S3 E6: Dean Forbes: Homeless and huge debts: How I became the UK’s top black CEO of a billion-pound company

Big Fish with Spencer Matthews

Global

Entrepreneurship, Health & Fitness, Business

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 21 November 2023

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Dean Forbes is one of the most successful black CEOs in the UK.

He’s the chief executive of Forterro, a tech Unicorn - a company worth over £1bn. He goes into struggling tech businesses, turns them around and gets huge exists - often in the billions. He’s also just been named the UK’s second most influential black person in the Powerlist 2024.

Dean’s story is incredible. He came from a working-class background, raised in Lewisham and his family were made homeless twice. He originally trained to become a professional footballer, but was forced to take a job in a call centre after being let go and amassing thousands in debt.

I absolutely loved my conversation with Dean - he's an utter inspiration.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Cold mornings, grey skies, and the holidays are but a distant memory.
0:05.1	Halford's Big Sale is here to perk you up, with up to 50% off on tools, in-car tech, car cleaning, adult bikes, and much more.
0:14.2	You can tackle winter head-on and prepare for warmer days.
0:18.2	Visit Halford's online today and keep on moving for less.
0:22.4	Halford's big sale is live across selected retail products online at Halifers.com
0:25.9	and in stores subject to availability.
0:27.6	Full T&C is apply.
0:28.5	See Halifest.com for details.
0:32.3	This is a global player original podcast.
0:35.7	There's never been a moment where I've gone, I now know how to do this.
0:39.6	Like I live in a constant state of paranoia at any minute now.
0:44.2	This is all going to disintegrate and fall away.
0:51.2	Welcome to Big Fish with me, Spencer Matthews.
0:53.8	Each week I speak to inspirational people about how they reach the top of their game and their mindset for success.
1:01.8	Dean Forbes is one of the most successful black CEOs in the UK.
1:05.6	He's the chief exec at Fortero, a tech unicorn, which is a company that has a valuation of over a billion pounds.
1:11.6	He goes into struggling tech businesses, turns them around and gets huge exits, often in the billions.
1:18.6	He's also just been named the UK's second most influential black person in the Power List,
1:23.6	2024. Dean's story is nothing short of incredible. He came from a working class background and his
1:30.0	family were made homeless twice. He originally trained to become a professional footballer but was
1:34.8	forced to take a job in a call centre after being let go and amassing thousands in debt.
1:39.8	I adored Dean's energy and the thing that I took away the most from the interview
	...

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