Virtually Smart Inspirational Women Series. Deborah Meaden – Backing Excellence

Despite there being a huge shift in the recognition of women in the workplace, as business owners & as business pioneers; there are still areas where women are overlooked, overseen & surpassed despite their skills, knowledge & educational capacity being greater than or equal to their male counterparts.

Deborah Meaden is known for being one of the fierce Dragon’s in the BBC television programme Dragon’s Den. However, thanks to her success in business, Deborah now invests in business, pioneering developments & charitable & environmental causes.

Deborah having studied business at college, began her first import company at aged nineteen. With very little capital Deborah launched her own glass & ceramics import company supplying upmarket stores like Harvey Nichols. Once the products started to appear in other high end stores & despite Deborah having sole agency rights; she did not have the funds for a legal fight & therefore walked away.

After this initial step into the world of business, Deborah embarked on a series of other business ventures including a successful business start up with an Italian clothing franchise ‘Stefanel’ & running a prize bingo concession at Butlins.

With several successful business ventures in the leisure & retail industry already to her name, Deborah then took up a position in the family amusement arcade business. Having started on the shop floor, Deborah then worked her way up to Operations Director, before moving across into the holiday park side of the business, Weststar Holidays. (1)

Within two years of joining Weststar Holidays, Deborah was promoted to Managing Director & grew the company to offer over 150,000 families holiday opportunities every year.

In 1999 Deborah borrowed the funds to enter into a buyout of the family business.

In 2005 Weststar found itself the target of several takeover bids. Deborah finally sold the family business to Phoenix Equity Partners in a deal worth £33m, whilst retaining a 23% stake & an active role within the firm. She sold her remaining stake in the business when Weststar was sold to Parkdean Holidays for £83m. (1)

Deborah is most known as being one of the Dragons in the popular television BBC television programme, Dragon’s Den. Deborah joined series three of Dragon’s Den (2006) & has since invested in dozens of businesses with investments in the region of £3.3M. Some viewers find Deborah to be relatively blunt towards those pitching for investment, but as Deborah so rightly says “It’s a serious business investing money and I’m not afraid of telling it as it is, if needs be! I’m there to invest my own money which can be quite sobering” (1)

One of Deborah’s investments MasterPeace launched in 2019, has, like thousands of other businesses, had to adapt to the challenges of Covid19.

The MasterPeace business model was London’s first dedicated mindful painting experience, with an initial focus on in-studio classes, hosted in their Belgravia studio. (2)

Deborah recognised the need for this valuable resource, “I really saw something in Zena and the MasterPeace experience that is increasingly relevant. I loved the actual product at a moment when we are all looking to try new things and particularly in the mindfulness space.” (2)

In the wake of Covid-19, the business has had to adapt & from this the At Home Art Kits were born, enabling the young business to survive & thrive. MasterPeace grew to reach customers in 17 different countries around the world & their journey has subsequently been celebrated on the pages of the Daily Mail, Evening Standard, the Mirror, Forbes, Tatler & more.

Deborah finds herself in a unique position of being able to extend her investment support beyond the confines of business & in her own words “I consider myself incredibly lucky because, thanks to my success in business and my profile in the media, I am in a unique and privileged position to be able to help the projects and causes that I feel truly passionate about” (3)

Deborah is a fellow of the World Wildlife Fund & supports many charitable projects & causes. These are just two examples of the causes Deborah supports.

MicroLoan Foundation

The MicroLoan Foundation offers small loans, business training and support to women in rural Malawi and Zambia, enabling them to set up small businesses.

Once in profit, these women are able to provide for their families, educate their children and crucially, repay the original loan amount.

This money then gets lent to another woman and so it continues, lifting family, after family out of poverty.

Hope not handouts

They don’t give money – they lend it. 99% of loans are repaid and ‘recycled’ into new loans. This creates yet more businesses, which are able to support their owners and their families indefinitely. (4)

WWF – World Wildlife fund

“I was approached about becoming involved in the WWF by a very dear friend who is also a trustee of the organisation. The environment, animals and sustainability are all issues that I feel incredibly passionate about and so I was thrilled to join the WWF’s council of ambassadors.

The council is a diverse group of people who are responsible for carrying the messages that the WWF is looking to promote to as many people as possible – from influencers of policy, to everyday people. In order to do this we attend quarterly meetings where we’re briefed on the pertinent issues. I’ve learnt so many things through this role, it really is a privilege to be involved and an honour to have access to such experienced and deeply knowledgeable people.” (5)

With the latest series of BBC’s ‘Dragon’s Den’ now on our screens, Deborah Meaden continues her search for innovative, exceptional entrepreneurs & businesses to invest in.

Written & cited by Katy-Jane Mason for & on behalf of Virtually Smart