No.1 for Interviews - Interview with James Caan

James Caan

The most level-headed Dragon in the Den reveals to Cara Kennedy what prompted him to write an autobiography and why the most important venture in his life is his marriage...

James Caan is one of those individuals whose opinions you can’t help but trust implicitly. Fair minded and level-headed, since joining the illustrious panel of entrepreneurs on Dragons’ Den, it is his comments that we have found ourselves waiting for after every pitch. Arguably one of the most successful businessmen in Britain and an ardent charity supporter, James has just released his autobiography The Real Deal – From Brick Lane to Dragons’ Den detailing deal by deal the story of his life. He has called the writing experience, “One of the most incredible of my life” and hearing him talk so passionately about the book, it is clear that he genuinely means it. We wanted to know what he’s like away from the Den, if the Dragons are as competitive off camera and what his biggest business mistake to date.

What prompted you to write an autobiography?
I really wanted to take the opportunity to reflect back on my life and look at some of the businesses that I’ve created. It really focuses on what I believe to be some very important lessons that I’ve found extremely valuable in my life.

Does your book give readers an insight into how to make a million?
I think the book gives people a genuine understanding of how business works. I didn’t start with a silver spoon and I didn’t have any real capital. I left school at 16 so it wasn’t that I had an amazing education or I had a huge amount of money to start with, or there was anything that you could say was unique in my background that’s given me the platform to do some of the things that I’ve done. I think there are a lot of insights that people can glean from the book that I’m sure would be really useful and give them some really good pointers.

You seem so calm and composed on Dragons’ Den, are you like that in your daily life?
By nature I’m a fairly calm type of individual. I don’t really have a temper. If things don’t work out, my philosophy is they probably weren’t meant to be.

What is your favourite investment you have made on Dragons’ Den?
Most of the investments I’ve made in the Den I’ve found really quite exciting because they’re so different. Sammy French and the investment I made in dog treadmills is probably the one I’ve been ribbed about the most, but that business is performing exceptionally well. I think in their own way all the investments I’m pleased to say, are delivering better than I originally thought they would do.

What is the craziest idea you’ve ever seen on the Dragons’ Den?
The one that comes to mind is the couple who came in this series who’d invented the bed sheet with a line down the middle. I nearly got tempted to invest and then I came to my senses and realised that people like to be close to each other when they go
to bed and don’t need a line in the middle to define their territories.

How competitive are the different Dragons?
The Den is a very competitive place. You’ve probably got the country’s top five entrepreneurs who in their own right have all done extremely well. I think it’s fair to say that we all love a good deal and when an opportunity comes in, clearly, everybody wants to compete for the right opportunity at the right price.

You’ve had plenty of success but have you ever had any business disasters?
Not everything I’ve touched has turned to gold – just like any entrepreneur, I’ve had my fair share of disasters. For example I invested in a business last year which was a chain of sandwich shops in London that had about 65 shops and 150 franchised vans and a  large factory employing 300 people. The business was offered to me and it looked so cheap but I forgot to ask myself why was it so cheap? I rushed the deal and didn’t think it through and six months later, the inevitable happened and I lost my entire investment. But sometimes you learn more from your disasters than you do from your successes.

Is it true you married the woman involved in your very first business venture?
My first venture was backing a very attractive girl I met many, many years ago; in fact, 26 years ago! A lady approached me with a fantastic idea to launch a fashion business, I found her intriguing and decided to back her in her venture, and managed to get the business to do really well. Literally within 12 months of meeting her I fell in love with her and proposed to marry her. So she was in fact was my first investment!

How do you keep a balance between work and family life?
To me, having a balance in life is really, really important, because I think in order to be able to do the things that I do I need to have an opportunity to relax. I’m fortunate enough that I have a yacht in the South of France and I really try to get away and spend three or four days just reflecting on the boat. I find it therapeutic because when you’re on the boat, you really are away from the world. It gives me time to read and when I get back I’m fully charged!

James Caan’s autobiography The Real Deal – From Brick Lane to Dragons’ Den is available from all good book shops now.

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