From a children’s home to BBC Dragon, from chess Olympiads to hedge funds, Richard Farleigh’s story is one of continual reinvention against the odds. His journey has been described as so exceptional that ABC TV produced a documentary about his life.

On Dragons’ Den, Richard was one of the most popular Dragons. Nicknamed “Mr Nice,” he became widely recognised for his supportive style - and the episode where he backed Reggae Reggae Sauce remains one of the most replayed in the show’s history.

Richard’s story before the Den was already extraordinary. Born into poverty, placed in a children’s home, and raised in the care system, he was shy, traumatised, and labelled “backward.” As support ended at 18, he studied at night and worked by day, eventually earning a rare and highly sought-after central bank scholarship.

He excelled academically, becoming an economist and financial modeller for the central bank, before passing up an academic career to enter the world of finance. Within just a few years, his hard work saw him running his own department at an investment bank. Later recruited by a hedge fund, he rose to become one of the highest-paid hedge fund managers in the world.

In his early thirties, he made an astonishing choice: walking away from it all to pursue writing, competitive chess, and even a little card counting. The result was the highly acclaimed "Taming theLion: 100 Secret Strategies for Investing", appearances at two Chess Olympiads, and - after one too many winning streaks - a casino ban.

Reinvention became a theme as the business world beckoned.Richard went on to help launch more than 100 start-ups, including Home House, Net-a-Porter, Wolfson Microelectronics, and Proximagen. Each venture has a story of its own - often humorous, always insightful.

As a speaker, Richard brings this unique blend of theory, practice, and imagination to the stage. Whether instructive, motivational, or simply entertaining, his talks resonate with audiences from major banks and global corporations to schools, universities, and charities. Equally at ease sharing stories about business adventures, investing, surviving the care system, or showing how lessons from chess and card counting apply far beyond the games, Richard’s mix of humour and humility leaves audiences both inspired and equipped to see opportunity in unexpected places.