Starting his entrepreneurial journey by selling peat from a wheelbarrow while still at school in Essex, Dixon later established a burger van business. Having had issues sourcing the buns, he set up a company supplying bread to other fast-food retailers where he would first make some real dough, selling it for £800,000. He used the proceeds to move into property after noticing how business executives often held meetings in cramped coffee shops. That gave him the idea for Regus, the serviced offices giant now known as IWG. The group now owns 4,000 properties in 120 countries. Disney, HSBC and Accenture are among its clients. A range of ancillary services, including executive lounges at airports and virtual offices, boosts the FTSE 250 company’s revenues. You can also listen to him on our Business Leader podcast here.