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" 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. "

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" Retail is my game. I spend every waking hour thinking about it. I started in the industry at the age of 18 after trying various other things that were mind-numbingly boring to me. "

Theo Paphitis

Age

Thinking

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

" The minute I stepped foot on the shop floor and started serving in a retail environment, I knew it was the career for me. I was a shop assistant for just one day, and I thought, 'This is it. This is the rest of my life. This is all I want to do.' "

" The government must recognise that taxing retailers differently is reckless. "

" If you look at all the investments made during 'Dragons' Den,' the ratio of those that make it to those that don't is actually extremely high. "

" I was absolutely astonished and could not believe my eyes at the outrageous interest rates that people in need have to pay to get loans. "

" I used to see Triumph TR7s and E-Type Jags, and I used to think, 'One day, I'm gonna have one of those.' I remember seeing an E-Type and walking round it 40 or 50 times. "

" I'd like to think people know what I stand for, which is straight-talking honesty and telling you not just what you want to hear but where it is at. "

" I was lucky enough to find my passion early - in retail - and I have done well but, most importantly, loved doing it. "

" What makes business exciting is that you don't need a fancy degree, and anyone can do it. "

" The decisions you make when you leave school define the rest of your life. So, in terms of making the right choices for your financial security as you get older, my best advice is to do something you have an interest in and are passionate about, as you'll be working for a long time. "

" Good businesses will survive good times and bad times. "

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

" In Cyprus, our house was right on the beach. I could walk out of our front door, cross a road, and there was the sea. "

" My parents divorced, my brothers and I ended up living with my mother, and we were living with the choice of heating or eating. My mum was working, but she needed financial support to make ends meet. I had to have free school dinners and free school uniforms. "

" My family's challenges meant we lived hand to mouth. There were weeks when we had neither electricity nor heating. "

" I can walk all day in malls, shopping centres, high streets - I love it. "

" 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. "

" I didn't have a great childhood, and neither did Debbie, my wife, so we both try to give the kids not only the material things we never had but also the hugs and the love. "

" My family come from Cyprus. Both my father and my grandfather worked on the British bases there, and as the British government granted independence to Cyprus, they granted British passports to those who worked with them. "

" I am for a transactional tax at the point of purchase for both online and physical retail. "

Theo Paphitis

Tax

Retail

" What I've achieved with Boux Avenue is what I always wanted to achieve with La Senza. "

Theo Paphitis

Achieve

Avenue

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

Theo Paphitis

Cost

Local

" Making the first million is hard; making the next 100 million is easy. "

Theo Paphitis

Million

Making

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

Theo Paphitis

Day

Odd

" We survived for hundreds of years under the old banking structure. You'd have clearing banks, then merchant banks doing the racy stuff, and then building societies where you'd join a waiting list for a mortgage. But then banks started buying stockbrokers, doing mortgages, and you ended up with these big banking groups doing everything. "

" Young people are the entrepreneurs of the future, and we should be looking to them as one of our sources of innovation for the high streets of tomorrow. "

" What's crucial in a High Street store is a compelling reason for people to shop there. Shops must offer excellent customer service - and 'theatre' is a must. "

" Entrepreneurship is just one thing that needs to be in schools. "

" What the entrepreneur gets on 'Dragons' Den' is direct access to people with masses of experience who can actually make quick decisions. "