Friendly dragon gives entrepreneurs a hand

Mr Richard's drive for helping entrepreneurs partly comes from research he carried out for the Conservatives last year, in which he was damning about the way smaller firms are treated.

He said: "I made no friends from that. I was the chairman of a small business task force looking at how well the Government is supporting small businesses. I came to the conclusion the Government is doing a very bad job.

"And that's really not in its interests because small businesses have a very important role to play in an economy."

So he set his sights on advising small businesses on how to form a plan, secure investment and manage products.

And although many assume the current state of the economy is harmful for entrepreneuralism Mr Richard disagrees.

He said: "There's a lot of evidence which suggests a recession actually brings more discipline to business. And businesses that people need survive and prosper whether we're in a recession or coming out."

He picked out a few sectors he believes will thrive in the near future.

He said: "The internet or mobile phone technology, for example, I feel should do well. Anything that has the ability to make us feel connected.

"The change in media is also profound. People are already seeing it suffering but that won't happen, it will just adapt.

"Lowering the cost of fuel is also a key. Energy costs are still operating at historic highs and people need a way to reduce that."

But Mr Richard is more cautious when it comes to what business he backs.

While his business was not doing too badly, he admitted he did not want to put all his eggs in one basket.

He said: "It's not predictable which ones are recession-proof so I've spread my risks.

"But a lot of big companies are offering fewer services and doing less so the room for opportunity is growing.

"That's not to say I'm being all Pollyanna. I'm suffering, feeling bad like everyone else."

Residing in Cambridge since 2001 Mr Richard has been involved in many different businesses.

However, he will probably always be best known in Britain for his stint in the Dragons' Den.

It was an experience he was glad he went through but he's no great fan.

He said: "I never thought it would be successful. That shows what I know.

"It was a huge amount of fun but it takes a lot of time and I had other commitments. I invested in a few that fell through early on but I was involved with one up until last year.

To be honest most of them were crap.

"I can't say I really learnt anything from it, apart from what it's like to be recognised all the time, which I wasn't that fond of."