Theo Paphitis

Before entrepreneur Theo Paphitis built his empire in retail, property, and finance businesses he had to build the right set of skills in order to manage it all. He has worked in a large pool of fields, from starring in BBC’s television program Dragons’ Den to being a chairman of the Millwall Football Club to being a success in the retail world. Through all of these, Paphitis has had to work through his dyslexia.

Paphitis went through school labeled as lazy by his teachers because of his then undiagnosed dyslexia. Working four times as hard as his friends, Paphitis still failed to secure the grades he wanted. He struggled with reading words on both paper and a screen well into his professional career, until one day he got a new computer for his office. He noticed that the words on the new computer screen were easier for him to read when they were against a colored background. This sparked his interest in learning more about dyslexia. He wanted to know more about why some thought dyslexia was hereditary, possible causes of the learning disability, and most importantly, ways to rise above it. In an interview, Paphitis said those who thought less of him simply just didn’t know about the learning disability, which only furthered his interest in learning more about dyslexia later in life. Paphitis is now an avid supporter of Dyslexia Action, a national charity in Great Britain that provides help to those with learning difficulties. He has given multiple donations to causes like Dyslexia Action and other similar projects.