Dragons’ Den entrepreneur James Caan rarely gets any privacy on his travels
and has even had someone approach him in the toilet with a business idea.
“Wherever you are, in a street or on a plane, people will come up to you and
say they’ve got a fantastic idea for a bicycle with a cucumber holder and
you do think ‘Crikey, give me a break. I do that on television but not
here’.
“Once I was in the loo at the airport, standing at the urinal. This bloke said
to me ‘you’re that fellow in the Den, aren’t you? I said ‘yes, that’s
right’. He said ‘I’ve always wanted to talk to you guys, can I tell you
about this idea I’ve got.’ I’m standing there with my penis in my hands
thinking that this is not really the right time to be pitching a business
idea. I said ‘Can I ask you a question? Are you familiar with the term
‘timing’?’ I said thanks a lot, I wish you well, and left. I didn’t listen
to the idea because I thought it was just inappropriate.”
Caan, 49, is one of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs. He founded
recruitment firm Alexander Mann before selling out in 2002 and then launched Hamilton
Bradshaw, a Mayfair-based private equity firm, which now has a portfolio
of businesses with a combined annual turnover of £400m. He is currently
working with the government on the iawards, which recognise British
achievements in science, technology and innovation. Since 2007, he has been
one of the judges that invests in budding entrepreneurs on the popular BBC
programme Dragons’ Den.
He travels frequently throughout the UK and the rest of the world, seeing
clients and setting up deals.
Has anyone ever approached in the street you with a good idea?
Not really. I’m so inundated with ideas through my website and mentally I’m
not really ready for it if I’m just accosted in the street. If you engage
with people you’ll be there for half an hour because if I show interest,
it’s never a five minute conversation. I think there’s a time and place, and
Dragon’s Den is the time and place.
How do you travel around the UK?
I have a chauffeur and go by car either in a (Rolls Royce) Phantom or a
Maybach. Time is money for me and I can utilise my time more effectively if
I’m being driven somewhere. The car has laptops, phone, DVD and is really
just like an office. The seats are like first class aircraft seats and you
can also recline and sleep in them. I can take conference calls from the
phone and if I’m in there for a two or three hour journey I’m not losing any
time and it really is no different from being in the office.
Do you ever drive yourself?
I drive a convertible Aston Martin that I bought from Elton John. It’s a
beautiful looking car and I only drive it myself on the odd weekend. The
family also has a Range Rover. The other cars – the Phantom and the Maybach –
are driven by the chauffeur.
What about the environmental impact of all those cars?
Sorry, it’s a really bad line, I didn’t hear that question!
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