Apprentice 2014 final: Mark Wright hired by Lord Sugar
Mark's digital marketing proposal won out over Bianca's hosiery plan
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Your support makes all the difference.Mark Wright has been hired by Lord Sugar in the final of The Apprentice, after beating rival candidate Bianca Miller to secure the business magnate’s £250,000 investment.
The Australian sales manager, 25, impressed the boardroom panel with his plan for a search engine optimisation company with a personal touch.
Bianca’s proposal of a new hosiery brand aimed at women with darker skin tones tempted Lord Sugar as it seems to fill a gap in the market, but “the devil in him” chose the service industry over the product.
“Nick (Hewer, advisor) has pointed out that I am a product man. I believe there’s one thing you’ve got here, Bianca, is a good idea,” he told the finalists.
“The problem, as far as I am concerned, is bringing the concept to the market. I will have to hold your hand one hundred percent through the manufacturing process.
“Mark, you’re in what I call a ‘new world’ business. The real difficulty is whether you can do it. I mean, I know that if I decided to put my mind to this, together with Bianca, we could do this.
“That’s my dilemma, I’ve got to roll the dice now and decide where my money’s going. It’s a very difficult one – the instinct in me is the product, the devil in me says the service industry.”
Finally, after a few tense moments, Lord Sugar revealed his winner. “I’m going to take a big gamble. Mark, you are going to be my business partner. Congratulations, off you go, I’ll see you soon.”
“To be running a business now with Lord Sugar, I’m just stoked and quite emotional, to be honest with you,” said Mark.
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“When I left Armidale in Australia, a small country town, to come and try and find bigger things in London, this was unimaginable and I’ve worked so hard. To be sat here is life-changing and it’s the best thing that ever happened to me”.
Speaking after the show on You’re Hired, Lord Sugar praised Mark’s “great salesmanship, ruthless methodology, determination and experience”.
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