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King of finance, king of fun

Peter Cullum is shaking up the insurance sector by injecting a sense of fun, having boldly rejected the rituals of corporate life for the thrill of building his own business. Towergate Partnership is now heading for £2 billion turnover and Cullum has been showered with awards for his achievement. GrowthBusiness meets the UK’s Entrepreneur of the Year.

William Kendall: Breaking the mould

William Kendall turned his back on the army, the legal profession and investment banking to be the driving force behind the business success story of Green & Black’s chocolate, yet he doesn’t consider himself to be an entrepreneur.

Power for good

Rory Stear regularly rubs shoulders with famous names and world leaders, but it’s not for fun – he’s on an energy-saving environmental crusade. GrowthBusiness meets the man on a mission to make the world a better place, while building a booming business, naturally.

Worldly-wise Webb

Martin Webb has dabbled in DJ’ing, bankrupted a design company, and successfully launched and sold bar chains and radio stations. His current ventures include an exclusive French adventure centre, a printing website and a not-for-profit pub. And he still finds time to star on Channel 4.

Tony Rafferty: the guerrilla of printing

It’s no mean feat transforming a business dabbling in music flyers into a £20 million print franchise. GrowthBusiness gets to grips with the brains behind the Printing.com empire.

Gordon Robson's mobile ambition

Gordon Robson developed the UK’s first multi-chat telephone system, invented the concept of newspaper phone services and even pioneered telephone voting for television. Now he’s at the helm of Stream Group trying to reinvent the way we bank, pay bills and even place bets.

Ian Livingstone: No fear of failure

A ‘danger to children’ and the man who introduced Dungeons and Dragons and Lara Croft to the world, Ian Livingstone is happiest when challenging accepted wisdom.

Doug Richard: The dragon roars

Doug Richard was stern and uncompromising during his stint on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den programme – qualities that have served the tech visionary well over the years.

Renaissance woman: Candace Johnson

Candace Johnson is a singer, musician, entrepreneur, fund manager, satellite communications pioneer and – according to Time and Fortune – one of the 50 most powerful women in the world today.

Luck, fear and fortune

David Gold reckons a mixture of luck and fear has propelled him to a £500 million fortune.

Owning it all: Duncan Bannatyne

Duncan Bannatyne spent time in the navy – and in jail – before embarking on a career that has made him £115 million. 

The biggest gamble of my life

Bobby Hashemi founded Coffee Republic in 1995 and stepped down in 2001, having created a successful operation. A year later, with the share price slumping, following substantial losses, he returned to the helm.

Ethics, ambition and enthusiasm

Sir Tom Farmer revolutionised the auto-repair market when he founded Kwik-Fit – and made a tidy fortune in the process. Now 63, he is energetically injecting his hard won resources into an array of UK start-ups.

Back in business

Serial investor Mark Horrocks has been busy of late with the painful liquidation of his investment trust, Intrinsic Value. But the experience has left him undaunted and he’s got plenty of new projects in the pipeline.

Up for the challenge

John Caudwell is in restless mood. As well as positioning his billion-pound mobile phone empire for the challenges of the years ahead, he has grand ambitions in the games sector.

"There's no such thing as failure, only feedback"

The challenges David Ferry faced when starting and growing his business, Ferry Financial.

"The Business is out there"

Neil O'Connell's advice for budding entrepreneurs is "don't panic".

"There's no such thing as failure, only feedback"

David Ferry set up his business, Ferry Financial, because he believed there was a better way to do financial management