0:00:02 > 0:00:06Big business is tough. But I believe there are certain factors that give us all
0:00:06 > 0:00:10a fighting chance of turning our dreams of success into reality.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14I'm on a mission to get inside the minds of some of Britain's
0:00:14 > 0:00:18most successful entrepreneurs and find out how they made it.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21I always knew I was going to make a few quid, do you know what I mean?
0:00:21 > 0:00:25I don't remember really being content. Enough is never enough.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27I will be studying their personalities
0:00:27 > 0:00:29just as hard as their business models.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31Maybe I need the business more than it needs me!
0:00:31 > 0:00:34In a bid to unearth what drives these diverse characters,
0:00:34 > 0:00:37I will also be asking some difficult questions.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Have you been told that you are mad?
0:00:39 > 0:00:44Well, I think there has always been a very fine line between insanity and genius.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46And I will be finding out how they survived
0:00:46 > 0:00:49when they faced their biggest challenges.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51I was so busy, and I had had this lump in my breast...
0:00:51 > 0:00:56- So you realised you had a lump? - Well, yeah.- And you did nothing about it?- No.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00My goal is to find out if it's our individual DNA that
0:01:00 > 0:01:04controls our destiny or whether there is a blueprint for success.
0:01:04 > 0:01:09Tonight, two successful entrepreneurs with completely contrasting backgrounds.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13They have both faced commercial crises, where one wrong move
0:01:13 > 0:01:17could have destroyed all they have worked towards.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20I will be meeting millionaire plumber Charlie Mullins.
0:01:20 > 0:01:21What's it say?
0:01:21 > 0:01:25A Londoner who has learned to control his business the hard way.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29- So what happens if an employee doesn't adhere to something in this Bible?- They go.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33And Lord Karan Bilimoria, the Indian owner of Cobra beer, whose battle
0:01:33 > 0:01:37to save his business from collapse came at a massive cost.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Was there a point when you ever felt, this is too much?
0:01:40 > 0:01:44Several times you feel it's too much. But you never think of giving up.
0:01:44 > 0:01:45Never ever.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Plumber Charlie Mullins is not your average handyman.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02In fact, with an estimated personal wealth of £55 million, Charlie
0:02:02 > 0:02:07is more likely to wear a Savile Row suit than a pair of plumber's overalls.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11- Charlie.- All right, Peter?- How are you?- All right, mate. How are you?
0:02:11 > 0:02:13- Fantastic. - I can't believe how tall you are!
0:02:13 > 0:02:18- I bet if you fell over, you'd be halfway home.- I would, but it's a good job I've got size 14 boots.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20'In London alone, there is
0:02:20 > 0:02:25nearly £500 million worth of plumbing business up for grabs.'
0:02:25 > 0:02:27Employing over 200 people,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30Charlie manages to turn over £17 million a year.
0:02:30 > 0:02:35You can achieve things in life, it's just about, you know, believing
0:02:35 > 0:02:39in yourself, putting something into it, and unfortunately, working hard.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Because there ain't nothing comes without hard work.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46But Charlie's success is not just the result of hard work.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50He has faced some serious crises and I want to find out
0:02:50 > 0:02:54how he survived and how he is making millions from U-bends and toilets.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58I like this, all the number plates.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01We have got about 150 vans on the road.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04And I think about 140 plumbing-related number plates.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06What would that cost?
0:03:06 > 0:03:10- I think it was about £25,000. - And what's the line-up?
0:03:10 > 0:03:13We have a system here, we are a clean and tidy outfit.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16We portray ourselves as being the best in London.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18You ain't putting no dirt on there, are you?
0:03:18 > 0:03:20That is cleaner than my car!
0:03:20 > 0:03:23The thing is, we have got about four people doing the valeting.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26There is nothing worse, Peter, then a plumber turning up
0:03:26 > 0:03:29in a dirty old van, his arse hanging out of his trousers.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Know what I mean? That's the wrong image.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34So we send presentable people, nice tidy vans,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37we're a very transparent company and offer a quality service.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40And one day, I will hopefully be a successful as you.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42I wouldn't say that, but wow!
0:03:44 > 0:03:47I don't know, though. He seems to be doing pretty well to me.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50But is there any substance behind that cheeky patter?
0:03:53 > 0:03:56I had expected to be immersed in pipes and plungers.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00- Watch your head, mate. - 'But this plumber's yard looks more like a van showroom.'
0:04:00 > 0:04:04I think we have about four or five mechanics here.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06And why do you do this yourself?
0:04:06 > 0:04:08Well, you know yourself what mechanics can be like.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12This way, we are in total control of it. We can work 24 hours here.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15If we have got something off the road, fellers come in at night,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17get it going again.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20You quite like to keep everything tight, don't you?
0:04:20 > 0:04:22- Close to you.- Well, we run a pretty tight ship...
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Is it tight, or is it...? Is it controlling?
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Organising, I would call it. You know what I mean, organising it.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38Walking around, I couldn't help feeling that it was all a bit too perfect and pristine.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42I'll show you round to our... Unfortunately...
0:04:42 > 0:04:44- This is your spray area? - Spray area. Yes.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48- Which I assume is immaculate as well?- Um... What do you want me to say?
0:04:48 > 0:04:53No, no, I'm starting to get the feeling that there is a little bit of OCD creeping into the business.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57We're a tidy outfit, that's all I can say, Pete. Pete, this is Mark.
0:04:57 > 0:04:58Fortunately, it wasn't
0:04:58 > 0:05:02just me willing to give the boss a hard time.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05This is probably the cleanest garage operation I have ever seen.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Well, this is still ongoing as well. We haven't finished yet.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10Bringing it up to standard, his standard,
0:05:10 > 0:05:15- in between doing the vans.- And what do people say behind the scenes?
0:05:15 > 0:05:16Behind the scenes?
0:05:16 > 0:05:20I've heard people call him nutty, but how can you call a man nutty when...
0:05:20 > 0:05:24When he's gone to such a high level of business, built a business out of nothing?
0:05:24 > 0:05:26Would you want a dirty plumber in your house?
0:05:26 > 0:05:29- Well, you wouldn't, would you? Of course not.- There you go.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33We have standards, know what I mean? It's either our way or the highway.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39Charlie's personality is stamped all over his business and its staff.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43He is controlling, organised, and obsessed with image.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45But the strategy is clearly working.
0:05:45 > 0:05:50And as well as eliminating the muck, he is clearly making a lot of brass.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54People have asked me, did you expect to get where you are today as a plumber?
0:05:54 > 0:05:57The answer is no. But it can be done.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Charlie draws a £1 million annual salary from his company.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04He has got homes in Kent and Marbella,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07where he is also expanding the business for the expat community.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10This is a water feature we had done.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Our fellers here, the English fellers done all that.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18All the pump is all in there and all the plumbing.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21I know you think that's boring, but it's not.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23I don't know that the word proud comes into it,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25do you know what I mean? I just think that...
0:06:25 > 0:06:27you have got to work hard
0:06:27 > 0:06:29and the end result is that you earn a few quid.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34It's all about believing in your own product and making it work.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37And I'm telling you now, if you put hard-work into anything,
0:06:37 > 0:06:39you'll be successful.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50Before I dig deeper into Charlie's roots
0:06:50 > 0:06:53and the reasons for his success, I've got an appointment with
0:06:53 > 0:06:58an entrepreneur whose background could hardly be more different.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02But like Charlie, Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea has also faced some
0:07:02 > 0:07:04difficult business decisions.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Success is not a destination, success is a journey.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10And it is a journey with lots of ups and downs.
0:07:10 > 0:07:16As long as the trajectory is an upward trajectory, you will still have those bumps.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Karan Bilimoria started a beer company that today turns
0:07:19 > 0:07:22over £50 million a year.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24But it's not all been plain sailing.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28My mission is to find out how he has adapted in difficult times.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31To get a taste of Karan's product, I have travelled up
0:07:31 > 0:07:36the M1 to the UK's biggest brewery in Burton on Trent.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39- Lord Bilimoria, nice to see you. - Very good to see you. Welcome. - How are you?
0:07:39 > 0:07:43Thank you. Well, this is a huge complex, isn't it?
0:07:43 > 0:07:46It is. Welcome to the Burton brewery.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49The biggest brewery in Britain and one of the biggest in Europe.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51And this is where Cobra beer is brewed.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53It has been brewed here for the last three years,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56along with being brewed in Belgium and in India.
0:07:56 > 0:07:57An Indian beer in Britain?
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Sounds interesting. Shall we go through and have a chat?
0:08:05 > 0:08:07Beer in Britain is big business.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14This massive plant alone can produce over 150 million cases a year,
0:08:14 > 0:08:19contributing to a market with an annual retail value of £16.5 billion.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21This is the actual production line now, coming off...
0:08:21 > 0:08:24- This is the production line.- This is all Cobra?- All Cobra.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27- What does that make you feel like, when you see that?- Oh, I love it.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30I love the sound of the clinking bottles.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37Karan seems very at home in his overalls as he proudly shows me
0:08:37 > 0:08:41round the factory that now produces the beer he invented 20 years ago.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Born in India in 1961, Karan's father
0:08:48 > 0:08:52and grandfather were both officers in the Indian Army.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Luck is when determination meets opportunity.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58He is public-school educated, a Cambridge graduate,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00and a fully qualified accountant.
0:09:00 > 0:09:06I would say that I'm an entrepreneur and I would like to think that
0:09:06 > 0:09:11I am an entrepreneur with a conscience and try to practise business
0:09:11 > 0:09:12with the right principles.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16I wanted to make not just a beer that was different, but the best Indian beer ever.
0:09:16 > 0:09:21It was at university that the idea for a new beer was born.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24The beer idea really started from the time when I came as a student,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27when I took an instant liking to real ale.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29I found very quickly that ale is delicious on its own in a pub,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32but hopeless with food because it's too heavy and too bitter.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35I found fizzy lagers were just terrible to drink on their own
0:09:35 > 0:09:37and particularly bad to drink with food.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41That's when this idea evolved that I would produce a beer which I would make in India that would have
0:09:41 > 0:09:45the refreshing qualities of lager and the smoothness of ale combined.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48Whatever business you go into, it is going to be against all the odds.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50The way you practise business is important.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55A favourite saying is that it is not enough to be the best IN the world, but to be the best FOR the world.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58I think most of us would claim to have good principles in business
0:09:58 > 0:10:00but the profits must be good, too,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02or there is simply nothing to give back.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05During my time with Karan, I will be finding out why he is
0:10:05 > 0:10:08so keen to balance good ethics with good economics
0:10:08 > 0:10:12and how for him, that comes with a £70 million price tag.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21- This is our call centre, Pete. - All right. OK. Looks busy.
0:10:21 > 0:10:22Thank God it is.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Back in Pimlico, I wanted to get under the skin of who
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Charlie really was.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30And who better to ask than the call centre manager,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33who also happens to be his wife of 41 years.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35Peter, this is my wife.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37- Linda, this is Peter.- Nice to meet you.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40What is he really like? To live with?
0:10:40 > 0:10:43He is a workaholic and if we're not working at home,
0:10:43 > 0:10:46we're working here, so we are working all the time.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48- But, you know, we got family. - We have had children.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51There's loads of family. We got eight grandkids...
0:10:51 > 0:10:55He don't find a lot of time with the younger ones.
0:10:55 > 0:10:56Do you, because you're too busy?
0:10:56 > 0:10:59But the older ones, because they can work as well.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Then he is fine with them. But the younger ones, a baby -
0:11:02 > 0:11:04we've got a five-month-old one,
0:11:04 > 0:11:06you don't didn't spend so much time, do you?
0:11:06 > 0:11:09But she can't pick the phones up, or wash vans, can she?
0:11:12 > 0:11:14- That's what I mean.- No, but you know what I'm saying.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17This is what I deal with all the time.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21But it's not just his wife that Charlie employs.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25He has got two daughters and two sons, all on the payroll.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27And even the grandchildren chip in.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30- Hi, guys.- These are me two grandsons, Pete.- Your two grandsons?
0:11:30 > 0:11:33- Yeah.- Ashley.- Ashley.
0:11:33 > 0:11:38- Charlie.- Charlie. Charlie Jr.- Yeah. - So are you both going to be plumbers?- Yeah.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40Yeah, I'd like to be, yeah.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43- Are you going to run Pimlico plumbers one-day?- Hopefully.- Yeah.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46And one day, you'll be driving one of these?
0:11:46 > 0:11:48It's got my name on the back.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50PETER LAUGHS
0:11:52 > 0:11:56Working with family is not easy, but I was starting to wonder if Charlie
0:11:56 > 0:12:01was using his family to reinforce the hold he has over his company.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04Combined with his extremely polished corporate image, I was
0:12:04 > 0:12:08beginning to sense he was uneasy, desperate not to lose control.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Rooting out the reason for this would take more time,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14but I was determined to get there soon.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20- God, this is huge, isn't it?- And there, you see you've got new bottles.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24With over 3,000 beers on the UK market, a new brand,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28like Karan created, had to have a great USP in order to succeed.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30Got one.
0:12:30 > 0:12:31I feel like a naughty boy,
0:12:31 > 0:12:35I've come into the back of a builder's yard and pinched something.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39These icons, each one of these stands for a stage in the Cobra beer story.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41This is my father's crest.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44I was introduced to beer in the Indian Army messes.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48The elephants stand for learning. I came up with the idea for Cobra when I was at Cambridge.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53This is a snake charmer in a rice field with the word "beer".
0:12:53 > 0:12:56So it invoked... Rice is in the recipe.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00- It came out of nowhere, it didn't exist before.- And the scales?
0:13:00 > 0:13:03The scales tipped one way which show it was against all the odds.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07And then down here, you have a palm tree and a building with a B on it.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12- The palm tree, was that supposed to be...?- That's Bangalore, my first brewed Cobra was in Bangalore.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15I then also started brewing it in Bedford, and now I brew in Burton.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Well, that's quite amazing.
0:13:19 > 0:13:25- Is that the finished product apart from labelling?- That's it. This is chilled, fresh beer. Unpasteurised.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29You can feel how cold it is. This is before it goes to be pasteurised.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32It is only relatively recently that Karan's brand
0:13:32 > 0:13:34has become a household name in the UK.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37So this emphasis on a rather slender history and heritage is
0:13:37 > 0:13:42actually a clever marketing device in a fiercely competitive industry.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53Good PR and marketing is something that seems to come quite naturally
0:13:53 > 0:13:54to Charlie Mullins.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57He courts celebrity clients.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00People describe your looks and say, what does Charlie Mullins look like?
0:14:00 > 0:14:05I say he looks like the last balloon at a children's party. You know that?
0:14:08 > 0:14:11And he has even hired a publicist to help manage media opportunities
0:14:11 > 0:14:14and promote the business in the press.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17Peter, this is the reception area.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19What is this, Charlie?
0:14:19 > 0:14:22Well, a lot of these are customers we worked for.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26Celebrities and high-profile people.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29- So when you walk in here, imagine I'm a customer now.- OK.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31What impression are you trying to give me?
0:14:31 > 0:14:35The idea is to give a general feel of the company and if somebody
0:14:35 > 0:14:39is not aware of us, this hopefully backs up the type of outfit that we are.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41Who is that old guy there, then?
0:14:41 > 0:14:44- That is Buster.- "You'll never believe how old Buster is!" Who is Buster?
0:14:44 > 0:14:49Buster was one of the oldest workers in Britain and he joined us
0:14:49 > 0:14:52- when he was 97, Buster. - 97?- 97, yeah.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56- We got him out of the old people's home down the end.- You didn't?!
0:14:56 > 0:14:59To be honest, he'd walk up here and have a fag,
0:14:59 > 0:15:03and I'd give him a fiver or something to have a beer and then he said,
0:15:03 > 0:15:07rather than give me money, give me a job. "So what can you do, Buster?"
0:15:07 > 0:15:10He said, "I will wash the vans, I will do anything."
0:15:10 > 0:15:14So we took him on at 97. And seven years he was with us.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18- It's a shame he is not around any more.- And why did you do that?
0:15:18 > 0:15:21- Was that a bit of a publicity tactic?- Not at all.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23It wasn't about a publicity thing.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26He come here, used to do his work, and for us,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29- it was value for money, do you know what I mean?- OK.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33Do I look that I'm such a nice, kind fellow to be doing it?
0:15:33 > 0:15:36There's always... I think there is method in your madness.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38Method in your madness, you're right.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44So, recruiting a 100-year-old plumber and getting acres
0:15:44 > 0:15:47of press coverage as a result wasn't a publicity stunt?
0:15:47 > 0:15:49I'm not quite sure I buy that.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Time to get past the bluff
0:15:53 > 0:15:57and find out what is really behind this polished PR-loving plumber.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02Charlie founded his business with a second-hand van
0:16:02 > 0:16:05and a bag of tools in 1979.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08Three years later, he had a team of five working for him
0:16:08 > 0:16:14and by 1988, he was closing in on the magic £1 million turnover mark.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16But then, recession struck.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19The premises he had borrowed heavily to buy lost over three quarters
0:16:19 > 0:16:23of its value and Charlie fell into serious amounts of debt.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Pimlico had sprung a leak.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31As a company, then, we nearly went bust. We never had it right at all.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35We was employing the wrong people, we was offering the wrong service,
0:16:35 > 0:16:38it just was a million miles away from it.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42We nearly went under. And then when I seen two liquidators then, to...
0:16:42 > 0:16:44- Wow.- That's how serious it was.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47One liquidator said, turn it all in.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50And we went to get a second opinion, which was a great idea.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53And he said, well, you're going to lose your house,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56you're going to lose everything anyhow, you might as well fight for it.
0:16:56 > 0:16:57And that's what we done.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00So from that moment, I sort of changed everything.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04I changed the staff, every member of staff went that was with us then.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06I think it was such a frightening time.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08We never had any dos and don'ts,
0:17:08 > 0:17:12we never had no rules or guidelines to go by.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15Once that went, I formed the Pimlico Bible, we call it now,
0:17:15 > 0:17:19and everything we do, how we operate, it's in the book.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23A plumber's with a Bible? This is something I had to see.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28- What do you reckon?- It's a Bible, isn't it?- Pimlico Bible.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30All your working guidelines...
0:17:30 > 0:17:32There you go, personal appearance.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36It says anything other than the company-issued items of visible clothing.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38So that's clear, you got your uniform.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42Extreme hairstyles, no ponytails.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44You can't have stubble or be unshaven.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46Earrings only on female operatives.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51All I'm saying is, it's Pimlico plumbers,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54you're representing us, you're going in somebody's house,
0:17:54 > 0:17:56and we want you to look presentable.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00So what happens if an employee doesn't adhere to something in this Bible?
0:18:04 > 0:18:05They go.
0:18:07 > 0:18:08- Really?- Yeah.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13Cos that is really, really interesting for me.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15Because that now makes sense.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19Because you have put controls in place in your business,
0:18:19 > 0:18:21when your business was out of control.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24And now, because you can see that you have got organised
0:18:24 > 0:18:26and you have put all these clear,
0:18:26 > 0:18:31very black-and-white restrictions on your staff and what you expect,
0:18:31 > 0:18:33you've got success from that, haven't you?
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Yeah, I'll agree with that. Yeah.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43Back in Burton on Trent,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46it was almost time to share a glass of beer.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51- It's cold.- That's for you. If you are tasting beer, the first...
0:18:51 > 0:18:53- Tilt the glass? - No, don't tilt the glass.- What?
0:18:53 > 0:18:55You have to keep it absolutely upright
0:18:55 > 0:18:57and then pour it very slowly, straight up.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01You can see the head of the beer.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05Next thing is, what you want to do is test the clarity of the beer.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09So you put your finger at the top of there, and you want to look through and see your finger behind.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13Next thing, remember, you haven't sipped it yet!
0:19:13 > 0:19:17Next thing you are seeing the colour. Is the beer looking quite nice and golden coloured?
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Now, one more thing before you taste it. The aroma.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25- Now you can taste it. Cheers.- Cheers.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29So I had learned something new about pouring beer.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33But I was supposed to be finding out about Karan's entrepreneurial journey.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38If I take you back to when you first came up with the whole Cobra concept.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41- Tell me a little bit about that. - I did a law degree at Cambridge.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44I loved my time at Cambridge, but I had realised very quickly
0:19:44 > 0:19:46I was not going to practise as a lawyer.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48What I really wanted to do was start my own business.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53And within six months of finishing my studies, I set up my business.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57And my business, I had one big idea, and that was this beer idea of mine.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01- Right.- But I started with £20,000 of student debt to pay off.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03And so, I started with a business partner Of mine,
0:20:03 > 0:20:05a childhood friend of mine from India,
0:20:05 > 0:20:07and we started importing polo sticks,
0:20:07 > 0:20:09because I used to play polo for Cambridge and I captained
0:20:09 > 0:20:13the first ever tour of India with the Cambridge University polo team.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16I brought back some sticks with me and I started selling them
0:20:16 > 0:20:18to Lilywhites and to Harrods and to the Royal Family saddlers.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22All this was getting us experience in sourcing products,
0:20:22 > 0:20:26in importing, in raising finance. The basics of business.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28- And, all the time, the beer idea was there.- Still there.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33In 1990, Karan and his beer got their first big break,
0:20:33 > 0:20:35when a large brewery in India
0:20:35 > 0:20:38agreed to produce his new recipe for export.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41Timing is so critical when bringing any product to market
0:20:41 > 0:20:43and Karan got his right,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46because as his beer was being launched in the UK,
0:20:46 > 0:20:48the nation's tastes were changing.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51The number of new Indian restaurants was on the rise
0:20:51 > 0:20:54and lager was beginning to outsell ale.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59Within five years, the company was valued at £1.5 million.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02Today, it turns over more than 30 times that,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05but I know that start-ups rarely come without difficulties.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09'I needed to know exactly what economic
0:21:09 > 0:21:13'and emotional challenges he faced in the early days of the business.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17'Having secured support from the brewery in India,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20'Karan started to distribute his beer from a small flat
0:21:20 > 0:21:23'he and his business partner shared in West London.'
0:21:23 > 0:21:26- So this is it? This is where it all started?- This is it, yes.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28On the second and third floor, up there.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33The beer would get delivered by lorry
0:21:33 > 0:21:35And drop a palette of beer here
0:21:35 > 0:21:39and a palette of beer weighs one ton, literally one ton, 72 cases of beer.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41So literally, on the pavement, was your deliveries
0:21:41 > 0:21:44- of all your Cobra beer.- Yeah, all the Cobra, and then my partner and I
0:21:44 > 0:21:46would go up all those flights of stairs.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48So how did you go about delivering it?
0:21:48 > 0:21:49Well, our company car was
0:21:49 > 0:21:55this £295 bright green battered Citroen deux chevaux called Albert.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57And it needed push starting on most days.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02And you could see the road through the holes in the floor of the car
0:22:02 > 0:22:04and it could carry exactly 15 cases of Cobra,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07- if you put some on the front seat as well.- And what about money, then?
0:22:07 > 0:22:09So clearly, you were literally brassic, you had no money at all?
0:22:09 > 0:22:11We would run out of money all the time.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14I remember once up in that roof conversion sitting there
0:22:14 > 0:22:15and I looked at my wallet.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18I pulled my wallet out, literally, pulled my wallet out
0:22:18 > 0:22:22and there was no money. I looked in there, there were pennies.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24I mean, do you feel like giving up? Do you feel down in the dumps?
0:22:24 > 0:22:26- You feel really down in the dumps. - Yeah.
0:22:26 > 0:22:31- So that was really, everything was teetering on a knife edge?- Yes.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33Raising money was impossible.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37We had a recession on in those days, like we do now.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40It's horrible having to ask people, you know, to give you more credit.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42- To go to your bank manager... - Is that what you did?
0:22:42 > 0:22:45And there was a bank manager round the corner here and he used to...
0:22:45 > 0:22:49Our overdraft limit was £11,000, he let it go to £26,000.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51He said, "Do you know, if you let me down,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54"I'm coming to the end of my career, I'm about to get my pension?
0:22:54 > 0:22:57"I will lose everything if you boys let me down."
0:22:57 > 0:22:59And, of course, we never let him down.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02You've got to really believe in your idea and in your product
0:23:02 > 0:23:04and in your brand and I knew, from the beginning,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07when we got those first reorders, we had something that was going
0:23:07 > 0:23:10to succeed and something that could become a global brand.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13That's what gets you through it.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16'Taking on so much debt at such an early stage of the business
0:23:16 > 0:23:20'shows that Karan believed in himself and his product.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23'It also hints at an attitude to borrowing and risk
0:23:23 > 0:23:25'that would get him into hot water later.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34'So far, I'd enjoyed Karan's company. His charm and charisma
0:23:34 > 0:23:37'are qualities that serve him and his company well.
0:23:37 > 0:23:42'But I was troubled by the fact that Karan's beer is brewed in Britain.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45'Whenever I drank it in the past, I'd bought into the idea
0:23:45 > 0:23:49'that it was an authentic Indian beer imported into the UK.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52'To discover it was, in fact, made in Burton on Trent
0:23:52 > 0:23:54'was actually a little disappointing,
0:23:54 > 0:23:57'but something I was determined to investigate.'
0:24:00 > 0:24:04Later, I would discover something in Karan's history that would
0:24:04 > 0:24:07test the mettle of even the most resilient entrepreneur.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17'Like Karan, Charlie's entrepreneurial instincts
0:24:17 > 0:24:19'have been severely tested.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23'His brush with bankruptcy means that he now keeps his family close
0:24:23 > 0:24:26'and rules his business with an iron fist.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29'The image of his company, and its employees,
0:24:29 > 0:24:31'is of paramount importance to him.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38'To strip away Charlie's PR veneer, I'd have to take him
0:24:38 > 0:24:42'out of his comfort zone and away from his businesses.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45'I wanted to dig deeper into Charlie's background
0:24:45 > 0:24:47'and discover where, and how,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50'he was first inspired to become a plumber and a businessman.'
0:24:52 > 0:24:55We're heading now to Elephant and Castle.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58The Rockingham Estate is, er, you know, where I was brought up on,
0:24:58 > 0:25:00the council estate there, pretty rough estate, you know.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02I ain't looking forward to going back, if I'm honest,
0:25:02 > 0:25:06- makes me nervous.- You're not? - No, no, it makes me nervous.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Um, you know, my time living there weren't good.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11I didn't like it at all.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17'Charlie was one of four boys.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20'His dad worked in a factory and his mum was a cleaner.'
0:25:23 > 0:25:24Well, is it safe?
0:25:26 > 0:25:28- This is it?- Yeah, unfortunately.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31I used to live right at the top floor, know what I mean?
0:25:31 > 0:25:35Right on the very top, number 53, no lift, no lights.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39Er... They used to have all bars up at the windows, you know what I mean?
0:25:39 > 0:25:42- You've still got quite a lot of bars up.- Yeah. Although I wasn't sure
0:25:42 > 0:25:46if that was to stop people getting in, or to stop you getting out.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49- Was it that bad?- Well, what do you think? Know what I mean?
0:25:49 > 0:25:51So how did you then get yourself out of here?
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Fortunately, there was a local plumber, er,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57a chap called Bill Ellis, and I sort of met him
0:25:57 > 0:26:00and he explained to me about plumbing and he had a nice house,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03he had a motorbike, he had a car, he had loads of money
0:26:03 > 0:26:05and he said to me, "If you go into plumbing,
0:26:05 > 0:26:10"you'll have a job for life and you'll earn lots of money," you know?
0:26:10 > 0:26:12And, er, fortunately, he was right.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15So would you say you've been here, you've moved on,
0:26:15 > 0:26:19- but you don't want to ever come back?- Um...
0:26:19 > 0:26:22You're right, and I agree with all of them.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28'I may have discovered Charlie's first entrepreneurial role model.'
0:26:28 > 0:26:33But 50 years ago, it wasn't plumbing that inspired him to succeed.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37This is going to bring back some memories here, you know.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40This was my life, boxing, you know.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43- So this is your boxing club? - Yeah, yeah. Started at 15.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50'Lynn Boxing Club is one of the oldest in the country.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54'It's trained Olympic hopefuls and professional fighters.'
0:26:54 > 0:26:57- Probably get over the whole lot. - Oh, he gets over the top.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59I struggle with that at the bottom.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02'The club played such an important part in Charlie's history
0:27:02 > 0:27:06'that he has donated thousands of pounds to keep it running.'
0:27:07 > 0:27:11- So when was the last time a glove went on?- I think I was about 21.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15I started 15, stopped at 21 through head injury.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19I got sort of knocked out against London versus Wales and, um,
0:27:19 > 0:27:24- unfortunately, I whacked my head on, you know, this bit out here.- Ooh!
0:27:24 > 0:27:27Somehow went under the rope, whacked there
0:27:27 > 0:27:29and wound up in hospital for a week.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33But, you know, the good thing that came out of it, I suppose, is, um...
0:27:33 > 0:27:36You know, I then really concentrated on work.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40I probably became a workaholic because of the not being able to box.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42- Tell me when you're ready. - I'm ready, yeah, yeah.
0:27:42 > 0:27:44PETER LAUGHS
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Yeah, you can feel that.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54- How does it feel putting the clubs back on?- It feels good, actually.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57- Does it? - I think I could make a comeback.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05You put a nice little dent in there. But you know what's interesting?
0:28:05 > 0:28:09You can see it in your eyes. It's a bit of a passion.
0:28:09 > 0:28:10- You still love it.- Oh, I love it!
0:28:10 > 0:28:15Never been near boxing for about 30 years, because, er, I think
0:28:15 > 0:28:17it hurt so much not to be able to do something you love, you know.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22And you always think, you know, how far would you have gone in boxing?
0:28:22 > 0:28:24And how far do you think you would have gone?
0:28:24 > 0:28:27Er, I'd have won a lot more than what I would have lost, that's for sure.
0:28:27 > 0:28:32And look where you ended up. You could be, what now, a...?
0:28:32 > 0:28:34- Contender.- You could be a contender.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38I could have been a contender! Um... No, if I'm being honest,
0:28:38 > 0:28:41give me a choice - boxer or a plumber - I'd be a boxer.
0:28:41 > 0:28:42- Really?- Yeah.
0:28:42 > 0:28:47This was my passion, this was my love, and, um, you know what I mean,
0:28:47 > 0:28:49I think it was cruelly taken away from me,
0:28:49 > 0:28:50if I'm being honest, know what I mean.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55'Finally, Charlie's starting to let his guard down
0:28:55 > 0:28:58'and slowly revealing who he really is.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01'Charlie's head injury was a turning point in his life,
0:29:01 > 0:29:04'but from an early age, he'd shown he was a fighter,
0:29:04 > 0:29:08'not afraid of hard work, and hugely aspirational.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12'Key traits of every successful entrepreneur I know.'
0:29:16 > 0:29:19'For my next meeting with Karan Bilimoria, I wanted
0:29:19 > 0:29:22'to go back to the place where his business really got started.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24'It was here, on Brick Lane,
0:29:24 > 0:29:28'that the fledgling entrepreneur sold his first bottle.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31'Very few Indian restaurant owners drink alcohol,
0:29:31 > 0:29:34'so convincing them to sell a new type of beer
0:29:34 > 0:29:38'posed a unique business challenge. I was keen to meet
0:29:38 > 0:29:42'one of the company's first sales reps - Samson Sohail.'
0:29:42 > 0:29:46- Karan?- Ah!- How are you? - Good to see you.- Good to see you.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48- Welcome to Brick Lane. - Thank you.- This is Samson.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50- It's a great pleasure to meet you. - Same here.
0:29:50 > 0:29:55Samson has been with me since 1993. 19 years.
0:29:55 > 0:29:59- Wow.- It's been a long time. - 19 years.- Wow!
0:29:59 > 0:30:02- So will you give me a tour of Brick Lane, then?- I will do.
0:30:02 > 0:30:03- Thank you.- Let's go.- Let's go.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08'Karan told me that employing Samson was a masterstroke.'
0:30:08 > 0:30:12- This is Aftob.- Hi. Aftob, I'm Peter. - Hello.- Hi, good to meet you.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15'He was so desperate to prove himself that he initially
0:30:15 > 0:30:17'offered to work just on commission only.'
0:30:17 > 0:30:19What was it that Samson gave you
0:30:19 > 0:30:21that you thought, "I'm going to go for that"?
0:30:21 > 0:30:24- He's a good persuader. - So it was him?- It was him.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28- We only sell Cobra beer here. - You only sell Cobra? - That's the only beer we sell.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31- What about this man, what do you think of him?- He's very nice.
0:30:31 > 0:30:32LAUGHTER
0:30:32 > 0:30:34Good to see you, how are you?
0:30:34 > 0:30:37'Samson apparently smashed all the sales targets he was set and,
0:30:37 > 0:30:41'two decades on, is a millionaire and a shareholder in his own right.'
0:30:41 > 0:30:43What was it that persuaded you to buy the beer?
0:30:43 > 0:30:45It was a new idea.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47That was something that you always want to know.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51You know, if customers are happy, we are happy to serve the product
0:30:51 > 0:30:54which customer are willing to go for.
0:30:54 > 0:30:55And the fact that it was an Indian beer -
0:30:55 > 0:30:57- did that make a difference to you? - Of course.
0:30:57 > 0:30:59Yeah, it was Indian beer,
0:30:59 > 0:31:04plus it was better than other beer, they told me. The customers.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09'But I still had some issues to tackle with Karan.
0:31:09 > 0:31:11'I wanted to explore his entrepreneurial ethos
0:31:11 > 0:31:15'and whether he feels he used his ethnicity and cultural connections
0:31:15 > 0:31:18'to get the beer onto the market.'
0:31:18 > 0:31:20Wasn't there just a little bit thinking,
0:31:20 > 0:31:24"This is an Indian beer for an Indian community, please help me,
0:31:24 > 0:31:28"please endorse it, please support another fellow Indian?"
0:31:28 > 0:31:31rather than, "Buy my product, because it's great"?
0:31:31 > 0:31:34The most important thing was the product.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37It all came down to the product being genuinely different,
0:31:37 > 0:31:42genuinely better, authentic, and doing a fantastic job
0:31:42 > 0:31:44in terms of customers loving it.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46But if you're selling something
0:31:46 > 0:31:51that doesn't deliver what you're saying, you're a conman.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55You sold your product into a community
0:31:55 > 0:31:59that I think one of the USPs is the fact that it's an Indian beer.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03- Yes, very much so.- But it's very, very clear to me now that, actually,
0:32:03 > 0:32:07it's an Indian beer made in Burton on Trent.
0:32:07 > 0:32:12I came up with the idea for Cobra as an Indian in Britain.
0:32:12 > 0:32:17I created it in India with Indians.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22And for the first seven years, we exported Cobra from India.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26The fact that the Cobra we consume here has not been produced in India,
0:32:26 > 0:32:30and shipped over from India, does not stop it being an Indian beer.
0:32:30 > 0:32:31This is a beer of Indian origin.
0:32:31 > 0:32:36Is the fact that you are eating this food over here not Indian,
0:32:36 > 0:32:39because it hasn't been cooked in Delhi and flown over from there?
0:32:39 > 0:32:41Is that not really conning the public?
0:32:41 > 0:32:43No-one has ever tried to con anyone.
0:32:43 > 0:32:47One's got to be absolutely... Integrity is a keyword.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50And, very clear, it says where it's brewed on the bottle.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54It is an Indian beer, a beer of Indian origin, created in India.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56It is an Indian product.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02'It was a bit of a political answer from Lord Bilimoria.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05'Clearly, an inspired mix of clever marketing
0:33:05 > 0:33:08'and dogged determination got his beer off the ground.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11'But I know that his journey from Brick Lane
0:33:11 > 0:33:14'to multimillionaire businessman was not easy.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18'I was about to unravel the secrets of Karan's business past and
0:33:18 > 0:33:22'discuss a make or break deal that tested everything he believed in.'
0:33:27 > 0:33:30'Back at the boxing club, Charlie had already revealed
0:33:30 > 0:33:33'how he'd been forced to make a life-changing decision.'
0:33:34 > 0:33:37Let's go and have a rest. A well-earned rest.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39I think I'd have got you in the last round, though.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41I think you got me in the first.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43'What I now needed to know was when and where
0:33:43 > 0:33:47'Charlie first recognised his instinct for making money
0:33:47 > 0:33:50'And whether he still has the drive and determination
0:33:50 > 0:33:52'to take his business to the next level.'
0:33:54 > 0:33:56Whilst you were in that Rockingham Estate, did you
0:33:56 > 0:34:00realise at that time that you were going to become an entrepreneur?
0:34:00 > 0:34:03I always knew I was going to make a few quid, you know what I mean?
0:34:03 > 0:34:07Whether it would be a bit of ducking and diving or a bit of work
0:34:07 > 0:34:11and a bit of this, but, um, I'm not sure about the word entrepreneur,
0:34:11 > 0:34:13I've never heard of it before, you know what I mean.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15Certainly on the Rockingham.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17I don't think it was out there then, but, um...
0:34:17 > 0:34:21Yeah, I suppose, being honest, I knew I would always get a pound note.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25- What was your average day as a teenager?- I don't know.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28We'd just go to the youth club...
0:34:28 > 0:34:31Go boxing. I mean, boxing was the thing that, um,
0:34:31 > 0:34:33really got you away from it.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36That was wonderful. It makes you stand up for yourself.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38It makes you want to achieve things.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42Where I am today, I actually think it's a lot to do with the boxing.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45Where I missed out on the boxing, I just became a total workaholic,
0:34:45 > 0:34:48you know, and I thought, "There ain't no-one's going
0:34:48 > 0:34:51"to knock me away on this, that's for sure."
0:34:51 > 0:34:52So you've come from nothing
0:34:52 > 0:34:54and now look at what's happened to your life.
0:34:54 > 0:34:59- That's inspiring, isn't it?- Yeah. I mean, I'm sure it is inspiring.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01I'm a normal fellow, know what I mean, sort of, you know,
0:35:01 > 0:35:03come from South London. And I'm a plumber.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06- I can't be making out I'm someone I'm not.- Come on, Charlie.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10- You're about as normal as a dodo, aren't you?- I'm a plumber!
0:35:10 > 0:35:13Yeah, but you're a... you're not a normal plumber.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15No, I'm an expensive plumber.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17There's things inside you that are very different
0:35:17 > 0:35:19to the average person on the street.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22The average person on the street isn't,
0:35:22 > 0:35:26you know, a complete control freak. The average person on the street
0:35:26 > 0:35:30isn't as determined and passionate about starting their own business.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32You are anything but average.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38I... Well, I don't know. For me, I'm just a normal person.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40I mean, as I said, I haven't changed much.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43I don't speak any better than what I used to speak.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47And now, what's important to Charlie now?
0:35:47 > 0:35:50What's the next few years hold?
0:35:50 > 0:35:53Get a bit more of the plumbing share in London,
0:35:53 > 0:35:55a bit more of the market share in London.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58'Where Charlie came from is clear,
0:35:58 > 0:36:01'but it's not as clear to see where he's going.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04'I have to say, I was just a little bit disappointed
0:36:04 > 0:36:08'by his lack of ambition, because most of the entrepreneurs I know
0:36:08 > 0:36:11'have plans for their business to take over the world.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13'It's something I want to tackle with him
0:36:13 > 0:36:15'before our time together is up.'
0:36:19 > 0:36:23While Charlie was fighting his way out of poverty in South London,
0:36:23 > 0:36:27Karan Bilimoria was enjoying the high life at public school in India.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32On the face of it, his career has followed a privileged path,
0:36:32 > 0:36:36from private education to Cambridge and now Parliament.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40But Karan could rightly say there's a difference between being
0:36:40 > 0:36:43presented with opportunity and actually making the most of it.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48'My task is to find out who inspired him and what drove him on
0:36:48 > 0:36:51'when making those crucial first steps into business.'
0:36:53 > 0:36:56- Hi, Peter.- Karan, how are you? - Very well, thanks, how are you?
0:36:56 > 0:36:59- Nice to see you.- And you. Welcome to Parliament.- Well, thank you!
0:36:59 > 0:37:03Yeah, here we are in the central lobby in the Palace of Westminster.
0:37:03 > 0:37:04- Beautiful.- This is the centre of it.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07If you stand on that spot, you are right in the middle of Parliament.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09- So this is the middle of Parliament? - This is it.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13- This is the centre of the universe. - The centre of the world!
0:37:15 > 0:37:20'Karan Bilimoria was made Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea in 2006.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22'He's a crossbench peer
0:37:22 > 0:37:25'and one of the youngest to sit in the House of Lords.'
0:37:25 > 0:37:30Every time I walk in here, I feel privileged to be here
0:37:30 > 0:37:33and I feel lucky and I just pinch myself often and say,
0:37:33 > 0:37:36"Is this real? This is so beautiful, this is so fantastic."
0:37:36 > 0:37:40So you seem to me, coming across, you love heritage, you love history.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43- It's important to you. - History is so crucial,
0:37:43 > 0:37:46because you've got to learn from your past.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49My family, on my father's side, are a military family,
0:37:49 > 0:37:53and on my mother's side is more of a business family.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56Although my grandfather served in the Royal Indian Air Force,
0:37:56 > 0:37:57he was from a business family,
0:37:57 > 0:38:00and my great-grandfather was a member of the upper house in India,
0:38:00 > 0:38:03the Rajya Sabha, the equivalent of the House of Lords.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06And he was an entrepreneur, he was a philanthropist,
0:38:06 > 0:38:08he was someone who looked after his family really well
0:38:08 > 0:38:10and he has been a great inspiration to me.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14'Walking through Parliament with Lord Bilimoria
0:38:14 > 0:38:16'may have been an honour...'
0:38:16 > 0:38:19- Where are we?- Here we are. - Oh, you're here?- Yeah.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22'..but getting into his slightly less impressive car
0:38:22 > 0:38:24'didn't fill me with quite the same emotion.'
0:38:26 > 0:38:29I've had this car for 16 years.
0:38:29 > 0:38:36I've driven each of our four children home from the hospitals
0:38:36 > 0:38:39- when they've been born.- In this car? - In this car and taken them home.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41Because I must say, when I came out and saw this,
0:38:41 > 0:38:43I wasn't quite expecting a car like this.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46I mean, it will get us where we're going, will it?
0:38:46 > 0:38:48LAUGHS: Yes.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55It's very clearly quite a privileged background that you've had.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58Have you used any family contacts
0:38:58 > 0:39:00that have helped you in business in any way?
0:39:00 > 0:39:03Yes, the family connections have always been there.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05For example, as how I knew my business partner, Arjun Reddy,
0:39:05 > 0:39:08because our families had known each other for four generations.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12It was Arjun Reddy's uncle, Keshow Reddy,
0:39:12 > 0:39:14who was our mentor here in London.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18He was the one who introduced us to our first bank manager...
0:39:18 > 0:39:22- Wow.- ..who gave us the £7,000 overdraft. And, in those days,
0:39:22 > 0:39:25to get an unsecured £7,000 overdraft was a big deal
0:39:25 > 0:39:28and it was through Uncle Keshow that we got the introduction
0:39:28 > 0:39:32to Mysore Breweries, who we created Cobra with.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35Do you think that you would still be able to have achieved
0:39:35 > 0:39:38what you've achieved without that family background?
0:39:38 > 0:39:41At that time, 30 years ago, there's no question
0:39:41 > 0:39:44that this country, Britain, had a glass ceiling.
0:39:44 > 0:39:46I was told by my family and friends very clearly,
0:39:46 > 0:39:50"If you decide to work in Britain after your studies,
0:39:50 > 0:39:53"remember you'll never get to the top, because you'll never be allowed to as a foreigner.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56"There will be a glass ceiling." And there was a glass ceiling.
0:39:56 > 0:40:02And what has changed, um...has been, over these last three decades,
0:40:02 > 0:40:05is that that glass ceiling has been well and truly shattered.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08I really believe this is a country now where there is opportunity
0:40:08 > 0:40:11for all, regardless of race, religion or background and anyone can
0:40:11 > 0:40:14get anywhere, depending on their abilities and their aspiration.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23'It was fascinating to hear Karan reflect
0:40:23 > 0:40:25'on the cultural challenges he faced,
0:40:25 > 0:40:30'but all entrepreneurs face obstacles and I can't help feeling
0:40:30 > 0:40:33'his family connections were crucial to his early success.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40'Where earlier I'd discovered the roots of Charlie's fighting spirit
0:40:40 > 0:40:42'lay in a boxing gym in Camberwell,
0:40:42 > 0:40:44'Karan's was to be found
0:40:44 > 0:40:47'in the slightly more auspicious Constitution Hill.'
0:40:48 > 0:40:52So... Here we are...
0:40:52 > 0:40:54at the Memorial Gates.
0:40:54 > 0:41:00The beautiful sandstone columns with the names of the countries
0:41:00 > 0:41:04whose citizens served in the First and Second World War.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07And we're talking about nearly 5,000,000 individuals
0:41:07 > 0:41:10- and it's absolutely remarkable... - I can read some of the things here.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14Predominantly from India and India alone, in the Indian subcontinent,
0:41:14 > 0:41:162.5 million, including 132,000 Gurkhas.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19My father was head of all the Gurkhas in India before he retired.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22And do you think, when you look up there, your dad is
0:41:22 > 0:41:26looking down on you thinking how proud he is of what you've achieved?
0:41:26 > 0:41:29I think of him all the time when I'm here.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33Yes, so we have the three Victoria Cross winners.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36Netrabahadur Thapa, who was posthumous.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39And Gaje Ghale and Agansing Rai,
0:41:39 > 0:41:41both of whom I was brought up with from childhood.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43And if you hear of Gaje Ghale,
0:41:43 > 0:41:46who was wounded in the attack that he was involved in,
0:41:46 > 0:41:50but continued to lead his men, refused to go for medical help,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53until he had won that battle,
0:41:53 > 0:41:55and only when he was forced to, completely wounded,
0:41:55 > 0:41:57but still fighting was he taken away.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01With Agansing Rai, inspiring his men, leading from the front,
0:42:01 > 0:42:05defeating the Japanese and then going single-handedly to a bunker
0:42:05 > 0:42:08and overpowering a whole group of Japanese on his own.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11Bravery that is unbelievable.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14Inspirational beyond belief.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17Has this motivated you personally to succeed
0:42:17 > 0:42:20with your own life and mission?
0:42:20 > 0:42:23Often, when I think of any problems or challenges
0:42:23 > 0:42:28I might be going through, in business, in life...
0:42:28 > 0:42:32it is nothing compared with what
0:42:32 > 0:42:37these individuals faced in battle.
0:42:37 > 0:42:41And my father faced going to war. Nothing!
0:42:41 > 0:42:43It just puts everything into context.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47'For the first time, I felt I'd broken through
0:42:47 > 0:42:51'Karan's political persona and witnessed some real emotion.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56'I'd discovered that, for completely different reasons,
0:42:56 > 0:42:59'both he and Charlie Mullins' pasts
0:42:59 > 0:43:02'have motivated and inspired them in their business battles.'
0:43:06 > 0:43:07'The time had come
0:43:07 > 0:43:11'for my final meeting with Charlie at his home in Kent.
0:43:12 > 0:43:16'I was still curious about what I saw as a lack of ambition.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20'Estimates suggest his plumbing business
0:43:20 > 0:43:23'owns 6% of the market in London
0:43:23 > 0:43:26'and Charlie is developing his interests in Spain,
0:43:26 > 0:43:30'but, if I were him, I'd be pushing the company even further
0:43:30 > 0:43:32'by rolling it out across the country
0:43:32 > 0:43:35'or even developing my own branded products.'
0:43:35 > 0:43:38- Hello, Charlie.- Peter!- I've got my kit for a game of tennis.- Good man.
0:43:38 > 0:43:40- All right?- I'm ready.
0:43:40 > 0:43:42'I was eager to tackle these tough issues with Charlie,
0:43:42 > 0:43:46'but I hadn't forgotten the beating he gave me in the boxing ring
0:43:46 > 0:43:49'and it was time to get my own back.'
0:43:49 > 0:43:50Ooh, lovely pool.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55- I like this.- That's me phone. I've just upgraded it.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59PETER LAUGHS
0:43:59 > 0:44:03- This bit you'll like. I'll show you this bit here.- A detail?- Follow me.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07You'll like this bit.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09- The old Pimlico Bible. - Give me a break!
0:44:09 > 0:44:14- I'm telling you!- You've put Pimlico Bible on your mural...- Yeah.
0:44:14 > 0:44:18- ..in your pool?- Yeah, you have to risk your life to see it.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20- Right, I'm going to... - Changing room there, mate.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23I'll go and get changed, go and prepare yourself for defeat.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26CHARLIE LAUGHS
0:44:30 > 0:44:33- Do you want a game or a lesson? - No, a game, let's go for it.- OK.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36'Charlie's backyard seemed a long way from the tennis academy
0:44:36 > 0:44:39'that was my first entrepreneurial enterprise.'
0:44:39 > 0:44:41Come on, Charlie, get on with it!
0:44:41 > 0:44:44'But both Charlie and I were finding it hard
0:44:44 > 0:44:46'to conceal our competitive spirit.'
0:44:47 > 0:44:49Oh, yes!
0:44:52 > 0:44:56What can I say? That was some serve, Pete.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59Charlie, well done, thank you. Shall we go and get dry and have a chat?
0:44:59 > 0:45:02Yeah, you'll start talking to me about tennis, aren't you?
0:45:02 > 0:45:04PETER LAUGHS How to play tennis!
0:45:06 > 0:45:09As each day has gone on, and I've got to know you...
0:45:09 > 0:45:11I'm not going to say that
0:45:11 > 0:45:15I completely understand how you are and how you operate,
0:45:15 > 0:45:17but I've come to really like you.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20I think you're a really, really clever...
0:45:20 > 0:45:23You're fairly calculating, you're fairly manipulative,
0:45:23 > 0:45:27you know what you're doing, but one thing I really have struggled with
0:45:27 > 0:45:32is you don't want to expand this amazing business you've created.
0:45:32 > 0:45:37If I was ten times bigger, how's it going to change my lifestyle?
0:45:37 > 0:45:40It would probably change it for the worse, know what I mean? I mean...
0:45:40 > 0:45:44I'm sitting here thinking... I tell you what I would do.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47I'd definitely go up and down the country.
0:45:47 > 0:45:48I'd open up a depot in Manchester.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52I might even think about a range of different products.
0:45:52 > 0:45:53You've opened up in Spain,
0:45:53 > 0:45:56but I think that's more to do with the fact that
0:45:56 > 0:45:59you're there in Spain, and you like it, because you feel comfortable.
0:45:59 > 0:46:00I'm more than happy to work on
0:46:00 > 0:46:03getting a bit more of the market share in London
0:46:03 > 0:46:06and I think we're heading towards that anyhow, you know,
0:46:06 > 0:46:09and the difference is, I'm not going to bust a gut to do it.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11- Do you think psychologically has something been...?- It could be.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15- ..preventing you from growing your business?- Um...
0:46:15 > 0:46:17It's not fear, that's for sure.
0:46:17 > 0:46:21And, you know, I don't have the want or need for...
0:46:21 > 0:46:22A few more quid's handy,
0:46:22 > 0:46:25but, you know, that ain't what sort of makes me work these days.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28Um... Look, I think I've got, I've got a nice business
0:46:28 > 0:46:33a nice family, nice lifestyle, what more do I need?
0:46:33 > 0:46:35- So you're happy with your lot? - Yeah, course I am.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38I've just got to let my face know. PETER LAUGHS
0:46:40 > 0:46:42I think that sort of sums you up.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44- Is that fair? - Yeah, I mean, you know,
0:46:44 > 0:46:47I don't want to be the richest man in the graveyard.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51And I think I might have taken a little bit away from that as well,
0:46:51 > 0:46:53because I know what I'm like.
0:46:55 > 0:46:56I'm running at 400 miles an hour,
0:46:56 > 0:46:58trying to do so many different things
0:46:58 > 0:47:01and certainly spending time with you has made me realise
0:47:01 > 0:47:05that maybe it's time that I should take it a little bit easier.
0:47:05 > 0:47:09Yeah, well, you know, Pete, a day without learning is a day wasted.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11Yeah.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14- You know what I mean?- Right. And, Charlie, I've got to ask you this.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16Plastic surgery or no plastic surgery?
0:47:18 > 0:47:20- You can be honest with me. - Oh...- A little bit?
0:47:20 > 0:47:23If this has cost me money, I'd want my money back, Pete.
0:47:23 > 0:47:24HE LAUGHS
0:47:24 > 0:47:27That's what I love about you - you're very, very good.
0:47:35 > 0:47:39'Success in big businesses is rarely achieved without conquering
0:47:39 > 0:47:44'some serious obstacles and I wanted to dig deeper into Karan's story.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50'Before our final meeting,
0:47:50 > 0:47:54'I discovered that his business had experienced turbulent times
0:47:54 > 0:47:58'that seriously tested both Karan's personal and business ethics.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02'It was time to find out how he coped when the chips were down.'
0:48:04 > 0:48:08'Identifying allies in the battlefield of business
0:48:08 > 0:48:12'is a key part of almost every successful entrepreneur's skill set
0:48:12 > 0:48:13'and Karan is no exception.'
0:48:13 > 0:48:15- Iqbal?- Hi, Karan.- How are you doing?
0:48:15 > 0:48:17- Peter Jones.- Nice to meet you. - Great to meet you.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21'Iqbal Wahhab was a journalist and PR expert who played
0:48:21 > 0:48:25'a massive part in marketing Karan's beer in its early days.'
0:48:25 > 0:48:27And you've known each other for a long time?
0:48:27 > 0:48:29I had a PR company in the late '80s, early '90s.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33Karan and I also had a business together in the mid-'90s.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36- Yeah, which was a magazine... - Yes.- ..directed directly
0:48:36 > 0:48:40- at the Indian restaurant business? - And still going.- Very clever.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43'Tandoori Magazine was founded in 1994.
0:48:43 > 0:48:45'On one level, it was a vehicle
0:48:45 > 0:48:47'through which the Asian catering industry could communicate.'
0:48:47 > 0:48:50- Lovely to meet you, enjoy your lunch.- Thank you.- Thanks, Iqbal.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52'But it was also a genius idea
0:48:52 > 0:48:56'that gave Karan a free platform from which to promote his beer.'
0:48:56 > 0:48:57Great location.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00When we were building Cobra, we had no money to market.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03How do you reach out to 6,500 restaurants?
0:49:03 > 0:49:06We looked out for a trade magazine that went to the Indian restaurants
0:49:06 > 0:49:08and there wasn't one, so we started one.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11OK, so it wasn't really the opportunity in terms of the fact
0:49:11 > 0:49:14that you thought there was a real business in the magazine world.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18You thought that, as a result of introducing a magazine,
0:49:18 > 0:49:21your Cobra brand would benefit?
0:49:21 > 0:49:23I wanted it to be an objective magazine,
0:49:23 > 0:49:28where Cobra could advertise - of course, would advertise regularly -
0:49:28 > 0:49:30and I was financing the whole thing.
0:49:30 > 0:49:35But it had to be objective and that's why the magazine became
0:49:35 > 0:49:37THE trade magazine for the sector from the time it started.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42'Owning both the magazine and a beer brand meant Karan was walking
0:49:42 > 0:49:46'a fine line between editorial interest and economic gain.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49'A risk that backfired with disastrous consequences
0:49:49 > 0:49:53'when the magazine featured an article criticising the service
0:49:53 > 0:49:57'in Indian restaurants by claiming all waiters were miserable.'
0:49:57 > 0:50:00There was an article written in the late '90s
0:50:00 > 0:50:04which upset the restaurants, because of the way it was written
0:50:04 > 0:50:08and it was quite critical and, as a result of that,
0:50:08 > 0:50:10there was a boycott of Cobra beer.
0:50:10 > 0:50:15- What, the Indian restaurants just boycotted it?- Boycotted Cobra beer.
0:50:15 > 0:50:20- Wow! OK, so that's a real... - It was a terrible experience... - It backfired.
0:50:20 > 0:50:25..that we went on, and it took a year for the boycott to be lifted.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28And it is the most awful, awful experience you can ever go
0:50:28 > 0:50:30through as a business, where business was booming.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33We were growing at over 70% year-on-year.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36We had opened up depots all round the country and suddenly,
0:50:36 > 0:50:40- everything just stops. And then... - Horrendous.
0:50:40 > 0:50:46The way we won through in the end was by literally communicating
0:50:46 > 0:50:50with the restaurants and explaining that we would never ever wish
0:50:50 > 0:50:51to harm them, our own customers
0:50:51 > 0:50:54and it would mean sometimes being called to visit a restaurant
0:50:54 > 0:50:57in the West Country at ten o'clock at night - getting there,
0:50:57 > 0:51:00and driving straight down and seeing them at 1am.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04Being with them till 2am or 3am and coming back to London at six in the morning.
0:51:04 > 0:51:08And a year later, the boycott was over, and we've never looked back.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11Having put his business in jeopardy once, Karan managed to win
0:51:11 > 0:51:16his customers back through sheer hard work and determination.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19Then growth of over 50% between 2000
0:51:19 > 0:51:23and 2006 attracted some serious investors and together,
0:51:23 > 0:51:28they adopted an aggressive debt-funded expansion plan.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32But in 2008, Karan looked like he was about to lose it all again.
0:51:32 > 0:51:34The global recession meant that those investors
0:51:34 > 0:51:36wanted their money back.
0:51:36 > 0:51:39He was forced to put his business up for sale.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42You were in sinking sand as a business, then?
0:51:42 > 0:51:46- You have expanded at a rapid rate... - We had a lot of debt.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50..and now you are in a situation where that debt can't even be refinanced.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52And now you are going to a point where
0:51:52 > 0:51:56- you are about to lose everything you have worked for your entire life?- Yeah.
0:51:56 > 0:52:02- Tell me how you felt at that point. - You feel absolutely terrible.
0:52:02 > 0:52:08You feel absolutely awful. But you realise that you have to survive.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10You have to get through it.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13And you have to have that faith and resolve within yourself that
0:52:13 > 0:52:15you are going to get through it, and be determined.
0:52:15 > 0:52:20Did it not put a strain on your family relationships, on your marriage?
0:52:20 > 0:52:24Of course it does. Of course, it affects every part of your life.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27Was there a point that you ever felt, this is too much?
0:52:27 > 0:52:29Several times, you feel it is too much.
0:52:29 > 0:52:34- But you never think of giving up. Never, ever.- And no tears?
0:52:35 > 0:52:41I can't remember crying, but I could have easily cried if...
0:52:41 > 0:52:46- it was almost beyond tears. It was so bad, it was terrible.- Really?
0:52:46 > 0:52:49Throughout all that, I said to myself, one thing you are going to do
0:52:49 > 0:52:52is behave with dignity through this process.
0:52:52 > 0:52:58And seeing everyone else around me losing it, behaving awfully.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01Karan needed to find a solution,
0:53:01 > 0:53:04one that he hoped fitted with his values.
0:53:04 > 0:53:08It came in the form of American brewers Molson Coors.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10They formed a joint venture with Cobra
0:53:10 > 0:53:14and brought it back from the brink by selling the company's assets
0:53:14 > 0:53:17through a controversial pre-packaged administration.
0:53:17 > 0:53:21Pre-packaged administrations have a bad reputation because sadly,
0:53:21 > 0:53:25they are misused and that bad presentation is justified.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27But with a pre-pack, you are trying to save as much as possible.
0:53:27 > 0:53:32That is whole idea of a pre-pack. But unfortunately, pre-packs are often conducted in a manner
0:53:32 > 0:53:35where they happened very quickly and the next day,
0:53:35 > 0:53:37the same business starts in the same premises,
0:53:37 > 0:53:39the same people, in the same way,
0:53:39 > 0:53:41having wiped out all their shareholders,
0:53:41 > 0:53:43having wiped out all their unsecured creditors,
0:53:43 > 0:53:46having wiped out all their employees.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50And they start again. And there is no way I could have done that.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53I said, I'm not going to take advantage of this mechanism.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55A, I'm going to look after all my employees, B,
0:53:55 > 0:53:58all my shareholders, I'm going to take along with me.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01Next, secured creditors will all be looked after
0:54:01 > 0:54:04and the next thing I said is, I will also make sure that all
0:54:04 > 0:54:07the unsecured creditors are settled, however long it takes me.
0:54:08 > 0:54:12- How are you going to do that? Because the...- I am doing it, as we speak.- And the amount is...?
0:54:12 > 0:54:16- It's a huge amount of money, isn't it?- Yes.- Reportedly £70 million.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18It's a huge amount of money.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22And you're still going to repay every penny?
0:54:22 > 0:54:25That is what I'm going to do. I am going to settle the whole lot.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32For Karan, opting for a pre-pack was apparently the best
0:54:32 > 0:54:34option in the circumstances.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39Sadly, many people lose money when a business
0:54:39 > 0:54:42goes into administration, but Karan believes he is different
0:54:42 > 0:54:46because of that promise, to pay back everyone that lost their money.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52It's almost like your military heritage
0:54:52 > 0:54:56came into play in that business environment.
0:54:56 > 0:54:59It's a bit like having your wounded infantry that have come back from
0:54:59 > 0:55:03a war under your leadership and now you're looking after their families.
0:55:03 > 0:55:08You could make that analogy. I just feel you can't let people down.
0:55:08 > 0:55:09You can't...
0:55:09 > 0:55:14You know, people have had the faith to back you in whatever way,
0:55:14 > 0:55:18whether as a supplier, whether as an investor, you can't let people down.
0:55:20 > 0:55:22I can see Karan is determined to keep the promises
0:55:22 > 0:55:26he has made to his old creditors, but he faces a real uphill battle
0:55:26 > 0:55:28because he doesn't own all of the company
0:55:28 > 0:55:32and £70 million is a huge amount of money to try and pay back.
0:55:33 > 0:55:37However admirable, I'm not convinced it's achievable.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44Charlie Mullins and Karan Bilimoria are intriguing individuals
0:55:44 > 0:55:46from totally different backgrounds.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50While they may have completely contrasting cultural roots,
0:55:50 > 0:55:52they both have made their dreams of success a reality
0:55:52 > 0:55:55and now I know how they did it.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01Both Charlie and Karan are acutely aware of the importance of image
0:56:01 > 0:56:05and work hard to push the profile of their brand.
0:56:05 > 0:56:09Yet there is substance to much of their spin.
0:56:09 > 0:56:11Is it safe?
0:56:11 > 0:56:14Charlie came from humble origins, but was determined to better
0:56:14 > 0:56:18himself and he has made millions by working hard.
0:56:18 > 0:56:21I believe that the more you put into something,
0:56:21 > 0:56:22the more you get out of it.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26I'm a great believer that by giving something your full whack,
0:56:26 > 0:56:29you can get an end result.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32It's just believing that you can succeed in life.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35But Charlie is also work-smart, learning from his mistakes
0:56:35 > 0:56:38and changing his ways when disaster loomed.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41I'm really pleased and I do value things.
0:56:41 > 0:56:47And I value the fact that all your family can enjoy them things.
0:56:47 > 0:56:51Also faced with downfall, Karan made some tough business decisions.
0:56:51 > 0:56:55Success is not a destination, success is a journey.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59And there is no question about it, the real test of leadership is
0:56:59 > 0:57:01leadership in adversity, leadership in a crisis.
0:57:01 > 0:57:03How do you come through the tough times?
0:57:03 > 0:57:06Karan has kept his company alive without losing sight
0:57:06 > 0:57:10of the most important thing to him, his principles.
0:57:10 > 0:57:14Our vision is to aspire and achieve against all odds with integrity.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17And that's what I think entrepreneurship is all about.
0:57:17 > 0:57:20Coming up with an idea, wanting to get somewhere with the idea,
0:57:20 > 0:57:24having all the odds stacked against you, having little or no means,
0:57:24 > 0:57:26and going out there and making it happen.
0:57:26 > 0:57:31It's this do-or-die, adapt and survive attitude that has made these
0:57:31 > 0:57:34inspiring entrepreneurs who they are today.
0:57:38 > 0:57:40- 'Next time...'- Hello, Peter. - Laura, hi. Good to meet you.
0:57:40 > 0:57:42I will be meeting Laura Tenison,
0:57:42 > 0:57:45whose brush with death changed her life.
0:57:45 > 0:57:48I had this terrible head-on collision, I broke my ribs,
0:57:48 > 0:57:52my jaw bones, my cheek bones, a couple of legs.
0:57:52 > 0:57:54But I survived, come on.
0:57:54 > 0:57:59- Michael. Great to meet you.- Great to meet you, too. Welcome to our HQ.
0:57:59 > 0:58:00Wow, what a place!
0:58:00 > 0:58:03And Michael Acton Smith, who wants his computer game for kids
0:58:03 > 0:58:07to turn him into the Walt Disney of the Internet age.
0:58:07 > 0:58:10I think we can build a multi-billion dollar business here.
0:58:10 > 0:58:13- You think you can go to multi-billion dollar?- Absolutely.
0:58:13 > 0:58:18- We call it a B-HAG, a big, hairy, audacious goal. - A B-HAG?- Exactly. Yeah.
0:58:18 > 0:58:24I don't quite know if I've met anybody that dreams quite as big as you!
0:58:43 > 0:58:46Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd