Insider Media Limited

Television programmes such as Dragons’ Den may have made entrepreneurship fashionable, but they carelessly “paint an idyllic picture” which makes owning a business look “too easy”. That’s the view of Herefordshire vodka magnate William Chase, who spoke to Insider. Chase, owner of the Chase Distillery and founder of Tyrells Crisps, said that the entrepreneurs “prostituting themselves on TV” do not think about the consequences of their five minutes of fame.

Chase said: “It’s very much car crash TV. People are prepared to prostitute themselves on TV but don’t think about the effect it will have on their business. If they are lucky enough to get investment, I’d imagine they’d end up with a lot less than agreed after due diligence is taken into account. And if they are refused investment, they look like a failure on national TV.”

The businessman, whose vodka is made from potatoes at his distillery, said he would not be tempted to take up a seat on the Dragons’ Den panel.

“Ten years ago, it wasn’t very trendy to be an entrepreneur,” said Chase. “Now, everybody seems to want to do it. I’m sure these programmes have something to do with lifting the popularity of the idea, but it’s not real life.

“The Dragons have the power over these people. I’d want to do something to genuinely help people, not raise my own profile. It’s good entertainment, but it’s not the real world.”

Chase has recently begun exporting his vodka range in Asia, and won the World’s Best Vodka accolade in San Francisco last year. Despite his success in foreign markets, he said that he was worried about the West Midlands’ small businesses’ opportunities to export their goods.

“The government need to recognise the importance of small businesses exporting their goods – help is becoming more available, but a lot more needs to be done,” he said. “Many small companies are scared to take that first step because they worry it will be too expensive, and that’s were the government needs to step in and offer help.”

Chase recently launched his flagship vodka product in Shanghai, and plans to launch a range of spirits in Spain later this year.