0:00:08 > 0:00:11It's the question that everyone wants an answer to.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15What is the secret to extraordinary success?
0:00:17 > 0:00:18Is it grit?
0:00:19 > 0:00:21Is it determination?
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Luck?
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Or is it who you know?
0:00:28 > 0:00:31I've been in business now for some 30 years and I can tell you,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35all successful entrepreneurs share a few unique qualities.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41Certain traits that give them the upper hand.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45But what are they and can they be learnt?
0:00:46 > 0:00:50'I'm on a mission to find out what drives Britain's best entrepreneurs.'
0:00:50 > 0:00:52- This is it?- Yeah, this is it.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54I don't like something not being as good as it can be.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57- Would you die for your brand? - I almost did.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01'And uncover the human side that determines their success or failure.'
0:01:01 > 0:01:04You're driven by self-doubt.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07Maybe it was all that bullying and heartache.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11I want them to reveal their individual recipes for success.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14You definitely are a hippy with a calculator!
0:01:14 > 0:01:16You are quite...manipulative.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20'..So I can discover just how they made their millions.'
0:01:20 > 0:01:24If these guys ever sold this business to me, you guys wouldn't know what hit you.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26Mess with me, I'll turn you to stone.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30- Would you take a £100 million cheque for your share now?- Hm.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40Success in business isn't a fine science.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46I've turned tiny start-ups into multi-million-pound companies.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50Not all of my ventures have succeeded. Business is tough.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55But I've always believed there are certain factors
0:01:55 > 0:01:58that can give us all a fighting chance.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06I'm on a journey to get inside the minds of two of the country's top business people,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09and I'm hoping to discover the ways in which
0:02:09 > 0:02:12the most unlikely characters become multi-millionaires.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18I'll be spending time with Richard Reed - founder of a smoothie company
0:02:18 > 0:02:19with a £165 million turnover.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23And Michelle Mone,
0:02:23 > 0:02:27the self-made inspiration behind a multi-million-pound lingerie business
0:02:27 > 0:02:30and who according to the Rich List is worth £50 million.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34Have they both followed the same blueprint to success?
0:02:34 > 0:02:38Or is it their difference that matters most?
0:02:39 > 0:02:42My journey begins at Fruit Towers in West London -
0:02:42 > 0:02:45the home of the most successful smoothie company in the UK,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48and its co-founder, Richard Reed.
0:02:48 > 0:02:54- Look, the tie's off today! No tie! - How are you?- How's it going?
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Have you seen the difference to the way that you travel?
0:02:57 > 0:03:01- We're grass-covered vans and you're this thing!- I want to be in the grass-covered vans.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05It's good fun, actually, it dances. It's got hydraulics, so it bounces around.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10You can blare out music from the speakers. We take it to festivals and go out sampling with it.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14A lot of my people have met their partners through it, as well.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19Richard is leading a new wave of entrepreneur who have embraced
0:03:19 > 0:03:23a business style pioneered in the US by companies like Google.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26He believes that if his employees feel at home,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29they'll be extra productive.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Despite opting for an open collar, I still felt overdressed.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37It almost doesn't look like a working environment.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41It looks like a London play centre.
0:03:41 > 0:03:42It kind of is.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51The most important thing is first of all, have a smoothie.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55This is the chill out area.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58It's basically a big communal area
0:03:58 > 0:04:01for people to come in for informal at meetings.
0:04:01 > 0:04:02What's that?
0:04:02 > 0:04:05We call this the smoothie wheel of fortune.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07Sometimes, if we can't make a decision,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09we'll put the different options on and spin it,
0:04:09 > 0:04:11let the wheel of fortune decide.
0:04:11 > 0:04:12You put your ideas on here?
0:04:12 > 0:04:14Whichever one it turns to, is the one you choose?
0:04:14 > 0:04:16That's what you go for.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20You make business decisions on a wheel of fortune?
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Not for like big decisions
0:04:22 > 0:04:25but when you've got a few different options and a bit of fun.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28It's got a home feel, this is your kitchen.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32You've got people in a sitting room.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35You let people wear whatever they want to wear.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37That's the point.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41If you want to wear a suit, you're welcome to wear a suit.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43You'd look a bit like me now, wouldn't you?
0:04:43 > 0:04:46I feel as if I've come into a business environment
0:04:46 > 0:04:48for the first time and I feel completely out of place.
0:04:48 > 0:04:49I have to say...
0:04:49 > 0:04:52I'd come in tomorrow with trunks on.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55We'd never judge someone on what they wore, it's not that vibe.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59You've got to wear what you're comfortable with so you do your best work.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02I've seen one person sat at his desk in his dressing-gown.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05That was pushing the limits of what you can wear in the office.
0:05:05 > 0:05:06A dressing-gown?
0:05:06 > 0:05:08His dressing-gown, he said he was cold.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14After reading geography at Cambridge,
0:05:14 > 0:05:16Richard set up the fruit juice company
0:05:16 > 0:05:20in 1999 with fellow graduates, John Wright and Adam Balham.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25We have a house phrase which is if you're 70% sure,
0:05:25 > 0:05:26then go for it.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30Don't wait around trying to be 100% confident it's the right decision.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38I've had the very rare privilege to have spent the last 12 years
0:05:38 > 0:05:42doing something that I've found to be incredibly exciting
0:05:42 > 0:05:45and interesting and mind expanding and life enhancing
0:05:45 > 0:05:47and doing it with my two closest friends.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Who wants to go and make some smoothies?
0:05:50 > 0:05:51Yeah!
0:05:51 > 0:05:55Today, Richard sells over 2 million bottles of smoothies a week
0:05:55 > 0:05:59but they're expanding their range, moving into ready meals
0:05:59 > 0:06:01and taking on the orange juice market.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03It's about being natural.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Natural ingredients, making natural food,
0:06:06 > 0:06:11but also the idea of being natural, talking naturally, acting naturally.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14People can come in that work at Innocent,
0:06:14 > 0:06:16be their natural selves at work.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Kimberley is joining us as our new purchase specialist.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23She can make the sound of a dolphin.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26We won't hide behind some weird corporate facade.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28We'll just be who we are.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34It's always good to be exactly who you are,
0:06:34 > 0:06:38as long as you realise that running a business is about making money.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46I wanted to find out if Richard had the money making gene.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50When did you actually feel or think to yourself, you know what,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53I'm an entrepreneur?
0:06:53 > 0:06:58I was 16 and I was working in a dog biscuit factory in Huddersfield.
0:06:58 > 0:06:59My job paid £2 an hour.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02The task I was assigned, I had to get down on my hands and knees
0:07:02 > 0:07:07and pick the dog biscuits off the factory floor that had fallen off.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10I went to the foreman and said, "do you have a brush I could borrow?
0:07:10 > 0:07:13"I could do this job better."
0:07:13 > 0:07:17He looked at me dead in the eyes and said, "son, you are the brush."
0:07:17 > 0:07:21That was the split second I decided there's got to be a better way.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24I left the dog biscuit factory that afternoon,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26went home, set up a business called Two Men Went to Mow,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29which was mowing lawns in the village.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32Before I knew it, I'm billing myself out at £2.50 an hour
0:07:32 > 0:07:35and getting so much work that I could give jobs to my mates.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38I'd bill them out of £2.50 an hour, pay them £2.25 an hour
0:07:38 > 0:07:39so made a bit extra there.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43If you don't like a situation, then change it, rather than complaining.
0:07:43 > 0:07:48Having the confidence to change what you don't like is an entrepreneurial trait I recognise.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53But was this Cambridge graduate helped by having a privileged upbringing?
0:07:53 > 0:07:55I'm from Huddersfield in the North of England.
0:07:55 > 0:08:02My dad started as a bus conductor and worked his way up to manage the local bus company.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04My mum was a nurse.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08My mum and dad decided they wanted me to have private education.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13That was funded by my mum going out and working nights. She worked two nights a week.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17- My parents made massive sacrifices for us.- What was school like?
0:08:17 > 0:08:23The first year, I came 44th out of 45 in my class in the exams.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26So one from the bottom.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Something clicked with me and I worked harder and came 17th.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33I remember going home really pleased with myself. I came 17th.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37My mum just said, "I think you can do better than that."
0:08:37 > 0:08:39I remember thinking, "Wow."
0:08:39 > 0:08:45So that one defining moment, that was the self-belief injection your mum gave you?
0:08:45 > 0:08:48I think it made me recalibrate, yes.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51I thought, "Oh. I did pretty good but actually..."
0:08:51 > 0:08:56- Do better.- "You can do better." - And you did.- Yes.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59- And almost the rest is history.- Yes.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06To truly uncover why Richard has become so successful,
0:09:06 > 0:09:10I needed the answers to some uncomfortable business questions.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15But that would have to wait.
0:09:15 > 0:09:21First I've got an appointment with an entrepreneur who is poles apart from Richard Reed.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27The next stop on my journey is East Kilbride, where I'm meeting Michelle Mone,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30the tycoon behind one of the country's leading lingerie labels.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35I wonder what her corporate headquarters might reveal
0:09:35 > 0:09:37about her particular approach to business.
0:09:38 > 0:09:44- Hello.- How are you?- Fine. How are you?- Very good.- Nice to see you.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47- Thank you very much. - This is our Scottish headquarters.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49We've got Hong Kong and China as well.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54I wanted it shaped like a breast. You're now in the breast of the building.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58- When we go upstairs, you'll see it more.- You're not winding me up?
0:09:58 > 0:10:00Honestly, it's real, yes.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03It's shaped like a double D, so there you go.
0:10:11 > 0:10:17- So this is the breast?- Yes. - This looks far too staged for me.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20You can't be all tidy workers.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22This is how we run things.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Any cupboards that you want to look in, they will all be organised.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31- Even the cupboards?- Yes. They've all got to be organised.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33I use cupboards in my office to hide things.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36Is it really like this for real?
0:10:38 > 0:10:40It all felt too good to be true.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42Was this an act just for me?
0:10:42 > 0:10:46In here is our meeting room. Graphics as well.
0:10:46 > 0:10:51As Michelle showed me around I knew there was one particular member of staff who could help me learn more.
0:10:51 > 0:10:57The one employee who knows everything about their boss, the PA.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03Shall we go and meet Laura? Laura, come and meet Peter.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07- What's it like working for Michelle? - It's very different from anywhere I've worked before.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11It's stressful at times but all in all good.
0:11:11 > 0:11:17What's the hardest thing working for a busy, successful entrepreneur?
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Michelle is a perfectionist. You can plan one thing
0:11:20 > 0:11:24and within 10 minutes she wants it completely different.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28- She changes her mind a lot? - Oh, yeah.- All the time?
0:11:28 > 0:11:31I'm not scared of change. It annoys people around you
0:11:31 > 0:11:34because they've been working on it for so long but...
0:11:34 > 0:11:37I know everything about her. You have to be one step ahead of her.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40What scares you about Michelle as a boss?
0:11:41 > 0:11:46I can tell when Michelle is in not the best of moods. I call it the Care Bear stare
0:11:46 > 0:11:48because she looks at you in a certain way.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51She can look and you're like, "Oh, no."
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Do you think you're paid enough?
0:11:53 > 0:11:56Yes. I'm looked after.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Can you not see that Audi sports car out there?
0:11:59 > 0:12:04- That's not hers?- That's Laura's. - Is it really?- Yes.- OK.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09You've got to look after your team because they look after you.
0:12:10 > 0:12:15Michelle's gel-filled bra became an overnight success in the year 2000
0:12:15 > 0:12:19after Julia Roberts wore one in the film Erin Brockovitch.
0:12:20 > 0:12:25You know, I'm just an East End girl from the East End of Glasgow and I always had a dream.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30Ultimo is now one of the biggest lingerie brands in the country.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33After leaving school without qualifications,
0:12:33 > 0:12:37she has risen to take on the biggest lingerie brands in the world.
0:12:37 > 0:12:43What we're doing here is capturing the market for people who want an everyday bra.
0:12:44 > 0:12:49Michelle is a mum of three, juggling family life and business commitments from day one.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54I do believe that we will become the Victoria's Secret of the UK.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Michelle knows how to manipulate the press.
0:12:58 > 0:13:03She does everything she can to keep her brand and her celebrity persona in the public eye.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07I am very demanding. I'm a perfectionist.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Let me tuck at your label in.
0:13:10 > 0:13:15No, sorry. It's just not Ultimo.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20I'm impatient and I always want the best.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22I think I'm a nightmare.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30You expect quite a lot, I think.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33I think that's why we are where we are,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36in this very, very competitive market.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40- Who was the last person to get sacked?- Um...
0:13:40 > 0:13:43- When was it? This morning? - It was a couple of weeks ago.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46I wouldn't say sacked. We just had an agreement.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51OK. I'm going to find out a bit more about this lady.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53THEY LAUGH
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Michelle comes across as a demanding leader.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05At Fruit Towers, the business environment that Richard and his co-founders have encouraged
0:14:05 > 0:14:07couldn't be more different.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14- Where's your office? - I don't have an office. We're completely open plan.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16No-one has offices. I sit there.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19This is your area here?
0:14:19 > 0:14:22Yes, I sit at this desk here.
0:14:22 > 0:14:27- If I'm sitting here... - I can sit in the little chair. - Come and take a seat and talk to me.
0:14:27 > 0:14:33We have this as well, so you can pull out everyone's filing cabinet to sit on.
0:14:33 > 0:14:38We just want to keep it as easy as possible for people to speak to each other,
0:14:38 > 0:14:41rather than relying on e-mail and phone calls.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43We're big fans of as much face-to-face as possible.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47I don't know if I can take you seriously, swinging in that chair.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52It's a bit, sort of, strange, isn't it?
0:14:53 > 0:14:57- Well, I don't...- Do people honestly sit there and swing?
0:14:57 > 0:15:02- Do they sit there and swing and talk to you?- Um, yes.- Do they?
0:15:03 > 0:15:07I guess I would not judge people on the seat that they sit on.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10- No, I just find it distracting. - Right.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13I totally want to be accessible
0:15:13 > 0:15:19and if people have something they want to ask quickly, we're not putting walls up between each other.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24I couldn't stop thinking about dressing down someone for not performing
0:15:24 > 0:15:27while they swing in a basket like Little Miss Muffet,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31but I was trying to keep an open mind about the way Richard runs the organisation.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35- Good afternoon, creative team. - Hello.- Hi, I'm Peter.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37If you can call it organised.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40So what's it like working here?
0:15:40 > 0:15:42Do you not find it odd working on Astroturf?
0:15:42 > 0:15:47- You get pretty used to it. - Wouldn't you tidy up a bit?
0:15:47 > 0:15:50This corner especially can't be tidied.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52- Really?- Yeah, I don't think so. We're working.
0:15:52 > 0:15:57- It's a good working environment, chaos and mess? - Yes, controlled chaos.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00If these guys ever sold this business to me
0:16:00 > 0:16:02you guys wouldn't know what hit you.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06- I think Peter finds it a bit too untidy.- Really?
0:16:06 > 0:16:09I find it a bit edgy, which doesn't surprise me.
0:16:09 > 0:16:14I'm seeing guys that dress very differently, with respect.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18'I would never let my staff turn up to work like this but something's working.
0:16:18 > 0:16:23'Richard's grown from nothing to a 75% share of the smoothie market.'
0:16:23 > 0:16:27People work harder here than they will do in 99% of businesses.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31People put in a huge amount of energy, personal commitment,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33take it very seriously.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37Just because we're wearing T-shirts doesn't mean we're not working really hard.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Is he a really hard taskmaster?
0:16:39 > 0:16:43On the plus side he's incredibly inspirational and honest.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47He'll tell you when something is rubbish really quickly, which helps.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52He gets really excited sometimes and a bit carried away
0:16:52 > 0:16:55and might change his mind about stuff.
0:16:55 > 0:17:00He's always thinking lots of things in his head and he walks out of meetings.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04I didn't know it was true but they told me he had a reputation
0:17:04 > 0:17:06of saying, "That's it." And then he goes out.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11- I didn't know that.- Brilliant. - You're enjoying this, aren't you?
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Can I just say, I'm so going to come to your office with a camera
0:17:15 > 0:17:18- and ask your guys what they think about you.- This is great.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24Beneath what seems like chaos, I was starting to see
0:17:24 > 0:17:27how Richard inspires his staff to work hard for him.
0:17:29 > 0:17:34Up in Glasgow, I had an inkling that Michelle Mone takes a much more traditional and orderly approach.
0:17:34 > 0:17:41- OK, so this is my room. - Wow, it's like a hotel room.
0:17:43 > 0:17:49I have never seen Post-It notes so evenly spread and perfectly placed.
0:17:49 > 0:17:54Yep, massive OCD. I've had it for years, since I was a child.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58That's exactly how I run my life. I get four hours sleep a night.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02- Like Maggie Thatcher, then. - That's what people say.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05- Are you the Iron Lady of bra and knickers?- Maybe.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09My husband says, "Get that bloody BlackBerry out of this bedroom."
0:18:09 > 0:18:14Your husband is your partner in the business. He's been there from the start and has seen it grow.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18He doesn't like the limelight at all. People think it's all me
0:18:18 > 0:18:22but he's the managing director and very talented at what he does.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24- So he's very much involved in the business.- Very much so.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27But while her husband keeps a low profile,
0:18:27 > 0:18:31this tactical publicist is out there mixing it with the rich and famous.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33But it's not just for fun.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38Partnering with good-looking celebrities is all part of her PR strategy.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43So these are all of your girls? Or a selection of?
0:18:43 > 0:18:48- A selection of, not all of them. - I recognise Rachel Hunter.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52Rachel Hunter, Penny Lancaster, Helena Christensen, Sarah Harding,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Mel B, the list goes on and on.
0:18:55 > 0:18:56Wow.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01In 2003, Michelle hit the publicity jackpot
0:19:01 > 0:19:05when she dropped Rod Stewart's girlfriend Penny Lancaster
0:19:05 > 0:19:08and replaced her with Rachel Hunter, his ex-wife.
0:19:10 > 0:19:15Was it a tactical move to get Penny on board?
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Well, I worked with Penny for two years and yes,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21we became close and everything else, but things went...
0:19:22 > 0:19:24Just things changed.
0:19:26 > 0:19:32It went on for months and months but it really did affect me personally.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37How much of that was a turning point for your business in a positive way?
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Massive because it was worldwide press for the brand.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44It's the Richard Branson school of PR.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Create a multi-million-pound business
0:19:47 > 0:19:50and use the popular press as free advertising for it.
0:19:51 > 0:19:52What?
0:19:53 > 0:19:56- Is that wallpaper? - Yes, it's wallpaper.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01I thought it would be a nice idea to turn one wall into wallpaper.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04- Michelle Mone. - That's it, for my OBE.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Any more? Michelle Mone.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11- With Mel.- Oh, with Mel B.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13- That's New York Fashion Week. - The Mail...
0:20:13 > 0:20:17- Michelle.- Yes.- What's that one? - Prentice.- Hello Magazine.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Slimmed down Michelle.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21Yes. Oh, my goodness!
0:20:21 > 0:20:23The Michelle wall.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26- There's a storyboard here.- Yes.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29- This one wall tells a story about you.- Mmm-hmm.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34I mean, when I was really overweight, you know, I put on...
0:20:34 > 0:20:396.5 stone when I went through all the hard times, building the company.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42I put my house up to the bank three times as security,
0:20:42 > 0:20:44and I piled on the weight.
0:20:44 > 0:20:50And now, there's a picture up there of when I finally lost six stone.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53Would you die for your brand?
0:20:53 > 0:20:55Oh... I've got kids.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58But put it this way, when I tell you the story
0:20:58 > 0:21:03about how we almost went bust, I almost did, yes.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05Wow.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09I would go from here to hell for Ultimo, and the rest of my brand as well.
0:21:09 > 0:21:14Michelle seems like an uncompromising boss, but to understand
0:21:14 > 0:21:17how she became a force in the lingerie business,
0:21:17 > 0:21:19I needed to hear how it all began.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23- Oh...- You thought one day of starting a company.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26Yeah, I got made redundant.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29I went out one night wearing a very uncomfortable cleavage bra,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33and went back to the table drunk and said, "I'm going to invent a bra".
0:21:33 > 0:21:36- Is that how it happened?- Yes.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39And for three years I worked from my bedroom.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43I got into debt of...£240,000.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48I begged, robbed... Meanwhile, my husband kept saying I was nuts.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52I went to the launch in London and we had actors dressed as surgeons.
0:21:52 > 0:21:57I dressed them up as plastic surgeons saying, "Ban the ultimo bra",
0:21:57 > 0:21:59and it got so much press coverage.
0:21:59 > 0:22:05The police came up and said, who's responsible for this? I said "Me".
0:22:05 > 0:22:08He said, "Move now, or we're going to arrest you.".
0:22:08 > 0:22:11And I said, "That'll get me more publicity, arrest me!".
0:22:11 > 0:22:14So, you recognised at that point
0:22:14 > 0:22:17that a successful business was based around publicity?
0:22:17 > 0:22:20I had no money. I had no money for advertising.
0:22:20 > 0:22:21So you had to get it.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24I was competing in an industry where
0:22:24 > 0:22:28some of the big lingerie brands would spend £2 million launching a product.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30I had £500 left.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33I had to make use of that £500.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37So, you launched it, and success?
0:22:37 > 0:22:40We sold out six weeks' stock within five hours, yeah.
0:22:40 > 0:22:45You very much strike me as all or nothing.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Running this business and building this business
0:22:48 > 0:22:50has probably taken a lot away from my life.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53But it is my life.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56I'm starting to see two sides to Michelle now,
0:22:56 > 0:22:57that are starting to come out for me.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01The one that would take care of you and nurture and look after,
0:23:01 > 0:23:06and the one that says, if you mess with me,
0:23:06 > 0:23:08I'm going to turn you to stone.
0:23:10 > 0:23:11Well, yeah...
0:23:11 > 0:23:14And it's interesting seeing that psyche because you're almost like
0:23:14 > 0:23:16the silent assassin.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18That's not something to be proud of.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20No, but in an interesting way,
0:23:20 > 0:23:22because you're driving your business
0:23:22 > 0:23:24and taking it really forward,
0:23:24 > 0:23:26nothing is going to stop Michelle.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30Yes, it is fair, but for me, there's one thing
0:23:30 > 0:23:33that if you break with me and you never really get back.
0:23:35 > 0:23:36And that's trust.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43Self belief is a key trait in all successful entrepreneurs,
0:23:43 > 0:23:47and Michelle has certainly seen off some challenging times.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49Back in West London,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52I wondered if the reason Richard Reid always seems to be smiling
0:23:52 > 0:23:56is because his route to success had been a much easier ride.
0:23:56 > 0:24:01Helpfully, he's decorated the stairs with a brief company history.
0:24:01 > 0:24:06Business is starting to get a little bit bigger and we started doing our dancing grass vans.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08This is the recipe book we published.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12The success Richard found in the early years of his business
0:24:12 > 0:24:15was based on an unlikely model.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19It seems they were more focused on giving money away than making it.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22This is Fruitstock, which is a festival we did in Regents Park.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25It was free - we did it as a thank you to all our drinkers.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29We give 10% of our profits to charity each year,
0:24:29 > 0:24:31mainly to the Innocent Foundation -
0:24:31 > 0:24:34countries in the developing world where the fruit's from.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38But, spreading goodwill is only possible
0:24:38 > 0:24:40when you're making a profit.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Right, now we're up to 2008, which is your...
0:24:43 > 0:24:45It was the annus horribilis for Innocent.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48After four years of seamless growth,
0:24:48 > 0:24:50Richard had to face
0:24:50 > 0:24:53the harsh realities of running a multi-million pound business.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55A new competitor launched,
0:24:55 > 0:24:58the pound crashed, and fruit prices rocketed,
0:24:58 > 0:24:59almost spelling the end.
0:25:02 > 0:25:06We hadn't put our prices up in 10 years, and then a big competitor
0:25:06 > 0:25:09launched against us and took a large part of our market share,
0:25:09 > 0:25:11so we lost a huge amount of money.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13- How much did you lose? - It's in the millions.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15We lost more in that year of 2008
0:25:15 > 0:25:18than we made in the entire company's history,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21so it wiped out any profits that we'd been making.
0:25:23 > 0:25:25He had a tough decision to make.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29Drastically downsize the operation, or sell a stake in the business.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Relief came in the unlikely form of Coca-Cola.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38These guys invested in early 2009
0:25:38 > 0:25:41in a way that's been brilliant for the business -
0:25:41 > 0:25:44myself, Adam and John have retained full control of the business.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48As you can see, we continue to do business in a very Innocent way.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51I'm sure we are going to talk more about that.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59I was surprised that a business focused on health and charity
0:25:59 > 0:26:03sought a partnership with one of the biggest names in the fizzy drinks market.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09Before I challenged him about it, I needed to get
0:26:09 > 0:26:12a more precise picture of Richard and his business.
0:26:14 > 0:26:15What's happening in there?
0:26:15 > 0:26:18This is our commercial team. We test the adverts.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20We want to make sure they work.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23You test the advert in advance to see how it scores
0:26:23 > 0:26:25and if people like it, remember it,
0:26:25 > 0:26:28do they relate it to Innocent,
0:26:28 > 0:26:32so you can judge before you spend your money, which will be the advert people like most.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34That's what those scores are testing.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Serious stuff happening in here then.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39Absolutely. We do take things seriously.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45Fruit Towers is an interesting contradiction.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47At first, you walk through the doors
0:26:47 > 0:26:51and think you've entered Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55- Rich, do you want to cut anything up?- No, I like watching Peter!
0:26:56 > 0:26:58As I joined in the fun in the juice lab,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01I started to see where the genius of this business lay.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05Behind the Astroturf and the lunchtime barbecues
0:27:05 > 0:27:08there's a hierarchy that demands the very best from its people.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15The front of house is very much, "Hey guys, come on in and have fun! We've got grass,
0:27:15 > 0:27:19we've got table tennis, we've got a lovely environment for you to work in.".
0:27:19 > 0:27:22It was intriguing walking past that office,
0:27:22 > 0:27:26where I saw clearly some quite serious behind-the-scenes,
0:27:26 > 0:27:28real planning going on.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31It's not a contradiction. It's all part of the same hole.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34We want to take the bits seriously that you need to take seriously,
0:27:34 > 0:27:36but we don't take ourselves seriously in the process.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39One of your staff members that you walk out of meetings,
0:27:39 > 0:27:41you've a short attention span
0:27:41 > 0:27:44in terms of "Right, I need to move on.".
0:27:44 > 0:27:47You're random in your decisions, and quite changeable.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50I like change. I like the future.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52I like things to evolve.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54Am I indecisive?
0:27:57 > 0:28:00I don't like something not being as good as it can be,
0:28:00 > 0:28:02and I don't like someone...
0:28:02 > 0:28:04So, you are a perfectionist then?
0:28:05 > 0:28:07I think it's one of my drivers, yeah.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10To the extent where I do know it can cause chaos at the last minute
0:28:10 > 0:28:12by me going, "How about that?".
0:28:12 > 0:28:16I have learnt to moderate it a little bit better.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21Richard is a clever and unconventional entrepreneur
0:28:21 > 0:28:24who believes he can make money by focusing on a mission.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26But surely, without profit,
0:28:26 > 0:28:27there is no mission?
0:28:28 > 0:28:34If you speak to entrepreneurs up and down the country,
0:28:34 > 0:28:37and you say, "What is your main objective?"
0:28:37 > 0:28:42their main objective would be to generate income and make profit.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45- I don't agree. - That's not your objective at all.
0:28:45 > 0:28:46I don't agree.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49In my experience, when you look at the world's greatest businesses,
0:28:49 > 0:28:54they're led primarily by a deeply felt sense of mission.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57And money is fairly incidental?
0:28:57 > 0:29:00In 2008 we got it wrong OK?
0:29:00 > 0:29:04We made a mistake. The market moved against us and we weren't prepared.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06Of course the money is part of it.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08I won't imply that it's not.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12I'm hoping that I will become wealthy from Innocent,
0:29:12 > 0:29:16and for that, I will be both appreciative and grateful.
0:29:16 > 0:29:21I think the world's greatest businesses are led by a sense of mission and purpose.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24Google, who set up in the same month of the same year,
0:29:24 > 0:29:27and have grown to be an 18 billion company,
0:29:27 > 0:29:30so in some ways can you could say they're beating us,
0:29:30 > 0:29:34they talk about, in one sentence, how they exist
0:29:34 > 0:29:37to organise the world's information and make it accessible.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40It's a simple mission and it explains what they are about.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42And that's what Innocent is led by.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56My journey has really just begun.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59But I was already discovering that an entrepreneur's business
0:29:59 > 0:30:02is very much a reflection of who they are as people.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07Michelle Mone is incredibly tenacious,
0:30:07 > 0:30:10but I wondered where her relentless drive had come from,
0:30:10 > 0:30:14and if her formula for success could last for ever.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21At first glance, Richard Reid's approach appears counterintuitive.
0:30:21 > 0:30:26Concentrating on the good his brand can achieve, rather than the profit.
0:30:26 > 0:30:31But we've also heard from his childhood just how calculating he can be.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35Most successful business men and women I know
0:30:35 > 0:30:39can pinpoint where and when their entrepreneurial journey began.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43To find out where that was for Richard and Michelle,
0:30:43 > 0:30:46I'm visiting places that lie at opposite ends
0:30:46 > 0:30:50of the country, and of the social spectrum.
0:30:52 > 0:30:56Michelle is taking me on a tour of her hometown of Gallowgate.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58We're in the East End of Glasgow.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01Really down-to-earth, hard-working people.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05And Richard is showing me round Cambridge,
0:31:05 > 0:31:08the city where his entrepreneurial journey began.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16In Glasgow, I was to find the rags to riches cliche for real.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20Lots and lots of memories growing up here.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24This is where I started my first business when I was ten.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26Ten years old!
0:31:26 > 0:31:30- You were ten?!- Yeah, delivering the papers in the East End.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33When I was 11, I had 17 teenagers working for me.
0:31:33 > 0:31:38- So you had a bunch of people working for you at 11.- I did, yeah.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43The first stop would be Michelle's secondary school,
0:31:43 > 0:31:46a place she left without any qualifications at the age of 15.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51- This is it?- This is it, yes.
0:31:51 > 0:31:56This was where she was told that a future working in a supermarket
0:31:56 > 0:31:58was the best she could expect.
0:32:03 > 0:32:04Wow.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07What does it feel like to be back here?
0:32:07 > 0:32:09It feels really strange.
0:32:09 > 0:32:10Does it?
0:32:10 > 0:32:11Yeah. But, um...
0:32:11 > 0:32:14What's your best memory here?
0:32:16 > 0:32:18My best memory? Um...
0:32:18 > 0:32:23I don't really have nice memories, to be honest with you.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26I really struggled at school academically.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28I was awful.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33I think always being told that you're a failure, you'll never do well...
0:32:33 > 0:32:35Everyone around me kept saying,
0:32:35 > 0:32:38"You can't do this, you can't do that..."
0:32:38 > 0:32:40I used to say, "Why? Why do you say you can't?
0:32:40 > 0:32:43"Surely you can, surely we can find a way?".
0:32:43 > 0:32:44I used to challenge everyone.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48- Were you bullied? - Kind of, yeah. I was a bit.
0:32:48 > 0:32:50Because I wore my uniform and...
0:32:50 > 0:32:54- You were always smart. - My mum and dad always told me to wear my uniform.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58What about your teachers? Did they have an inkling that Michelle Mone
0:32:58 > 0:33:01- was going to become a successful entrepreneur?- I don't think so.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05I remember when I was 15, I had to go and see my careers teacher,
0:33:05 > 0:33:09I said I wanted to be an entrepreneur. She said, "What does that mean?".
0:33:14 > 0:33:17It could have been a determination to prove her teachers wrong
0:33:17 > 0:33:21that drove Michelle in those early days.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26But I was about to discover even deeper reasons for her desire
0:33:26 > 0:33:29to be an East End girl done good.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31I always wanted my own room,
0:33:31 > 0:33:36and my dad cut half of a single bed.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40He put it in the broom cupboard and lowered the ceiling,
0:33:40 > 0:33:45and I put stickers which were stars above it, and I loved it so much.
0:33:45 > 0:33:51The next stop on our tour was the house Michelle grew up in.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56- This is it.- Yeah.- So, which was the actual house? Which one?
0:33:56 > 0:33:59Well, first of all I grew up there, one up.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01So, first floor?
0:34:01 > 0:34:02First floor, yes.
0:34:02 > 0:34:06And then my dad, when he was my age, got confined to a wheelchair,
0:34:06 > 0:34:10paralysed from the waist down - a disease -
0:34:10 > 0:34:12blood vessels in his spinal-cord,
0:34:12 > 0:34:16so he couldn't obviously get up the stairs in a wheelchair,
0:34:16 > 0:34:18so we moved
0:34:18 > 0:34:19to 54 the ground floor,
0:34:19 > 0:34:23and that's the first time I had my own bedroom.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25- Wow, this is it.- 54?
0:34:25 > 0:34:28Yeah, that was my mum and dad's bedroom.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31- I dare you to ring the bell. - No, I can't do that.
0:34:32 > 0:34:34Henderson. Maybe it's ground two.
0:34:34 > 0:34:35DOOR OPENS
0:34:35 > 0:34:40- Oh! What's that? Should we go in? - I promise I've not teed anything up.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44- Hiya!- Hello.- Come in.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47- Is that OK? - Yes, in you come.- Oh, my goodness.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50Wow, I can't believe this is my old house,
0:34:50 > 0:34:52and that is the bathroom, isn't it?
0:34:52 > 0:34:54That's the bathroom.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56- That was your room there? - That was my room.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58Oh, this is my room.
0:34:58 > 0:35:03- I love this bedroom. This was my first bedroom.- Your bedroom?
0:35:03 > 0:35:05And I kept it so neat and tidy.
0:35:09 > 0:35:13From this tenement, Michelle embarked on a career in publicity
0:35:13 > 0:35:16that began with occasional work as a model.
0:35:16 > 0:35:22By the age of 26, she was head of marketing for a national brewery.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25'Her old neighbour, Tricia, still lives next door,
0:35:25 > 0:35:30'and has documented her remarkable rise to success.'
0:35:30 > 0:35:32You've got pictures!
0:35:32 > 0:35:35I've got paper clippings as well, but I didn't want to bring them out.
0:35:35 > 0:35:41- Look at that!- A terrible, terrible model. Terrible.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45- Michelle, talk to me! You kept this quiet.- No!
0:35:45 > 0:35:48- You can't see that! - Thank you very much.
0:35:48 > 0:35:49It proves that anybody
0:35:49 > 0:35:53that's got a dream and if they follow it through,
0:35:53 > 0:35:54- they can do it.- That's true.
0:35:54 > 0:36:00Michelle was just basically working class and she done us all proud.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02'I could see in Michelle's eyes
0:36:02 > 0:36:05'how much this visit to her old house meant.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08'But facing up to her past wasn't going to be easy.'
0:36:10 > 0:36:13'Over dinner,
0:36:13 > 0:36:15'I wanted to find out more.'
0:36:15 > 0:36:20What's your... what's your earliest bad memory of here?
0:36:22 > 0:36:26I would say that there was lots of tough times
0:36:26 > 0:36:30that I try and blank out. And that was the illness of my dad.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33That was my mum going through depression.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35Losing my wee brother.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39You know, I always used to go to bed crying,
0:36:39 > 0:36:44"I'm not going to have my dad in the morning," it was just horrible.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47How old were you when your brother died?
0:36:47 > 0:36:51Erm, I was about eight years old. Yeah. So I remember all of it.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54- You do?- Every single bit of it, yeah.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57You've come from a hard background
0:36:57 > 0:37:00that you've spent all your life trying to get out of.
0:37:00 > 0:37:05So it's something that makes Michelle special.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09- I'm not...- Do you see yourself as special?
0:37:09 > 0:37:13Or do you see yourself as lucky?
0:37:13 > 0:37:17I grew up with, you know, bad news after bad news,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20and I didn't want that.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22I will not accept
0:37:22 > 0:37:26when people say that because you're from the East End,
0:37:26 > 0:37:27you cannot be successful.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37In contrast, the hard work of Richard's parents
0:37:37 > 0:37:39to fund his private education
0:37:39 > 0:37:42paid off. He became one of the elite few
0:37:42 > 0:37:45to make it to St John's College, Cambridge.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47So, we haven't been in here for 20 years.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50'He shared a room with Adam Balon and Jon Wright.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53'Together, they would become the co-founders
0:37:53 > 0:37:55'of the famous smoothie brand.'
0:37:57 > 0:38:00- So, this is the canteen?- Yup. - Oh, yes.- The Innocent canteen.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04- Three meals a day for three years. - Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08This is definitely where it started, cos the three of us
0:38:08 > 0:38:11became friends, which from the first night,
0:38:11 > 0:38:15we all met in the college bar, and we sort of bonded over a love of...
0:38:15 > 0:38:19- A few beers!- Exactly. - And what did you do?
0:38:19 > 0:38:23- You did geography?- Mm, mm.- Was that because you couldn't think of anything else?
0:38:23 > 0:38:26The honest answer is, when I was looking at
0:38:26 > 0:38:30the different options, the only topic that had less lectures
0:38:30 > 0:38:33was land economy, which had seven hours a week,
0:38:33 > 0:38:37geography had eight hours, everything else had more. So I went for geography.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41- OK! So what did...- I did economics. - Oh, wow! OK.
0:38:41 > 0:38:45I did manufacturing, so, getting stuff made.
0:38:45 > 0:38:49It's almost perfect, isn't it? You've got someone who knows
0:38:49 > 0:38:53how to run a business, someone who didn't really care, just wanted to have fun,
0:38:53 > 0:38:56and someone who knows the whole process to put it all together.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00It's interesting though, isn't it? Cos it does fit.
0:39:00 > 0:39:05I think it was a fortunate part of the formula.
0:39:05 > 0:39:09What you had was three really close friends that had very different
0:39:09 > 0:39:14skills, but had a complete shared set of values and vision and things
0:39:14 > 0:39:17they wanted to achieve, and that's, I think, that was
0:39:17 > 0:39:20the starting place for the whole business,
0:39:20 > 0:39:22where the success has come from.
0:39:23 > 0:39:28'It's incredibly rare that three mates thrown together at university
0:39:28 > 0:39:31'go on to create a multi-million-pound business.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33'To try and work out just how it happened,
0:39:33 > 0:39:38'the boys took me to meet Colin, their residential porter.'
0:39:38 > 0:39:42- So, they were pranksters? - They enjoyed their college life,
0:39:42 > 0:39:44kept the porters on their toes all the time!
0:39:44 > 0:39:48But the porters loved them. If we caught them, they always said, "We're innocent!"
0:39:48 > 0:39:50THEY ALL LAUGH
0:39:52 > 0:39:56That's where you got the name from! "We're innocent!"
0:39:58 > 0:40:01Richard's business story begins here in Cambridge
0:40:01 > 0:40:03in a dark and dingy basement.
0:40:03 > 0:40:09- This is it?- Yeah, this is it.- That's an underground garage!- Exactly.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12'The enterprising trio transformed this boiler room
0:40:12 > 0:40:15'into the most popular student nightclub for miles around.'
0:40:15 > 0:40:18We'd be turning people away at the door.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20People were coming for the free pizza, not the music!
0:40:20 > 0:40:24That was our dreadful original strategy, we offered free pizza
0:40:24 > 0:40:26at nine o'clock, trying to get people down early.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29So the rugby boys turned up, ate the free pizza, then left,
0:40:29 > 0:40:33- so we were left with an empty nightclub...- Full of pizza boxes.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35This is where it all started.
0:40:35 > 0:40:38- You had a lot of fun while you did it?- Absolutely.- That doesn't seem
0:40:38 > 0:40:43- to have changed much.- No, it's been one of the best bits
0:40:43 > 0:40:46of doing it with your two closest mates, it's just such good fun.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55'Both Richard and Michelle wanted to create better futures for themselves
0:40:55 > 0:40:58'because of the circumstances that surrounded them.'
0:41:01 > 0:41:05Richard desperately wanted to make his parents proud
0:41:05 > 0:41:09and repay the sacrifices they had made to give him a world class education.
0:41:11 > 0:41:16And Michelle was driven by a desire to do better than those around her.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20Aww, how nice is that?
0:41:20 > 0:41:22'So what is it that links all entrepreneurs?
0:41:22 > 0:41:25'Is there a formula for making millions?
0:41:25 > 0:41:29'If you ask the investors who discovered Michelle and Richard, it wasn't
0:41:29 > 0:41:32'their business plans that impressed them.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36'Maurice Pinto bought 18% of Innocent
0:41:36 > 0:41:39'for a quarter of a million pounds.'
0:41:39 > 0:41:42I couldn't care less what the business or the industry is,
0:41:42 > 0:41:45or what the business idea is. I'm more about the people.
0:41:45 > 0:41:51I thought they were extremely bright, extremely articulate.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54It's the best management team I've ever worked with.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58'Sir Tom Hunter backed Ultimo with £100,000.'
0:41:58 > 0:42:02You can look at the business plan, you can look at the numbers,
0:42:02 > 0:42:05you know, you've read as many business plans as me,
0:42:05 > 0:42:08none of them really ever do what they say they're going to do.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11You're really only investing in the person.
0:42:11 > 0:42:17We saw something in Michelle, that determination,
0:42:17 > 0:42:23that look in her eye, and you then make an investment in the person.
0:42:24 > 0:42:29It's reported that both investors made very healthy returns when they sold their shares.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32'In London, Scotland's first billionaire
0:42:32 > 0:42:34'was giving me a further insight
0:42:34 > 0:42:37'into what has pushed Michelle Mone to succeed.'
0:42:38 > 0:42:42Even though Michelle puts forward this, you know...
0:42:42 > 0:42:44She can be quite fragile.
0:42:44 > 0:42:49And the thing people don't understand about most entrepreneurs
0:42:49 > 0:42:51is that we're driven by self doubt.
0:42:51 > 0:42:56A lot of successful people who outwardly you think are
0:42:56 > 0:43:01so confident, but we're all trying to prove ourselves, all the time. Yeah.
0:43:03 > 0:43:08For my final encounter, Michelle had invited me to her Mayfair apartment,
0:43:08 > 0:43:12so I could have a glimpse into her private world.
0:43:12 > 0:43:16It was here I hoped to uncover the characteristics that have brought her success.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20- Hello, Peter. - Hello.- Welcome to Mayfair.
0:43:20 > 0:43:21How are you? Wow!
0:43:21 > 0:43:28But nothing could have prepared me for the obsessive attention to detail that awaited.
0:43:28 > 0:43:29OK. In you come.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34Look at that. That's amazing.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36Everything has its place.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38That shouldn't be dirty.
0:43:38 > 0:43:39Is it?
0:43:39 > 0:43:40No.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44Everything has to be organised, so everything's in order.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46Five, 20, 50s.
0:43:46 > 0:43:47Yeah.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52- The same hangers.- Yeah. - Every single one, the same colour.
0:43:52 > 0:43:54Everything has to be the same.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58And the kids have got KPIs so they don't much the hangers up.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00- You give your kids KPIs?! - I won't tell you any more!
0:44:00 > 0:44:04KPIs, key performance indicators, which are business drivers
0:44:04 > 0:44:07to measure against for success.
0:44:07 > 0:44:08You do that with your own kids?
0:44:08 > 0:44:10And the people in the house, yeah.
0:44:10 > 0:44:14If your drawers are not organised
0:44:14 > 0:44:16and your cupboards are not organised
0:44:16 > 0:44:19and your family are not organised,
0:44:19 > 0:44:22then your life is a mess.
0:44:22 > 0:44:25You have to compartmentalise everything in your life
0:44:25 > 0:44:28and you don't change between business and your personal life,
0:44:28 > 0:44:30which is different.
0:44:30 > 0:44:31- Really?- Yeah.
0:44:31 > 0:44:36A lot of people are very different in business to when they're at home.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42To be successful, you have to be able to exert control,
0:44:42 > 0:44:45but Michelle takes it to another level.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51There must be a reason why she has to organize every detail around her
0:44:51 > 0:44:54and the words of Tom Hunter were still ringing in my ears.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59Is it self-doubt that makes her like this?
0:45:03 > 0:45:05Are you proud of yourself?
0:45:05 > 0:45:07Erm...
0:45:07 > 0:45:10I think I am now.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13I think now that I've lost all the weight and I'm getting fit.
0:45:13 > 0:45:18You know, I'm getting my life in order.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21I was punishing myself for ten years
0:45:21 > 0:45:24and I just kept eating and eating and eating and eating
0:45:24 > 0:45:30because I did not feel that I should have money and success
0:45:30 > 0:45:33but I feel I'm a lot more content
0:45:33 > 0:45:36but I still don't think I've made it yet.
0:45:38 > 0:45:42So would you say that you're lonely or in search of something?
0:45:43 > 0:45:45Erm..
0:45:45 > 0:45:46I'm not sure!
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Maybe you are doing these things to perhaps fill a void?
0:45:51 > 0:45:55I suppose being an entrepreneur is very lonely. You'll know it yourself.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58You'll take all the worry
0:45:58 > 0:46:01and everything else on your own shoulders.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03Do you feel pressure?
0:46:03 > 0:46:06I feel pressure 24/7.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09Yeah. I can't imagine life without the pressure to be honest.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16I'm trying to understand the psyche behind an entrepreneur.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20There's a lot of similarities I see in me and you.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22Mm hmm.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24I see that you have to have control.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27I can see that you are quite manipulative.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30I can see that you're very forthright
0:46:30 > 0:46:32and you know where you want to get to.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35But at the same time, I can also see a lot of insecurity.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37When I was last in your offices,
0:46:37 > 0:46:40you said something to me that hit me quite hard
0:46:40 > 0:46:44because I'd never spoken to another entrepreneur before
0:46:44 > 0:46:48that's actually said, "I considered committing suicide
0:46:48 > 0:46:50"and I was in a very dark place in my life.
0:46:50 > 0:46:51Yeah.
0:46:53 > 0:46:57Take me back to that time of how you felt to get to that point.
0:47:01 > 0:47:06I just think that I tried my hardest and I suppose I was failing and...
0:47:06 > 0:47:09Who were you letting down?
0:47:11 > 0:47:14I was letting down my family, you know...
0:47:15 > 0:47:19It's the fear of going back to how I grew up.
0:47:21 > 0:47:23Of, I suppose, struggling.
0:47:27 > 0:47:31But I just could not see a way out. I just couldn't.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37When you took me back to the East End of Glasgow,
0:47:37 > 0:47:41it was quite a touching moment when I got to see the neighbours,
0:47:41 > 0:47:42you got to see your house.
0:47:42 > 0:47:46But there's a lot about it that almost says,
0:47:46 > 0:47:48I can't remember a lot of things.
0:47:48 > 0:47:53I'm not blanking it all out but I suppose that, you know,
0:47:53 > 0:47:56growing up with my wee brother dying
0:47:56 > 0:48:01and my father being confined to a wheelchair at the age of 38,
0:48:01 > 0:48:03I just felt, "woah".
0:48:03 > 0:48:06You know, it started to all come back to me.
0:48:17 > 0:48:19Oh, dear. I said I wouldn't cry.
0:48:21 > 0:48:26But maybe it was all that bullying
0:48:26 > 0:48:31and heartache that's made me fight to get to here.
0:48:37 > 0:48:38I'm so sorry.
0:48:38 > 0:48:41Don't apologise because it's something to be proud of
0:48:41 > 0:48:44and it gives a lot of people inspiration
0:48:44 > 0:48:50and the reality is that an entrepreneur is a make-up of all different things.
0:48:50 > 0:48:51You've been through...
0:48:53 > 0:48:55A journey, haven't you?
0:48:55 > 0:48:57Yes.
0:48:57 > 0:49:02And I think that everybody sees that journey as easy, as glamorous.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04We see Michelle walking down red carpets,
0:49:04 > 0:49:06we see her on magazines looking beautiful,
0:49:06 > 0:49:10but the hardness and the hardships of the journey,
0:49:10 > 0:49:14and I would say that the next few years in pursuit of happiness
0:49:14 > 0:49:18and success, I think you're going to achieve it.
0:49:18 > 0:49:20- Thank you.- I really do.
0:49:20 > 0:49:21I hope so!
0:49:25 > 0:49:28Uncovering the reason why someone strives for perfection
0:49:28 > 0:49:29can be an emotional experience.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36I wondered if my final meeting with Richard would be so highly charged.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42I'm in the Malvern Hills to examine the relationship between Richard
0:49:42 > 0:49:43and one of his suppliers,
0:49:43 > 0:49:48to hopefully uncover the savvy businessman behind the self-proclaimed hippy brand.
0:49:48 > 0:49:52There's nothing hippy about him. Nothing.
0:49:52 > 0:49:53Hello!
0:49:53 > 0:49:55Hello!
0:49:55 > 0:49:58Although I've never been a fly on the wall at a meeting,
0:49:58 > 0:50:00he does not suffer fools lightly.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02Where's the suit?!
0:50:02 > 0:50:04- What do you think?- Pretty good.
0:50:04 > 0:50:06Red and green. Is that matching?
0:50:06 > 0:50:08We've not planned this! How are you?
0:50:08 > 0:50:10Can I introduce Ed?
0:50:10 > 0:50:12One of my most treasured farmers.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15So these are all blackcurrants that we see now?
0:50:15 > 0:50:16- Yeah.- Wow.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19And you've been working together for a while?
0:50:19 > 0:50:23Mm. We started in 2004, that was our first year,
0:50:23 > 0:50:27and we bought less than a ton of Ed's blackcurrants,
0:50:27 > 0:50:29whereas this year, we've just bought 210 tonnes.
0:50:32 > 0:50:34What I was really interested in
0:50:34 > 0:50:37was how Richard and Ed made money from each other.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39It can't be cheap buying home-grown fruit
0:50:39 > 0:50:42and I was keen to find out about their margins.
0:50:44 > 0:50:50Probably for the first time in history, our price to you per bricks
0:50:50 > 0:50:54is lower than our price to the concentrate people per bricks.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56I doubt if that's ever happened before.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58That's a decision on our part.
0:50:58 > 0:51:02The prices have gone up but we want these guys to be there tomorrow.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05So, interesting concept here.
0:51:05 > 0:51:08- Richard and his business is supporting a local farmer.- Hm-mm.
0:51:08 > 0:51:12Local farmer, actually, in reality, is supporting Richard.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15- Yes.- You've got a very interesting partnership between the two of you.
0:51:15 > 0:51:16- Yes.- Yes.- Correct.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19And I think we both share this philosophy
0:51:19 > 0:51:23that we will do better over the longer term by collaborating.
0:51:23 > 0:51:27- It is a mutually beneficial relationship.- But that's the key. It's not better for Ed.
0:51:27 > 0:51:34He's financially willing to lower the price of that quality product to you, to support your model.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37Well, I think we should let Ed say what Ed thinks.
0:51:37 > 0:51:43Well...the blackcurrant market is sometimes referred to as being the pig of the soft fruit industry.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45It is very cyclical,
0:51:45 > 0:51:51and to always insist on the jackpot in the peak year is not necessarily good business.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54- They can take the product off the shelf tomorrow.- Yeah.
0:51:54 > 0:52:00You know, it can price itself off the shelf. We want that product to still be there.
0:52:00 > 0:52:06Richard looked uncomfortable discussing profit margins with a prized supplier.
0:52:07 > 0:52:11But I was relieved to discover that he does focus on a money-making model.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15After all, without profit, he can't give money to charity.
0:52:15 > 0:52:19The clever thing is that the farmer has bought into Richard's mission.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23And that's the very reason why he offers such a great deal.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26Now, that's a shrewd way of doing business.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29You have naturally found a place
0:52:29 > 0:52:33where you can really represent your brand
0:52:33 > 0:52:36by creating and maintaining an image.
0:52:36 > 0:52:40Everybody's thinking, "This guy! Why doesn't everybody be like Richard?
0:52:40 > 0:52:45"He starts a business, he's got high ethics, he's helping the local community,
0:52:45 > 0:52:49"and he gives away to charity," but the reality is,
0:52:49 > 0:52:55you are all of those things, but you are also a very tactical, very shrewd entrepreneur as well.
0:52:55 > 0:52:57I take that as a big compliment.
0:52:57 > 0:53:02There's no money to give to charity if you don't make any money in the first place,
0:53:02 > 0:53:09so we are absolutely proud to be entrepreneurs and businessmen and capitalists,
0:53:09 > 0:53:13and we have an altruistic aim in addition to that as well.
0:53:13 > 0:53:17The world would be a very different place if more businesses did,
0:53:17 > 0:53:20cos it's basically saying, if we just took 10%
0:53:20 > 0:53:24and made sure it was allocated to people and to countries that need it more than we do,
0:53:24 > 0:53:30it would redistribute wealth whilst absolutely still protecting the capitalist system
0:53:30 > 0:53:32we've found to be the best way of working.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36You definitely are a hippy with a calculator!
0:53:36 > 0:53:41We are not just, um...sixth formers messing around.
0:53:41 > 0:53:46I think some people assume that because we sometimes wear T-shirts to work,
0:53:46 > 0:53:50but what you wear does not reflect on how hard you work.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53It's been a big, tough challenge all of the way.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56It's been extremely enjoyable and exciting, too.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59The way Richard does business is admirable,
0:53:59 > 0:54:03and for that, I have to give him and his partners credit.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06But there was still a burning question I had to ask.
0:54:06 > 0:54:08With such a strong business ethos,
0:54:08 > 0:54:13how did they justify selling a majority share of their business to Coca-Cola?
0:54:13 > 0:54:19If you'd known me three years ago, and I'd said, "Richard, you've got this deal with Coca-Cola,
0:54:19 > 0:54:23"you can meet them four times a year, they want you to run the business
0:54:23 > 0:54:29"and they'll give you £30 million," and I said, "I'll give you the same deal, I'll give you 30 million,"
0:54:29 > 0:54:32which one would you choose, Coca-Cola or Peter Jones?
0:54:32 > 0:54:37Well, after having seen you on Dragons' Den, I would definitely choose Coca-Cola!
0:54:37 > 0:54:38Definitely!
0:54:40 > 0:54:42That's outrageous!
0:54:42 > 0:54:49Man, you're a tough negotiator, and you definitely wouldn't have extended the terms that Coca-Cola did.
0:54:49 > 0:54:56But I kind of liken it to...a little bit like, I've got a nice, seriously famous health club chain,
0:54:56 > 0:54:59and Cadbury's invest in my business.
0:54:59 > 0:55:04Was there any of the three of you that thought, "I don't want to do this"?
0:55:04 > 0:55:09Without that money coming in from Coke, we would've been a business hugely retrenching.
0:55:09 > 0:55:14We would've had to make half the team redundant, we'd have had to cancel our international expansion.
0:55:14 > 0:55:19- I feel like I'm interviewing a politician. You're not answering my question.- What was the...
0:55:19 > 0:55:22- Did any of you say no?- No, we were all 100%, all three of us.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26It was a very unusual deal that they did, where they would put in money,
0:55:26 > 0:55:30but take a back seat, allowing myself, Adam and John to keep control of the company.
0:55:30 > 0:55:34Even the hardened cynics would admit we are more Innocent than ever.
0:55:34 > 0:55:39We've pushed even further into our sustainable agricultural projects, we've continued to fund charities.
0:55:39 > 0:55:41It's mainly just asking their advice.
0:55:41 > 0:55:45They've been in business running one of the world's most popular brands for 125 years.
0:55:45 > 0:55:49In a very small way, there are things that Coke take from Innocent as well,
0:55:49 > 0:55:54so I really do think it's been a relationship that's been good for both parties.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57Have you got an ultimate goal?
0:55:57 > 0:56:00I want to get rich and die poor.
0:56:00 > 0:56:04The idea is I would love to sort of get to be...in a strong position financially,
0:56:04 > 0:56:07but by the end of life, have given it away.
0:56:07 > 0:56:14Coca-Cola come to you knocking on the door and saying, "Guys, we want to buy you out."
0:56:14 > 0:56:19- Is that a conversation that you will have?- Hm.
0:56:19 > 0:56:20Don't know, actually.
0:56:22 > 0:56:2420 million each?
0:56:24 > 0:56:2650 million?
0:56:26 > 0:56:27Keep going, mate.
0:56:27 > 0:56:29100 each?
0:56:29 > 0:56:32What price do you put on it? I don't know is the short answer.
0:56:32 > 0:56:37- Would you take a £100 million cheque for your share now?- You've just gone from 20 to 100 in 20 seconds,
0:56:37 > 0:56:39so I'm going to hold out a little bit further.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42100 million. For your share in Innocent.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44Cash.
0:56:44 > 0:56:46In the back of the car.
0:56:47 > 0:56:49I'd have to speak to my wife.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00Unsurprisingly, it was an indecisive response from Richard,
0:57:00 > 0:57:03but I felt I had come as close as possible to him admitting
0:57:03 > 0:57:08he's in it for the money, even if he'll eventually give it all away.
0:57:09 > 0:57:14Spending time with Michelle Mone was both enjoyable and intriguing.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17Under her tough exterior, I found someone who is quite fragile,
0:57:17 > 0:57:21not a trait you'd openly associate with being an entrepreneur.
0:57:21 > 0:57:25But like many of us, it's that self-doubt that drives her.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28I'm now happy with what I've achieved.
0:57:28 > 0:57:33I do my best, you know, and if you can't do your best, there's no point.
0:57:34 > 0:57:40Richard Reed was a tough nut to crack, but now I understand why he's such a success.
0:57:40 > 0:57:44He has very cleverly created a product that harnesses his values.
0:57:44 > 0:57:47My business ethos is, um...
0:57:47 > 0:57:50do something that you love with people that you love,
0:57:50 > 0:57:55do it in a way that you can be proud of, genuinely try and make something better.
0:57:55 > 0:58:00These are just two inspiring ways to make millions.
0:58:00 > 0:58:05Every entrepreneur has their own eclectic mix of hard work, luck, skill, and self-belief.
0:58:05 > 0:58:07And there's one thing's for sure,
0:58:07 > 0:58:12we don't readily take "no" for an answer.
0:58:12 > 0:58:18Your job as the entrepreneur is to hear the no and turn it into a yes.
0:58:18 > 0:58:22I don't just accept no. I always say, why? Why, why?
0:58:22 > 0:58:26If I don't take risks every single day, life becomes boring.
0:58:52 > 0:58:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:54 > 0:58:56E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk