Dragons' Den is set to welcome its youngest investor in the show's history when it returns on Thursday night with a brand new series.
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Steven Bartlett, who is just 29-year-old has joined the line-up of investors on the long-running BBC programme following Tej Lalvani's exit last year. Want to know more about him? Find out all you need to know about Stephen - including how he made his millions - below…
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Stephen was born in Botswana and has both British and Nigerian heritage but relocated to the UK in the nineties, where he told The Guardian his family "struggled financially in a nice, white, middle-class area". From a young age, he had an interest in the world of entrepreneurship and so decided to pursue a degree in business management at Manchester Metropolitan University, but after just one lecture, he dropped out.
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However, his time at university wasn't wasted. It was in his bedroom in Manchester that he set up his first business, a social media marketing agency named The Social Chain. By 23, the business had made him a millionaire. He left the company in 2020 to pursue other investment opportunities, and today the company is currently valued at over $600million.
© Photo: BBCSteven became a millionaire at just 23 years old
Steven is also a best-selling author; his debut book, Happy Sexy Millionaire, was published last year and climbed to the top of the non-fiction charts. Elsewhere, he hosts the popular podcast, The Diary of a CEO and has been named on the Forbes' 30 Under 30 list.
Speaking to the BBC about the exciting new role on Dragons' Den, Steven said: "I've been watching Dragons' Den since I was 12 years old - it was my first window into the real world of business and investing."
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He added that becoming a Dragon is "a tremendous honour" and hopes to represent a new generation of "inspiring young and specifically under-represented entrepreneurs to follow in my footsteps".
He will join Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman and Sara Davies on the show's 19th series after Vitabiotics CEO Tej announced he would be leaving the series after four years back in January 2021.
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