You don’t succeed in business by settling for second best, and successful entrepreneurs don’t roll over and accept defeat. That’s why I am so baffled by Carolyn Fairbairn’s surrender on Brexit.

Writing in the Financial Times today Fairbairn, who heads the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and is supposed to be the voice of British business, says that the prime minister’s deal is “not perfect” but that “the majority of businesses support it”.

This morning I hosted – alongside Andrew Adonis – a meeting of 50 or so business leaders from across the country and from a myriad of sectors. These weren’t the chief executives of established FTSE-100 companies, men in suits who worked their way up a business bureaucracy. These were the female founders of tech startups, the young entrepreneurs taking the family business online, the telecoms companies disrupting the big guys to deliver a cheaper and more reliable service. And let me tell you, they do not “support” this deal. Is it better than the chaos of no deal? Absolutely. But are real employers and entrepreneurs going to settle for that? Absolutely not.

This deal will make it harder for small and medium-sized companies to grow in the most effective and efficient way – by exporting seamlessly to our nearest neighbours and biggest markets. This deal will make it impossible for young Europeans to come to the UK and start their businesses here – no founder is on £30k a year from day one – and will starve us of fresh talent and the easy collaborations that create success. This deal is a disaster for the innovators, the builders and the makers.

In her FT piece, Fairbairn argues that the deal “does not guarantee a good future trade deal [and] contains a tricky backstop no one likes”. She is right and that is what is so frustrating. We need the “voice of British business” to be standing up for what is best for British businesses, not what is easiest for our politicians.

That is why I, the colleagues I met this morning and many thousands more British businesses will be taking a stand and supporting Business for a People’s Vote. Because we know that you succeed in business – and in life – by standing up for what you believe and by refusing to settle for second best. If you run or own a business, whether you are an entrepreneur just starting out, or a fifth-generation family firm, please join us. We need to fight to show our politicians and the public that real business knows that this deal is letting us down – on jobs, on protecting our high streets, on prosperity.

There is a credible path to getting a much better deal. One where we have frictionless access to the markets of 27 near neighbours, where we benefit from young entrepreneurs coming to Britain to make their fortune and create new jobs, and where the government is focused on investing in the infrastructure and the skills we desperately need, not on infighting about the EU. That deal can be won by giving the public the final say, stopping the chaos and uncertainty of Brexit and rebuilding our country and economy. That is what is in the best interests of business – and of anyone who works for a business – not this sell-out deal.

Entrepreneurs and employers don’t get out of bed in the morning thinking “what can I settle for today?” That just isn’t the mindset that creates success. We get out of bed thinking “how can I do the best for my business, for my product, for my employees and my customers today?” I am so encouraged by the business people I meet – day in, day out – who are determined to fight for the best for Britain and to oppose Theresa May’s terrible deal. British businesses need the CBI to speak up for us, for our customers and our employees. We need the CBI to stop delivering what the politicians want, and start delivering on what business needs – by calling for a people’s vote.

• Deborah Meaden is an entrepreneur and investor who appears on Dragons Den