A familiar face on TV, inspirational entrepreneur Sara Davies is a devoted wife and mother away from the cameras.
She may be a television personality thanks to BBC’s ‘Dragon’s Den’, but Sara Davies, who hails from County Durham, is a self-proclaimed ‘proper North-East lass’.
The work ethic is in her genes. Her parents have owned a decorating store for more than 30 years, and she and her sister Helen helped out as children. “Having watched my parents reap the rewards of owning their own companies, I knew that one day I wanted to do the same,” she says on her website.
Sara studied business at the University of York. While there, she founded her own company, Crafter’s Companion, and created her own product, a bespoke envelope-making machine. Eight thousand sold in the first 24 hours. When Sara graduated with a first-class degree in 2006, her company had a reported turnover of more than £500,000. Today, her product ships to over 40 countries and Sara’s net worth is thought to be £37 million.
She’s Out!
The 41-year-old entrepreneur became the youngest ever female Dragon when she joined the series at 35 in 2019. But in March this year, she announced she’d be stepping down to focus on her own business, resuming her role as CEO of Crafter’s Companion.
She can still be seen on TV. As presenter of BBC1’s ‘The Big Idea Works’, she heads a team of artist-fabricators and design engineers who try to realise the dreams of amateur inventors (catch up on BBC iPlayer). Earlier this year, she became host of ITV’s daytime quiz show, ‘Time Is Money’, (catch up on ITV1 and ITVX). Her third book, ‘The Six-Minute Entrepreneur’, was published earlier this year.
Hitting Home
Sara married childhood sweetheart Simon in 2007. A year later he joined Crafter’s Companion as managing director. They live in the North East and have two young sons, Charlie, ten, and Oliver, seven.
Sara has opened up about how they would often become upset when she had to go to work. “The more you want to achieve, the harder you have to work at it, which means you’ve got to make those sacrifices and it’s really difficult, because now I’m a little bit further on in that journey and the kids are a bit older and I feel like they need me more,” she says.
Giving Back
In 2016, Sara was awarded an MBE for her services to industry. She supports numerous charities, including being an ambassador for Smart Works Newcastle, which aims to help women get into work.
“I’m passionate about making a difference where it matters and strive to make a positive impact through these partnerships,” Sara says. “So, whether it’s Mind, Children in Need or other charities close to my heart, when it comes to helping out, I’m all in.”
