I'm very direct, I don't believe in wasting time, in wasting words.
Deborah Meaden
I suffer from reverse body dysmorphia. When I look in the mirror I see somebody slimmer. It's quite a shock to see myself on TV, especially on widescreen.
People shouldn't choose their careers on whether it's cool or not. They should choose their careers on, 'Are they good at it, do they love it, is it going to give them a good life?'
I'm not looking for hobbies, I'm looking for investments.
I use my clothes to make my day better - for example, if it's a dull day, I'll wear something bright to cheer myself up.
My first paid job was leading pony rides along Minehead seafront when I was eight. I probably got paid sixpence - not much but I loved horses and it gave me a great chance to be near them.
Dragons' Den' is about as close to real business as you can get on television.
Retirement has never, ever crossed my mind. And I honestly can't imagine when or why it would. If you're doing the thing you love, why on earth would you want to stop doing it?
Playing the piano was what I loved doing for myself, but as soon as it became a 'thing' that I was being pushed to pursue by my teachers, I rebelled.
Provided someone can persuade me, I will invest in anything.
It can be difficult to find investment for a new business, particularly one which is highly innovative or breaks new ground.
You don't have to start with your dream job, and your idea of what the dream job might be will change during a working life that will have its share of ups and downs, setbacks and advances.
You need to tell people where they stand. If someone's done a good job, you should tell them they've done damn well. But if they haven't, you should take the same attitude.
I don't like shopping and I'm lucky enough to have a stylist to do it for me.
You need emotional intelligence; to be happy to take risks; to be competitive and to look forward not backwards.
I feel like the luckiest person alive. I spend my life doing the stuff I love. I'm surrounded by inventive people who are full of energy and life.
People think I am a workaholic but I just love business.
I don't cook at all, and whenever my husband Paul goes away he leaves meals for me and I can't even be bothered to put them in the oven.
I am terrible. When I buy stuff, I want it straight away. If it says two to three weeks delivery - no way. I will find somewhere that will deliver it that afternoon.
I have no problem paying taxes. It doesn't bother me, because I want to live in a society that's happy.
I think the thing about business is that it's not completely separate to life. You're selling to people so it's all about life skills - and common sense.
The one thing I say, I will invest in anything - I don't care what it is - as long as it doesn't cut across my ethical code, because at the end of the day I want to be able to live with myself. I want to feel proud of what I do.
I don't like anything with too much dependency. Children are very dependent, which is probably why we never had them.
I hardly ever swear. So when I do, my husband knows it's extremely serious.
The minute I think 'Oh God, I don't want to do this because I'm scared,' is the moment I have to do something, whatever it is.
I've got a lot of laughter lines. You don't get laughter lines on your face without having a lot of fun in your life.
I have definitely learnt in business that when you have a smart, engaged entrepreneur with good judgement they can really drive even a mediocre business forward so to me the entrepreneur is very important.
When I sold Weststar Holidays, the idea was to take stock and stop and then decide in life - we were going to travel around the world or whatever we were going to do. After about two weeks my husband said to me, 'Oh for goodness sake Deborah, get yourself a business because this is driving me bonkers.'
I love the ingenuity of British entrepreneurs.
If you're looking for investment you've got to think about what the investor gets from being involved with your business. A lot of people think about what they're getting from their point of view but not about what the investor gets out of a deal.
I started off in the leisure industry and now I find myself as the DIY queen - I'm not quite sure how that happened!
I think I've got more humour than comes across.
When I concentrate, my face is deadpan and I can see there is a coldness there - when I'm making business decisions I know I can be quite dispassionate.
My parents are not nurturers. They're a bit like me: do a good job and move on.
I don't look for praise.
I'm not a fearful person, I have no phobias of rats, snakes, spiders, nothing. I'm lucky in that sense.
I'm not scared of many sectors, so if you look at my investment portfolio, it is pretty wide. I've invested in anything from market research firms to fashion houses and textile companies.
I love the full-on Hollywood glamour of the 1930s and '40s.
I think Cate Blanchett always gets it right. She seems very natural and wears interesting but not ridiculous clothes - she seems to push the boundaries just enough.
I had my first flower stall when I was seven, at the end of the drive in Minehead, Somerset. Nobody was stopping so I moved it to my neighbour's drive, because I thought: 'Location, location, location.' It worked.
I don't think I'm ruthless, but I'm very driven, irritatingly so.
I hate getting things wrong and I hate failing.
Money is not the ultimate point, but it remains the actual measure of success.
I'm impervious to charm. I can see through it.
I'm not a feminist.
I consider my position in the business world not as a woman but as a person.
Feminism doesn't have a particularly constructive image, although I think there was time when it was relevant.
I form opinions quickly.
People can call me what they like - fat, ugly, sour - but tell me I'm not fair, tell me I'm not ethical, those are the things that bother me.
Nobody is like the person I am on TV, surely, only Cruella de Vil, or the wicked witch from Snow White.
