Naomi Snelling talks to the former Dragon, James Caan CBE, about entrepreneurship and the forces that drive him for WHEREVER.

On the face of it, James Caan has the whole enchilada: a TV celebrity and philanthropist, and serial entrepreneur and multimillion-dollar businessman with multiple global companies to his name.

He’s also founder and chair of the government-funded Start-Up Loans Scheme, which earned him a CBE. Behind his success lies dedication, persistence and effort,and the courage to step into the unknown armed with rock-solid self-belief and a can-do attitude.

His early years were not easy. James was just two when he arrived in the UK from Pakistan. He grew up in the East End of London, which at the time was not the friendliest or most welcoming environment. The family home burned down – taking his tailor father’s orderbook with it – but the Caans literally rose from the ashes. “I like the challenge of building something, achieving something that no one else has done”, he says.

“What excites or compels the man who wants to climb Mount Everest, or the sportsman who wants to be the greatest of all time? They want to achieve something. Entrepreneurs are the same; we are reaching for the summit.”

And he should know. He cut his entrepreneurial teeth at high school, where he sold jackets made by his father to his friends, taking a cut of each sale. After dropping out of school at 16, he went on to become one of the UK’s most prolific entrepreneurs. Caan has started, scaled and sold a string of businesses, including the recruitment company Alexander Mann, which he started from a broom cupboard in Mayfair, armed with just the Yellow Pages.

 

“I like the challenge of building something, achieving something that no one else has done”

 

“I like the challenge of building something, achieving something that no one else has done”, says Caan. “What excites or compels the man who wants to climb Mount Everest or the sportsman who wants to be the Greatest Of All Time? They want to achieve something. Entrepreneurs are the same; we are reaching for the summit,” he says.

He subsequently started, scaled and sold further enterprises including Humana International and he went on to found private equity firm Hamilton Bradshaw, and remains its chairman today. Caan is now further securing his status as an entrepreneurial legend with Recruitment Entrepreneur International, a financial platform for the recruitment industry worldwide, which now has a footprint in 18 countries worldwide.

So, what’s his secret? “You have to take one step at a time”, he says. “You don’t always know where each step is going to lead, but I’m a great believer in methodically working towards your goals”, he says.

Taking one step at a time makes space for unexpected opportunities

“When you start something, it’s because you’re inspired and motivated. You find something that interests and excites you, and then you develop it. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. But as you navigate your way through, you evolve and your confidence grows and you start to believe in yourself; you start to think, “I can really do this”, explains Caan.

“Everything I’ve ever done has been one step at a time, I’ve never run before I can walk. If anything goes wrong, you only drop a step, whereas if you run you trip up”, he says.

“Greatness is no longer something far away–it’s unfolding right now, through your choices, through your persistence. The rush you feel? That’s the thrill of knowing you’re becoming exactly who you’ve always dreamed of. Great is just good, repeated, over and over again. And every time you show up, you’re closer to being the best”, he says.

Caan is understandably proud of his business success, but the achievement he is most proud of is the school he built and funds in Pakistan.

Cherishing his father’s memory

Caan adopted his father’s advice, “observe the masses and do the opposite”, as one of his guiding business principles. Despite fallout over his name change (from Khan to Caan) and his choice of a different path from the family business, Caan’s respect for his father was at the heart of his impulsive decision to build a school in Pakistan.

“When I went back to Pakistan for the first time and went into the village where my father was born, I saw lots of kids running around at 11 o’clock in the morning. I wondered why they weren’t at school and then I realised there wasn’t one.

“It pulled at my heartstrings because I knew my dad’s story so well. He started work at the age of eight; he was in a large family, the country was in turmoil and his family needed to live. My grandmother sent him to a tailor’s shop to learn a trade at the age of eight, so he never saw the inside of a school.

“I wanted to provide other kids with the opportunity that my father never had. And I had an unshakable conviction that I wanted to build a school that I would be happy to send my own children to”, he explains.

“Everybody said I was mad, because it’s
a remote village, and I was trying to create an incredible building and it was a bit out
of place.”

With typical tenacity, Caan did build a state-of-the-art facility, naming it the Abdul Rashid Khan school after his father. Understandably, it was hugely popular. “I’ll never forget arriving on the first day it opened and there was a queue of children a mile long”, says James.

 

“I’m a great believer in methodically working towards your goals.”

 

Caan not only built the school, he also funds the teachers’ salaries, mini buses and running costs. He visits regularly, at least once a year.

“Living in the West, you realise that the best way to break the poverty cycle is through education. And it’s an amazing feeling to realise that because of my father, these kids have got a chance to change their lives. When I built the school, my vision was that I wouldn’t just transform the lives of those children, but I would transform the lives of everyone in the village and the community.

“When I was there last year, I spoke to one of the teachers who was teaching English, and she had been a student at the school and had come back to teach in the school after going to university. And that was amazing!”

Whether it’s philanthropy, a new venture or a new role, James’ outlook is to never be afraid to start something new, even if it feels uncomfortable. “The best decisions often come when you push yourself beyond what’s familiar”,
he says.