Interview: The Apprentice winner Ricky Martin

 Congratulations on your win, Ricky! How does it feel?

Incredible. As you can imagine, it’s all very surreal to me to finally get the opportunity to set up the business I always wanted.

What made you apply to the show in the first place?

I applied to it because I’ve always wanted to make that leap of faith to set up my own company. I’ve been in recruitment for the past six years and I’ve always wanted to go out and make a higher return on money than what I could make working for a business. Not only is getting a quarter of a million pounds during recessionary times difficult, but Lord Sugar’s involvement and his expertise made me want to get involved. I applied for the process to ultimately win it: I never would have applied to the old format only because this one offers a business partnership rather than a job.

How will your new business be different from other recruitment agencies?

The main difference in the business is that it’s focussing on supporting areas of ethical need –it’s ethical recruitment, so it’s not recruiting for everything, just the things that matter. But there are a lot of things that Lord Sugar and I need to sit down and explore before we really advertise what’s going to make it so different and unique. He’s already brought some new ideas into the business and I’ve got a few ideas, so we want to find the synergy between them.

You seem quite at home in front of the camera – would you ever consider fronting your own Apprentice style business show?

The whole showbiz element isn’t something I’m interested in right now. As a by-product of The Apprentice, there are a lot of people recognising you and wanting to speak to you but actually, I don’t really want to enhance that, I just want to get my company set up and run with that. If I can help to inspire enterprise in some way whatever that might be in the future then of course I would want to encourage that but right now having my own Apprentice type show is bottom of the list of priorities!

Lord Sugar described you as being a safe option. What did you make of that?

I think that’s absolutely fair. When Lord Sugar says ‘safe’, he means he can see my business working – I didn’t take that as an insult or a backhanded compliment. I think that’s recognition that what I’m doing tailors to what he’s looking for which is to do what you know, keep things simple and to be straight forward and that’s exactly what I offered him.

Would you encourage others to follow a similar path to you?

If they’re passionate about doing something, they should follow their heart and go for it. Without the wrestling talk, though!

Lord Sugar, Karren Brady and Nick Hewer – who would you snog, marry, and avoid?

I couldn’t possibly answer that!

This article was originally published on page 22 here

Getting bored of the boardroom

When The Apprentice burst onto our screens seven series’ ago, it was a revelation. Watching wannabe entrepreneurs beg, borrow and steal to win a coveted spot working for Lord Sugar (or Sir Alan, as he was then known) was the highlight of the week’s TV. But years down the line, the formula is thin, the contestants are thick and the entire programme is just a bit of a shambles.

To be fair to the Beeb, they have tried to shake things up by changing the prize this year. Instead of becoming a member of Lord Sugar’s workforce, they will go into a ‘joint business partnership’ with the Amstrad creator. They will have to create their own new enterprise, receiving a cash injection of £250,000 in order to get them started.

But why this change has been made isn’t entirely clear. Of the many problems with the programme, the prize has never been the issue. The show is called The Apprentice – and yet they are no longer looking for one. And then there’s the contestants. Oh lord, the contestants. Where they find these dim-witted, arrogant nincompoops is truly beyond me. The sheer lack of common sense amongst them is astounding – particularly given the fact that most of them claim to have started their own business at 12/paid off their mum’s mortgage at 15/been taught enterprising skills by the Dalai Lama. None of them have the first clue about – well – anything, and the incompetence that dominates every episode makes for cringe worthy viewing.

I’ve been invested in The Apprentice since it began seven years ago, and to be sure, our relationship has had its rocky patches. I’m getting to that point, however, where I think it may be time to cut the cord. Each series recycles the same tasks, the same catchphrases and the same egos all dressed up a little differently, and it’s got to the point where they’ve tired the formula. There are so many highlights I can pick out from the first three series, but trying to even remember the candidates past that is near impossible.

The tasks are another of my big frustrations. Whilst the mobile phone application challenge set in Week 2 was original (for once!), the others are literally just repeating what we’ve seen before. Making food to sell at a market, locating a number of items from a list – it’s been done over and over and over again. How the contestants have failed to strategise beforehand what they would do when given tasks that have appeared in every single series beggars belief. Apparently having to look in a phonebook is challenge enough for these cretins.

The show has reached a stage now where it’s not even amusing when the candidates fall flat on their faces. The only saving grace is that Nick Hewer, Lord Sugar’s aide, is still lurking in the shadows offering hilarious critiques of their ridiculous shenanigans. I’m still waiting for at least one contestant to show the slightest hint of some business acumen, but with this current bunch, it’ll be a long time coming.