“I’M SO EXCITED ABOUT BECOMING A DRAGON!”
FORMER BANKER AND ENTREPRENEUR JENNY CAMPBELL, 56, is one of the new dragons on dragons’ den. she won business woman of the year in 2014. she lives near bury st edmunds in suffolk with her husband, andrew. the couple have two grown-up sons, rik and tom.
I’ve always been a huge fan of dragons’ den. i’ve watched every y series since it started and thought it would be something i’d love to do but never thought it would happen. then i heard that sarah willingham and nick jenkins were leaving – i spoke to my pr, got an audition, and here i am!
Filming was very intense. i was quite apprehensive but [fellow dragon] deborah meaden told me that tej lalvani [founder of vitabiotics and the other new dragon]] and i have been the most natural and settled in the quickest, which was lovely to hear! we spent every evening together during filming – we may compete on the programme but behind the scenes we get along really well.
Leaving school at 16 was the best thing i could have done. i come from a family with a strong work ethic. i did work experience at 16 in a bank and loved it. that’s when i had my first light-bulb moment: i want to give up school and start working. i worked my way up the ranks to become one of a handful of senior female bankers in the uk at the time.
Being a senior woman in banking was hard. my husband was in the raf and we had two young children, so i’d dash out of the office at 5pm to pick them up, and could see my male colleagues raising their eyebrows. luckily, the world has changed since then.
I became an entrepreneur in 2006 when i turned around a failing cash Machine business into a company worth millions. i could see the potential in the company and relaunched it as your cash europe ltd. it was tough but exhilarating. ten years later, i sold the company for £50m.
My downtime is dog time and family time – i love having my sons round for lunch, and andrew and i enjoy going out for meals. i met andrew when i was 21 in mallorca – it was a holiday romance that lasted! within six months we were engaged. what have i learned about marriage? that tolerance and patience are key. you’ve got to be kind to each other and learn to occasionally bite your lip and walk away.
Since selling the business, for the first time in my life i am able to be a homemaker and wife – and i love it. saying that, i know there’s more i can do in business. i’m now entering my “research phase” to plan my next step. >>