Hilary Devey, the multi-millionaire CEO of a freight haulage firm, is determined to make her mark as the new Dragon in the Den.
"I have got genuine compassion for people and I genuinely like to help, but I'm also very much a commercial animal."
"I literally did everything myself. I couldn't afford typists, I couldn't afford to even photocopy documents.
"And it was quite challenging, juggling three dresses to make myself look smart and presentable every day."
Working within a male-dominated industry, she also faced some hostility, but dealt with it in a matter-of-fact way:
"I shrugged my shoulders, laughed and got on with it.
"When I was asked 'can you drive a truck?' I'd say: 'No love, I can't, but I can run your business better than you can.'"
As a single mum, Devey said her main focus was to feed son, Mevlit, and keep a roof over their heads.
But discovering that Mevlit had become addicted to heroin, at the age of 17, was one of the hardest times of her life.
"Getting [Mevlit] off heroin and going with him on that journey – and seeing your child weeks away from death – is probably the most challenging time in my life," she says.
Her world was further shaken when, in 2009, she suffered a stroke.
"To wake up the following morning and not even be able to spell the word 'the'… to have your brain scrambled so I couldn't even talk coherently⦠is something that nobody can comprehend unless they've actually gone through it," she says.
The stroke left her arm paralysed and she lost her peripheral vision, and she is now a keen supporter of The Stroke Association.
So – with all that life has thrown at her – what is the secret to Hilary's success and fortune?
"I have a capacity for work that can be seldom equalled," she says.
The new series of Dragons' Den begins on Sunday 31 July at 2100 BST On BBC Two and BBC HD
Originally Published On: www.bbc.co.uk – Original Article Here