John Caudwell founded the mobile-phone retailer Phones 4u before joining Dragons' Den.
Caudwell and his brother Brian began a mobile-phone retail business in the 1980s that developed into Phones 4u. The company expanded rapidly as mobile phones moved from specialist products into mainstream consumer technology.
John Caudwell later became known for philanthropy as well as entrepreneurship. He appeared as a Dragon on the British programme, bringing experience from telecommunications, retail expansion and large-scale commercial negotiations.
Phones 4u is not the same business as Carphone Warehouse, another major British mobile-phone retailer. That distinction matters because both companies operated in the same market, but Phones 4u was the company associated with Caudwell's entrepreneurial fortune.