Mert Bürİan

If you want to have your own business and work on a start-up business, you should read the story of James Caan who started his life as a Pakistani immigrant and left school at 16 to form a business of his own. He then step-changed the recruitment business by reapplying his experience and the methodologies in the sales sector. He started Alexander Mann in a small room without a window and then sold it for more than 100 million in cash. He then had his own private equity firm where he invested in many businesses. He became one of the dragons of the Den, the favorite show of investors.

Key tips and messages from the book:

1. Observe the masses and do the opposite.
2. A successful business is not about good transactions, it’s about good relationships.
3. Nothing is achieved without dedication and effort.
4. There is little point in hard work if you can’t take the time to enjoy the rewards.

I’m surprised – shocked, even – how often fans of Dragons’ Den come up to me and say that it must have been easy for me. It seems that if you are successful people assume you’ve always been successful, and when I tell them I started my first business with no money and no support in a broom cupboard with only the yellow pages for company, they are genuinely surprised.

I find his character astonishing and inspiring. The way he started to fight for a life of his own just at the age of 16, he has achieved much until the age of 45.