Meet the business studies student who made £40m from hiring caravans…

Who is this?

- She studied Business Studies at Brighton Technical College
- At 19 she launched her own venture, importing glass and ceramics from Italy
- She bought the family caravan park in 1999 and sold it for £33m in 2005
- She has a tough, no-nonsense approach to business but on the inside claims to be much softer!

The answer, you have probably already guessed is Deborah Meaden, one of the panelists on Dragon’s Den.

Deborah’s entrepreneurial story is summarised in an interesting article in today’s Daily Mail which describes a new listing of people who have made a fortune without going to university.  An interesting article by itself, of course, but it also includes some useful case study material that might find its way into lessons in 2008/09.

Dragons Den - the board game [2 Jan 2012]
CSR - Branson, Paphitis and Meaden Turn into Eco Warriors [7 Feb 2011]
Insights from an Entrepreneur - Kirsty Henshaw (Worthenshaws) [8 Jan 2011]
Was this the worst mistake ever made in the Dragon’s Den [5 Jan 2011]
Kirsty Henshaw to speak at the Business Teacher National Conference 2011 [21 Dec 2010]
Meeting the entrepreneur behind Magic Whiteboard [6 Sep 2010]
Foldio - A cool way to teach Venture Capital [8 Oct 2009]
Do The Dragons Get It Right? [1 Jun 2009]
The Dragons got this one badly wrong - the entrepreneur that got away [29 May 2009]
Not even the Dragons are immune from the recession [26 Jan 2009]
A couple of quick starter quizzes on Dragons Den [23 Sep 2008]
Rapstrap becomes Dragons Den’s Biggest Success to-date [17 Sep 2008]
Insights into a good business idea from the thoughtful Dragon [1 Sep 2008]
Dragons Den - The Deal that Floated Away from the Dragons [27 Aug 2008]

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