising at sports grounds in England and Wales. According to Kathleen, the job was “sort-of, slightly media”, so she started to study. Not in a lecture hall but on-the-job. “I was such a pain in the arse,” she says. “I would constantly be asking colleagues in sales if I could come and sit with them; if I could learn what they were doing; if I could go out on a call with them. I was determined to break out so I just made myself useful and kept asking if I could. “Theo really taught me a lot. He was very good at distinguishing between liking someone and doing smart business with them. He also taught me how to negotiate. After 18 months with Theo and co, Kathleen landed a job in media sales, and started a career in which she would stay for 15 years. That first role was with Eurosport, but Kathleen soon moved to broadcasting powerhouse Sky, when a Sales Director granted her an interview on the strength of a cold letter – and a Far Side cartoon. “I guess the lesson here is that there's nothing to stop you going to the most senior person in the company and writing them a really personal, funny letter. Don't tell them about yourself, tell them what you can do for them.” In the following years Kathleen moved on and up the ladder, working in increasingly responsible roles for the likes of Capital Radio, PHP Media, and Saatchi & Saatchi. By 2007, Kathleen was a mum-of-two, top of the game, and flying high as Strategy Director at Virgin Radio. It was an interesting moment to change course – and to override the risk-setting established in childhood. But she had the entrepreneurial itch – and she went scratching into the unknown. Kathleen joined forces with a team of career headhunters to establish Grace Blue, a new recruitment firm that has since become a global pace-setter. “Everybody thought I'd gone completely mad, because I really didn't need to take that chance,” she says. “But I really did find the thing that I'd do for the rest of my days.” Because it was at Grace Blue that Kathleen unlocked a real talent for understanding people's personalities – and then finding candidates jobs that fit perfectly. “I would sit with people in interviews and they would tell me incredible things about their lives,” she says. “I was very comfortable to be told things – and I was excited by it. But when people talked about the death of a relative, or the fact they'd had an affair, I felt I wasn't taking care of them responsibly, so I decided to study it seriously.” Fast-forward a few years and Kathleen, the school-leaver, finally got her degree: Psychotherapy from Regent's University. During her academic studies, Kathleen read research that those who suffer loss or challenges in early life tend to demonstrate sharper 'survival' mechanisms, which often aid entrepreneurial success. Rather than being a natural no-go, flying solo was in fact Kathleen's calling. In 2009, she exited Grace Blue to start afresh with something 100% her own - and The Lighthouse Company was born. “I had no parachute, no safety net – my family clearly don't have any money,” says Kathleen. I literally took the money I made from the shares I'd sold back to Grace Blue and I used that for the first few months of The Lighthouse Company. “When you don't have a fallback situation you'd be surprised what you're capable of doing. When I left Grace Blue, the chairman said to me: 'I know you'll be successful because failure is not an option'” He was right. Kathleen talks of 18 hours days and sacrifices, but five years later and The Lighthouse Company connects the best international candidates with C-suite (CEO, CFO, COO and CMO) positions in the biggest international companies. TLC counts clients like ITV, Channel 4, Facebook, Buzzfeed, Bloomberg and Twitter, and works on both sides of the Atlantic. As an Ideas Britain coach, Kathleen Saxton is a real believer that, like her, anyone can find success so long as they've determination and drive in the tank. “I'm someone who believes your network is your most valuable thing – and Ideas Britain lets people who aren't connected in this way gain access to a network of open minded and open hearted business leaders. “Some people have never had access to the right networks and opportunities – and I'm almost more willing to help these people, because I was there. “I think it's really important to encourage entrepreneurship, and that we encourage people to have self-belief, whoever they are.”

Many thanks to Theo Paphitis who recently presented me with a Small Business Sunday award (#SBS). Theo Paphitis presents Bill Bailey with a Small Business Sunday award. It's an honour to win this from Theo who is a master entrepreneur and one of the most famous shop keepers in the country. Read more at http://East-Surrey.TileDoctor.biz/theo-paphitis-congratulates-bill-bailey/