Fast Track: CV - Siobhan Peyton Managing Director of Gruppo

My parents taught Oliver and me not to be afraid of failure. Moving from Ireland to England at the age of 15 also gives you an immigrant mentality: you need an education; you're more likely to take chances and your desire to succeed is sharper.

I got into this business by accident. I've always been very numeric - I got two really good A-levels in maths - but I went against everyone's advice and did American literature because I wanted to be a writer. I didn't do fantastically in my degree, though - I got a second.

Education gives you quality of life, primarily. In the business world, your ability to progress as an entrepreneur is more a reflection of your mental capacity than any skills you learn at university or school. Although, obviously, I can write a good letter!

I've a natural propensity for business; I understand it and I can project scenarios very easily in my mind. So, after university, I got into business almost straight away, importing Absolut vodka from Sweden and Sapporo beer from Japan with my brother in the late Eighties. Importing drinks isn't a very interesting business, however, so we decided to sell that in 1991 and went round the world for a year. We spent six months travelling in Indonesia and Malaysia then went to Australia where our intention was to work. I knew that we were going to go into restaurants eventually and a friend of ours in the drinks industry had a chain of restaurants in Perth, as well as a micro-brewery. I was basically doing the administration, learning the bread and butter of how to run restaurants.

The lifestyle in Australia is good and there's also a really progressive dining culture - a high quality of fresh produce, and good quality beer and wine, too. When I came back in 1994 I started the Atlantic business with Oliver and a chef.

Everything starts with Oliver and I having a discussion about an idea. He's more creative, coming up with concepts, and I look after the business side. The thing about working with family is that you know they're going to be there tomorrow. You employ key people but, if you upset them, they can leave the company. But with family it's different. We consult each other on everything.

In less than three and a half years, we've gone from a turnover of nothing to nearly pounds 20m. We opened the Atlantic Bar & Grill in April 1994, Coast the following year, Mash in Manchester in late 1996 and this year a Mash in London. As the business gets bigger, it does get difficult. All the restaurants have both myself and Oliver's personal touch and we spend our time on constant rounds to all the different restaurants, letting them know we're there!

We've achieved this success thanks partly to a good management structure. I set up Gruppo, a management service company, at our head office. We like to bring people up through the ranks wherever we can, but Gruppo brings skills to the company which it may not have.

The catering industry is very hard work. Here at the Atlantic, some staff don't go home until 4.30 in the morning. But I only work during the day; I hate to work at night. Providing entertainment and pleasure for people and making money out of it is the perfect way to live. Catering people tend to be outgoing, gregarious - the sort who enjoy an environment of constant hustle and tight deadlines. For me, things have to be challenging - once things start running smoothly, what's the point in coming in to work? We're opening a private members' club in the city and a 250-seater up-market Italian restaurant in Knightsbridge within the next year and we're also involved in the redevelopment of Brighton West Pier - we're literally bringing it up out of the sea.

Apparently, Oxford University is developing a recruitment technique based not on qualifications or experience, but on the ability to learn - that's the most important thing I'd stress to anyone thinking of getting into catering. We've employed a few people with HNDs in catering but mostly we look for the ability to learn. Catering still adheres to an idea of apprenticeship. At the managerial level, people need to be numerate but on the floor, you either have or don't have it when it comes to dealing with customers. I'm not much good with customers - I'm much better at managing.