Tej Randeva – Dragons Den Entrepreneur
This article is about Tej Randeva, a serial entrepreneur who appeared on the BBCs Dragons Den, but got rejected.
The topics I cover in the article, are as follows:
- Tej Randeva Chief Executive Officer of Transport Broker Group
- Desire to monitor website traffic growth
- The beginnings of an entrepreneur…Dominos Pizza Franchisee
- Previous franchise business lead Tej Randeva to his Spice 2 Go business idea
- Tej Randeva was subjected to fierce questioning in the ‘Den’ from the ‘Dragons’
- Tej Randeva Founded Slice Pizza Group Ltd
- Serial entrepreneur Tej Randeva is a high ‘Net Worth‘ individual who has other businesses under his belt
- Tej Randeva has a difference approach to recruiting staff making his leadership style standout
- Focusing on ‘Strategic Planning’ for his start-ups
‘Success in the entrepreneurial world is not always about the things that go right, but it’s also about the things that go wrong…and then what we do about them when they do.’
I came across Tej Randeva when I was researching Dragons Den entrepreneur Tej Lalvani, so I thought I’d write about this entrepreneur also.
Tej Randeva Chief Executive Officer of Transport Broker Group…
Tej Randeva is the Chief Executive Officer of Transport Executive Group Ltd. The company is based in Cardiff UK and is the UK’s largest luxury transport hire company.
Transport Executive Group Ltd (TBG) is a conglomerate company (or a group of companies) which is made up of five main businesses. These businesses range from limousine hire right through to a helicopter hire business and self-drive sports cars.
The company was started in the UK, but now Tej Randeva has his sights set on expanding internationally. His first target countries to expand outside of the UK are the USA and Canada. Initially, the first market to tackle will be the limo hire business in America.
TBG has the Gold Investors in People accreditation alongside the Fast Growth 50 award. Both of these accolades symbolise his desire to be the best and most prestigious brokerage business.
Desire to monitor website traffic growth…
Although Tej holds the top position in his company, his favourite area to monitor is website traffic. He is keen to work closely with the web team…stating that ‘he revels in seeing the growth in success.’
The beginnings of an entrepreneur…Dominos Pizza Franchisee…
Tej Randeva operated a number of Dominos Pizza Franchise stores across South Wales. He liked the franchise concept, stating in an interview with bhangra.com ‘During my time with the chain I began to appreciate the value of their consistency, the operational structure and a good system to Franchise’
Tej Randeva sold his Dominos Pizza Franchise, but later began his own pizza business (see below).
Previous franchise business lead Tej Randeva to his Spice 2 Go business idea…
It was working with this franchise that brought him to the idea of Spice 2 Go, after a trip to India. Tej was ‘baffled’ why there were no Indian food chains in the UK. This is the concept that he took to the Dragons in Dragons Den and pitched to the likes of Debra Meaden, Peter Jones, Piers Linney and Kelly Hoppen.
Piers Linney had recently invested in Vin and Bal’s curry sauces, so he was hoping for interest from this Dragon, as Linney had shown an interest in Indian food.
The pitch was accompanied by a troupe of Bhangra dancers. The pitch itself was for an investment of £75,000 for a 10% stake in the business, for whichever dragon invested.
Tej Randeva was subjected to fierce questioning in the ‘Den’ from the ‘Dragons’…
But after the usual grilling and in Tej Randeva’s case, some fierce questioning, and despite the colourful opening dance scene, Tej Randeva was unsuccessful in obtaining investment.
Tej Randeva – ‘it was not the money I wanted it was the Dragon’s power that interested me.’ Interview on bhangra.com
Despite the rejection in the Den, the company Spice2Go got recognition from its publicity through the program. Existing Twitter followers united in support of the business.
When questioned about his rejection on Dragons Den on Bhangra News, Tej Randeva’s answer to this was ‘The exposure we gained from this has been overwhelming and although I did not secure a deal it provided us with a national platform to showcase Spice 2 Go.’
Tej Randeva Founded Slice Pizza Group Ltd…
In 2016 Tej Randeva founded a new startup Slice Pizza Group Ltd. Having gained experience in the food franchise industry, he felt well positioned to start this new ‘Slice’ food franchise from the ‘bottom-up’, but not as a franchisee this time around.
The business states ‘We have already received a number of franchise applications from hungry entrepreneurs, however we are very selective with our franchisees to ensure each and every franchise is developed inline with the brand standards.’
Slice sells high quality pizza made from the freshest of ingredients & hand-stretched dough. Starting out in Cardiff, Tej Randeva is keen to expand his pizza brand to other UK cities, including London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, to name a few.
Serial entrepreneur Tej Randeva is a high ‘Net Worth‘ individual who has other businesses under his belt…
Other businesses Tej Randeva has under his ‘entrepreneur-belt’ are High Gear Insurance, which is a specialist insurance brokerage firm, focusing on High Net Worth products.
Tej Randeva is also the Managing Director of Maharaja London. This is another business which is linked to the wedding market, alongside his limo business.
This business is also in the food industry and caters to the London wedding market. There are many other business interests and directorships that Tej Randeva is involved with, from a private investor in Eposoft through to eClean.
Tej Randeva has a difference approach to recruiting staff making his leadership style standout…
Tej Randeva has started and he has run many businesses. As a result of this vast business-experience he is adept at the hiring of people.
During this time as a boss he has developed his own way of recruiting and interviewing for a position.
Tej Randeva – ‘Talent gets you noticed, character gets you recruited!‘ – ‘recruiting characters is a great way to add value to your workforce.’
Tej Randeva is looking for the potential in people and not necessarily what they’ve achieved in the past. So instead of recruiting for particular roles, he instead finds roles to fit people to.
He doesn’t like to throw CVs in the bin, but instead will invite nearly all the applicants for a face-to-face interview. Tej Randeva likes to get to know them as a person, rather than simply as an employee…as already noted TBG is an Investor in People, which underlies his employment ethos and leadership style. He believes that his people are the heart of his businesses, no matter what section or department they work in.
Top of his recruiting list is culture and morale. In addition to this he looks at an effective working environment. He promotes having staff who encourage each other to succeed. As a result, he has a positive and healthy workplace, which is one that breeds success.
Two of his great interview questions include ‘What is your greatest fear about this position?‘ and ‘How did you go about researching our company?‘
Focusing on ‘Strategic Planning’ for his start-ups…
Having started a number of successful businesses, Tej Randeva focuses on strategic planning. This is what makes him successful, as his approach to startups is effective.
He is also places importance to establishing priorities within the business, alongside delegating the right tasks to the right staff-members.
Customer service is also key to his success. Furthermore, Tej Randeva believes that this stands at the heart of all business practice. To better compete with the competition, a business needs to have great customer service.
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