The balloons only have one life and the only way of finding out whether they work is to attempt to fly around the world.

In the same way that I tend to make up my mind about people within thirty seconds of meeting them, I also make up my mind about whether a business proposal excites me within about thirty seconds of looking at it. I rely far more on gut instinct than researching huge amounts of statistics.

Universities are fantastic places to gain knowledge on a subject, develop a personal network, explore your character and learn new techniques to approach problems.

Although my spelling is still sometimes poor, I have managed to overcome the worst of my difficulties through training myself to concentrate.

It's obviously incredibly important to keep the body fit in order to keep the mind fit, and be able to find time for friends.

Having a good network can be invaluable. It opens doors for you and allows you to enter into opportunities that are beneficial to your business.

Breaking the rules and challenging convention is in the DNA of every successful entrepreneur. Doing things differently and solving problems with new, innovative and fresh approaches are the very reason many start-ups are able to compete and sometimes outpace the established market leaders.