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Deborah Meaden is an entrepreneur and for the last 15 years she’s been an investor on the popular TV series Dragons’ Den. She left school after O levels and studied at business college, before setting up her own glass and ceramics import company at the age of 19. She’s gone on to run many successful businesses in her career.

1. At a young age she joined the family business running amusement arcades in holiday parks where one of the jobs taught her a lot about business.

Deborah found out she had a real knack running the prize Bingo. “And that taught me more than anything at the right stage in my life,” she explains. “...Being in direct contact with a customer who is quite prepared to tell you whether they're happy, or they're not happy; managing the team; creating the right atmosphere; making sure it's going the right speed – not too fast, not too slow – making sure I recognised people (who came back each year) and I would remember them: ‘Hello, how are you? Your daughter with you?’ And just watching the effect that would have that has stayed with me forever.”

2. She also credits her early career working in holiday parks as giving her the knowledge and expertise to be an investor.

“I am very lucky,” explains Deborah. “Having been in Dragon's Den for 15 years, I've been exposed to an awful lot of industries but actually before that… I was in holiday parks. If you think about a holiday park, it had bars and catering, it had restaurants and clubs and swimming pools and accommodation and sewage treatment plants. When I first went into Dragon's Den I’m thinking ‘How do I know about air change systems?’ But of course I did, because I knew about that from the holiday parks.”

“But my thing is, all I need to know is enough to know what I don't know. I don't need to know everything. I can find the expert. I always look for the expert in the room. I need to know what I don't know. And once I feel like I will know what I don't know. Then I can invest.”

3. When she’s on Dragons’ Den is she led by the head or the heart when deciding whether to invest?

“Definitely my head is in the lead when it comes to investments,” says Deborah. “My heart is allowed to make lots of decisions but when it comes to not just my financial investment, but also the people who are pitching, it's important that I help the businesses that I think have got the best chance of survival, and the best chance of changing their own lives. So my head gets 90% of its own way. But when I get to the end of that – I call it a line of switches – you know, I click all the switches down, I think ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes…’ And then I get to the last switch. And I think ‘Now how do I feel about this?’ And if it doesn't feel right, I won't invest.”

4. Her husband did something very special while she was in Strictly Come Dancing.

“My husband did the most lovely thing during Strictly,” says Deborah. “He took up dancing lessons, because he could see how much I was loving it and he thought when it's over for her, it's over. Since I came out of Strictly we keep up with those… We try to dance a minimum of two hours a week, but we try to get in sometimes four hours a week.”

They even went to Buenos Aires to take lessons and learn Argentine Tango from Argentinians.

5. Deborah has been investing in fledgling businesses on Dragon’s Den for 15 years now. So has she had a good return?

“Yes,” laughs Deborah, “I have. Actually my first business I ever invested in, they've returned all of my money. And I'm still invested in them. Some businesses you kind of stay with for life; some businesses are quick turnarounds; some businesses are in the middle of their growth. You know, some of the businesses that I invested in two or three years ago, are on a stratospheric journey, but they haven't actually exited yet. But certainly, now I'm on the upside.”

But it’s not simply about making money. She adds: “It's wonderful to see people's lives change. And yes, of course, the finances are fantastic but you ask most successful entrepreneurs who have actually got enough money in the bank not to do it anymore why they do it, it's because they like to see these little seeds grow into something huge.”

6. What makes a successful entrepreneur?

“I look at entrepreneurs and they're all different shapes and sizes,” says Deborah, “and all different personalities but the things that I see running through are confidence – probably a little bit too much sometimes, good judgement – I call it a good nose for it, and we've all got our heads up, and we're looking for opportunity and we want to take a risk, not crazy risks, but we're happy to take a risk. Those are the things that I see in most successful entrepreneurs.”