A teacher once confided that on starting out in the profession she was advised that the more keys you accumulate the more senior and eminent you are. Nasa Khan, by virtue of his over-burdened key ring, is a very important man.
His sleek Hugo Boss suit would burst at the seams if he attempted to pocket his trusty gate openers. So instead he clutches them as if all too aware of their standing in his life. After all, he’s probably the only one in the building able to evade the tight security. And when your business has a turnover of £750m a year, you’ve obviously got something worth protecting.
If you scan entry 751 of the annual Sunday Times Rich List, or read various write ups of industry awards, Khan is the son of a Surrey bus driver and newsagent owner, which incidentally is where he took his first job.
Before he was out of short trousers, he was flogging diaries bought from his Dad’s shop to fellow pupils. Today it’s mobile and palm-top computer accessories. Most prominent among his company’s products are the vibrantly coloured phone fascias, which have helped make The Accessory People (TAP) the largest virtual manufacturer of such things in Europe and a real global player.
When we met he was clearly not content with what he had achieved by the age of 31. He spoke about his new ventures and his ever-burgeoning role with government. It was noticeable that he discussed at length his proposed new chauffeur business and a restaurant chain he was starting in Spain. You couldn’t help but get the impression that, while TAP would be the long-term source of revenues, he would seal his place at the top table of UK entrepreneurs through one of the others. “TAP is the kingpin. But some of the new ventures are potentially larger and have bigger outlooks. These other companies will reach maximum height in two years and that’s when we’ll have to exit. But the profile we’ll get will be far bigger, which TAP won’t have or might never get,” he said.
However, only four weeks after the interview, during the final fact check for this piece, his enthusiasm for those two enterprises had evaporated, and both deals are dead.
You could put this change of heart down to youthful exuberence, but with his volte face Khan is in good company. The tendency to commit body and soul to something while it’s uppermost in their mind is a common trait of the successful entrepreneur, as much as their ability to drop it dead in the water when something else gets their creative juices flowing.
For the record, Khan had said that his chauffeur business would amount to eight limousines initially, with a two-year expansion plan for 100 vehicles operating in the London area. And his Spanish hospitality venture was going to target the Beckhams and rich retirees of this world with expensive English fare, a beach bar and 180 sunbeds. His reasoning behind such diverse interests was clarified by his assertion that: “If I can’t find a company doing something excellently then I’ll invest and create it”.
And that opportunism, drive and willingness to take educated risks helps explain why mobile phone addict Khan has achieved so much, so young.