It’s called “the ultimate job interview.” Apprentice candidates undergo a grueling two-month process with the aim of impressing Lord Alan Sugar and securing a £250,000 investment in their business.
Over the years, the winners have founded many successful businesses as a result of their association with Lord Sugar.
However, not everyone continued to work with the tycoon; Joseph Valente, Alana Spencer, Sian Gabbidon and James White, among others, parted ways with Lord Sugar.
Last year’s winner Harpreet Kaur is the latest entrepreneur to cut ties, announcing in August that she had sold her shares in bakery Oh So Yum! just 18 months after winning the show. had bought back.
Now, in an exclusive interview with Web, Harpreet, 32, has revealed exactly why she decided to part ways and offered an insight into Lord Sugar’s true nature.
End of an era: Apprentice winner Harpreet Kaur has revealed why she split from Lord Sugar, just 18 months after he invested £250,000 in her dessert business. Oh so delicious!
Speaking about Lord Sugar’s nature as a person, she confessed, “What you see is what you get. ‘Business is business.’
She addressed the prickly businessman nature that viewers see so often on “The Apprentice”: “If you want investment for your business, you’re going to have to take criticism.”
“You get a lot of feedback because the investor is testing you to see if you’re a tough cookie, and you can handle those questions because if you can’t handle a little criticism in the boardroom, you don’t have any Opportunity.” in the real business world.
“He only asks the hard questions that you would have to deal with in reality.”
“I admitted that none of this is ever personal, he just wants to know a little more about you and your company.”
She added that while she doesn’t really speak to Lord Sugar anymore, noting that he’s a “very busy guy,” she still has a good relationship with his team.
“If I need anything in the future, it’s good to know we have a good relationship and I’m sure I could pick up the phone if needed,” she said of his advisors and team.
Harpreet’s win last year was controversial as Lord Sugar expressed concerns about the “scalability” of her business and that she ran her business with her sister – who Lord Sugar had not met.
As a result, her sister Gurvinder became the butt of internet memes in the show’s finale after viewers believed she would be fired from the company and replaced by Lord Sugar as a shareholder.
Businesswoman: Harpreet said that by appearing on The Apprentice last year, she achieved what she set out to do for her business, which was to give it a national platform
Two of a kind: Harpreet’s win last year was controversial, with Lord Sugar raising concerns that she was running her business with her sister Gurvinder (pictured), whom he did not know
But Harpreet has revealed that her sister Gurvinder’s involvement had no influence on her decision to part ways with Lord Sugar and that she was still able to remain a director and own a stake in the company.
Discussing how the split came about, she told Web that the decision was “completely amicable and mutual” but gave her and her sister more creative control over the company.
“The decision came about through a board discussion,” she explained. “We are being asked if we would like to take ownership and buy back our shares, but we definitely have no hard feelings.”
Harpreet, who is engaged to her The Apprentice co-star Akshay Thakrar, added that by appearing on the BBC show she achieved what she set out to do for her business, which was to give it a national platform give.
It was revealed that she had been approached on the street by onlookers who asked her “Oh So Yum!” She added: “We may have only been with Lord Sugar for a short time, but it helped us.”
Giving advice to future contestants on The Apprentice, she said: “You have to be prepared to lay those foundations. Winning an investment is not a magic formula.”
“No one is going to hold your hand and you have to work extremely hard, it can be a lot of pressure.”
“You have to be willing to withstand that pressure, accept the feedback and take other people’s ideas and opinions into account. I think you just have to be prepared.”
“There’s no hiding. “I think one of the reasons I’ve gotten this far on The Apprentice is because I’ve fully invested in myself.”
Since winning the show, Harpreet has opened up another “Oh So Yum!” Salon in Bradford and also signed a contract with luxury department store Selfridges.
She has also just collaborated with the Hilton hotel group, with Oh So Yum! launches its first six-flavor Cookie Cup collaboration with the Hilton London Metropole, now available at its on-site restaurant Tyburn Market
Speaking about the move, Harpreet said: “There is nothing better than seeing our Cookie Cups available at the Hilton London Metropole – it truly is a dream collaboration and to have the opportunity to work with such an iconic hotel is incredible.”
“I’m really happy about this because I think if a brand like Hilton recognizes what we do, we must be doing something right.”
“The Journey Oh So Yum!” “The series so far has already been phenomenal, but this marks a very exciting new chapter and I couldn’t be more thrilled.”
Cute couple: As well as leaving The Apprentice with a £250,000 investment, she also met her fiancé Akshay Thakrar (pictured), who was sacked in the ninth week of the trial