Theo Paphitis Quotes

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Theo Paphitis

Profession : Businessman

Birth : September 24, 1959

Business isn't complicated; we complicate business.

Theo Paphitis

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

Theo Paphitis

Entrepreneurship can be taught to people with average academic abilities - the proof of that is everywhere you look.

Theo Paphitis

When I went to school, most parents wanted their children to get good A-levels, to go to university, and get a degree so your children had a better life than you. The way out of poverty was through a degree. But the whole world has moved on from that.

Theo Paphitis

I'm incredibly passionate about business, about small businesses, and about kids being given the right skills so they are successful.

Theo Paphitis

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.

Theo Paphitis

When we arrived in the U.K. on the banana boat, we settled right by Old Trafford.

Theo Paphitis

On Saturday, I don't want to be woken up until at least nine: I like a bit of a lie-in, a cup of tea, toast and marmalade, and the newspaper.

Theo Paphitis

I hate mornings.

Theo Paphitis

I don't really sleep until gone midnight anyway. It takes me a while to calm down before my mind allows me to switch off.

Theo Paphitis

I try to support local traders. The service makes up for any extra cost.

Theo Paphitis

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.

Theo Paphitis

The high street is not a retail thing: it's a social thing, part of the British lifestyle. And I say that as someone who started his life on Limassol high street in Cyprus.

Theo Paphitis

The high streets I remember best were Seven Sisters Road in north London and then sunny Peckham in south London after we moved there. They were where my parents used to shop. They were great, part of being a teenager.

Theo Paphitis

Every successful high street needs a catalyst that starts making people want to come there, and independent shops can be that catalyst. If you want a new idea on the high street, you'll probably find it in an independent. I know I shouldn't say this, but new ideas rarely happen in chains. What we do is adopt it once we spot it in an independent.

Theo Paphitis

I'm an avid sailor, and my first time exploring the Dalmatian Coast and the Croatian islands was very special.

Theo Paphitis

Souvenirs always tend to look great when you see them in some exotic souk but awful when you finally get them back home. They tend to start in my study and eventually get demoted to the garage or the loft.

Theo Paphitis

I liked Tom Bower's biography of Bernie Ecclestone, the former Formula 1 boss.

Theo Paphitis

I like the odd day relaxing by the pool, but I couldn't stand to sunbathe for an entire week.

Theo Paphitis

In my early teens, I was working in a Wimpy Bar and delivering cab company cards to make cash. I also ran a tuck shop at school. I struggled academically because of being dyslexic. When I saw other families and what they had, it inspired me. I thought, 'I can get that, too, if I work hard.'

Theo Paphitis