Irreverence ran on both sides of our family...my parents brought me up to think we could all change the world.

Most "necessary evils" are far more evil than necessary.

As much as you need a strong personality to build a business from scratch, you also must understand the art of delegation. I have to be good at helping people run the individual businesses, and I have to be willing to step back. The company must be set up so it can continue without me.

I believe a great company, whether improving a sector or creating a new one, needs to have an excellent product or service at its core; needs strong management to execute the plan and a good brand to give it the edge over its competitors. Providing quality service, combined with value for money and in an innovative way ensures you offer real value - and finally to be responsible to society and the planet.

Failing can provide invaluable lessons and making mistakes and experiencing setbacks is part of the DNA of every successful entrepreneur.

You need lucky breaks to be successful.

I always tell other people to protect against the downside, and not risk roughing on new ventures, but I never stuck to that rule myself.