I grew up in a home with a lot of love, but I remember feeling very different. I was one of the only Black people in an all-white, middle-class area of Plymouth. We didn’t have a huge amount of money, didn’t have fancy things like holidays. The feeling of not feeling like I was enough became a driving force in my life.
My mum worked in a corner shop and my dad worked five days a week in London. Because I’m the youngest of four, I was given a huge amount of independence, to the point where my parents often weren’t in when I woke up or when I went to bed. I was treated like a 16-year-old when I was 10. That allowed me enough space to start running my own commercial experiments.
That void created a large amount of self-belief. My headmaster said on Would I Lie to You?, “We un-expelled Steve because he made the school so much money.” I got a deal on vending machines. I ran school trips. I wanted money, because my family didn’t have any.
Last week I had my brain scanned in LA. I’ve just been diagnosed with overfocused ADHD. It wasn’t a surprise. It means I’m good at focusing on things I’m really engaged with, but I’m horrific at engaging with things I’m not interested in. That was the story of my education. I lasted one lecture at university and deferred. I’m still deferred now.
Has being ADHD enabled me to succeed in business? Honestly, I don’t know. But it has enabled me to be a good quitter. And what that means is I’m able to get closer to things I enjoy faster, not overstay my welcome in areas I don’t.
My dream podcast guests? Michelle and Barack Obama. And I’d love to interview Elon Musk. Donald Trump? No. I have no interest in interviewing him.
I talked about football with Prince William. I met him recently at a homelessness project in Bournemouth. I support Manchester United. He’s an Aston Villa fan. I was asking about his children’s sporting interests. He said one of them is taking particular interest in gymnastics. He’s a big health and fitness fan, a big advocate of it.
I watch Man Utd to help me relax. It’s stressful at the moment, but I’m patient over the long term. I believe in Erik ten Hag.
I struggle not to be competitive. I’m very, very, competitive in everything I do. I like to win. It’s important to win. I think it’s important to be good loser. But when I lose in sport or in fitness competitions, I don’t like it.
I’m very much still part of Dragons’ Den. On the last day of filming the last series I posted an Instagram story saying how grateful I am to be a Dragon and that I hope to leave this platform as good as I found it. That got interpreted as if I was leaving, which isn’t the case. It’s a British institution. I feel a huge amount of responsibility being involved.
Steven Bartlett has partnered with Vodafone Business to launch Digital SOS, a new documentary series to help small businesses embrace digital technology
