Hit TV show The Apprentice is back for 2022 as entrepreneurs battle it out to be Alan Sugar's business partner.
It will see 16 ambitious entrepreneurs compete for Lord Sugar’s attention and a life-changing £250,000 investment into their companies.
Before the show starts on Thursday, Simon Baines of De Montfort University Leicester (DMU)’s DMU Works Enterprise and Entrepreneurship team spoke to Lord Sugar, Baroness Karren Brady and previous winner Tim Campbell, the top team who will be watching the candidates’ every move.
Q: What piece of advice would you give to young people looking to start a business?
Lord Sugar: "I think the thing is the mistakes that occur. And that is the thing about the programme, if you stick with it right away through the 12 episodes, you will see how quickly the candidates will learn because it is a learning process, and for young viewers watching it, and all that stuff you know they have the advantage of watching people do things wrong.
“And so I often say to people, you know, is the winners of the show that I'm going to mentor them going forward. I'm going to tell them what not to do. And it's what not to do, that is the important thing so they are young, as you say, and in some cases in experience, but the beauty is to watch them cleverly pick up, how to deal with things properly”.
Q: What do you think people will learn from watching this series of The Apprentice?
Baroness Brady: “I think the first thing that people will learn from the first episode is when designing for a billion-pound cruise ship, don't design a logo like that!
“I think people will learn a lot from the first episode. I think the great thing about The Apprentice, is this that everyone on it wants to win it… Can they negotiate, can they innovate can they design, can they pitch, can they get on with people… and the tasks are really all designed by Alan to test whether they have the skills to run a business and if he gives them the money and make some his business partner.
“You see people stepping outside their comfort zone, they've never pitched before and a good pitch builds their confidence, and they grow as people.”
Q: What do you think about the focus on inclusivity in university start-up programmes?
Tim Campbell: "My focus is on not BAME startups but inclusivity. I wouldn’t support a BAME conversation, I think it’s about how we get more inclusive. Women, older individuals, those from ethnic communities receive the least amount of financial investment. On a programme like The Apprentice from way back in 2005, we were the first tv show to talk about equality of gender.
“There’s always been a 50/50 split for men and women, the diversity you’ll see from age groups and from ethnicity as well. As I get closer to my fifties, I’m very up for us promoting older individuals in business. It’s a great opportunity for the show to promote that business is for anybody. The difficulty is that not everybody should be starting a business, which you will see through the process of the show.
“There are lots of people who learn and get better and the cream rises to the top. Every year, we get a winner who goes on to do great things. I support a huge number of universities, I’ve been all across the country and we need to do as much as we can to leverage people to keep their intellectual property in the UK.”
Q: DMU has helped students gain experience of business in different countries through its DMU Global programme. Tim, where in the world do you think entrepreneurs on The Apprentice should visit?
Tim: “Jamaica! My parents are from there and I’d be happy to get on a plane and go over there any time! We could work out how to do something with jerk chicken there for sure. Or Ghana, the universities and the bright students there are unbelievable and I’ve got an ambassador doing great things out there right now.”
If you are a DMU student or graduate and have an idea for a business, you can talk it through with DMU works Enterprise & Entrepreneurship by booking an informal 1-2-1 via MyGateway.
Posted on Wednesday 5 January 2022