Deborah Meaden on Making Millions, Choosing Not to Have Children & Why Women Belong in the Boardroom

About this episode

<p>Deborah Meaden is one of Britain’s most formidable businesswomen - a hugely successful entrepreneur, investor and the longest-serving female Dragon on <em>Dragons’ Den</em>. From starting her first business at just 19 to building and selling a multimillion-pound company, Deborah has spent decades breaking glass ceilings and taking up space in boardrooms.</p><p>But the road to millions was anything but straightforward. In this episode, Deborah talks candidly about the businesses that failed, losing all her money and starting again, buying the family business from her own parents, and what really changed when she became a millionaire. She opens up about resisting the pressure to “act rich”, the judgement she’s faced for choosing not to have children, and why she believes more women need to be in the rooms where the biggest decisions are made.</p><p>Deborah also discusses her long-standing fight for a different kind of business - one that values people and planet - and why tackling the climate crisis remains one of the causes she refuses to stop making noise about.</p><p>If you enjoyed the show, follow us at…</p><p>Instagram - <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/sistersofdefiance/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@sistersofdefiance</a></u></p><p>Anita - <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/itsanitarani/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@itsanitarani</a></u></p><p>Deborah - <u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/deborahmeaden/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@deborahmeaden</a></u></p><p>Subscribe to us on YouTube - <u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@itsanitarani" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@itsanitarani</a></u></p><p>And if you&#39;ve got thoughts, questions and comments, you can email us at: <u><a href="mailto:hello@sistersofdefiance.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hello@sistersofdefiance.com</a></u></p><br><p>00:00:00 Coming up</p><p>00:00:51 Introduction</p><p>00:02:50 Welcome &amp; deep breath</p><p>00:06:31 Early childhood</p><p>00:09:18 Courage from family</p><p>00:12:08 Struggling with school</p><p>00:15:48 Butlin’s &amp; the boardroom</p><p>00:20:13 Importance of confidence</p><p>00:23:12 First business failures</p><p>00:32:18 Buying out the family business</p><p>00:37:45 Taking risks and selling her business</p><p>00:40:02 How wealth changed her life</p><p>00:44:35 Ancient &amp; Brave ad</p><p>00:46:50 Ancient &amp; Brave Weekly Ritual</p><p>00:50:31 The myth of ‘having it all’</p><p>00:52:09 Marriage and not having children</p><p>01:00:40 Dragon’s Den</p><p>01:05:18 The climate crisis &amp; business</p><p>01:08:00 Data centres &amp; AI</p><p>01:11:41 Library of Wisdom</p><p>01:12:55 Dance playlist</p><p>01:13:29 Through the portal</p><p>01:16:49 Quickfire questions</p><p>01:21:54 Outro</p><p>Sisters of Defiance is nourished by Ancient &amp; Brave</p><p><a href="https://ancientandbrave.earth/pages/planet" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://ancientandbrave.earth</a></p><br><p>Our official charity partner, Choose Love, is a movement of people who are putting love into action. They get emergency aid and life-changing support directly to displaced communities, fast. You can donate to Choose Love here:</p><p><u><a href="https://donate.chooselove.org/campaigns/donate/?utm_source=website&amp;utm_medium=donatebutton&amp;_gl=1*azqk2g*_gcl_au*MTUwNDc3NjM4LjE3ODYzNTIzMzg.*_ga*NjE1MzkzNjEuMTczNjM0Nzg0Nw..*_ga_528635CDJG*czE3OTIxNTE1MTEkbzE2OCRnMSR0MTc5MjE1MTUxMSRqNjAkbDAkaDA.*_ga_H8318VSN03*czE3OTIxNTE1MTEkbzg5JGcwJHQxNzkyMTUxNTExJGo2MCRsMCRoMA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://donate.chooselove.org/campaigns/donate/</a></u></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>