Setting up a business is a daunting prospect and a bit of a risk, even for the most confident entrepreneur.

Doing it while a camera crew follows your every move and then having it aired on national television must be absolutely petrifying.

But that is exactly what bar owners Paul Ground and Lee Saunders did when they borrowed £500,000 to open up a stylish cafe bar.

For six months the cameras followed Paul and Lee as they got Mooch@76 in Church Walk, Burgess Hill, off the ground.

The two men met through football when Lee was the manager of Hurstpierpoint and Paul was one of his players.

They will be seen on TV becoming frustrated as things go wrong.

At one point their premises were flooded and their best business plans were put back for six weeks.

Paul said: "It is all a bit of a rollercoaster ride. We have our ups and downs but in the end we will get there.

"I have always wanted to be my own boss and we both like the challenge but having the TV cameras around all the time was a bit of a struggle."

Paul, 33, and Lee, 29, feature in Channel 4's new series, Risking It All, which begins on Thursday.

The cameras track their worries over whether they have chosen the right spot for their project and whether they will be able to find the money.

So far things seem to be going in the right direction.

Paul said: "We are now taking more than we are paying out so hopefully we are on the right track.

"I shall sit down and watch with a stiff drink in my hand on Thursday night."

The duo's experience is screened in the first of ten programmes in the warts-and-all series where budding entrepreneurs flex their skills under the watchful eye of Sussex businessman Martin Webb.

Martin, 40, from Hove, co-founded the C-Side chain of pubs and leisure venues, which he sold for £15 million in 2001.

He said: "You need plenty of luck to make a business work but you have to make your own luck through meticulous planning and loads of hard work.

"A job is a job but running a business is a lifestyle."

Another business venture to be featured later in the series is the new Sejuice Bar in Gardner Street, Brighton, which had its red carpet opening filmed for the show last week.

That programme will put owners Steven and Sarah Mulheron under the spotlight as they set up a smoothie bar in the city centre.

Risking It All will be shown on Channel 4 on Thursdays at 8pm.

Tuesday, September 6 2005