Jan. 1, 2025

What Really Happens After Winning The Apprentice?

The Beyond the Boardroom Podcast with Aleksandra King is where ambition meets unapologetic truth. In this episode, Aleksandra sits down with Mark Wright—winner of The Apprentice 2014 and founder of a multi-million-pound digital marketing empire. From partnering with Lord Sugar to surviving lawsuits, burnout, and the spotlight, Mark shares the unfiltered reality of building, scaling, and selling a business for £10 million.

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Apple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconYoutube Music podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player icon

The Beyond the Boardroom Podcast with Aleksandra King is where ambition meets unapologetic truth. In this episode, Aleksandra sits down with Mark Wright—winner of The Apprentice 2014 and founder of a multi-million-pound digital marketing empire. From partnering with Lord Sugar to surviving lawsuits, burnout, and the spotlight, Mark shares the unfiltered reality of building, scaling, and selling a business for £10 million.

Mark Wright, Apprentice winner and multi-millionaire, on the beyond the boardroom with Alexandra king.

  • What life is really like after winning The Apprentice

  • The unique challenges and benefits of having Lord Sugar as a business partner

  • How Mark scaled from 230 small clients to a £10 million company exit

  • The personal toll of fame, lawsuits, and burnout

  • Why his focus now includes work-life balance, mindfulness, and starting fresh in Australia

This isn’t just another Apprentice success story—it’s a brutally honest look at entrepreneurship, resilience, and redefining success beyond money. Aleksandra’s fearless interviewing style pulls out Mark’s story of grit, growth, and designing life on your own terms.

 

Key Chapters

ChaptersTimestamps
From Backpacking to Stardom: Winning The Apprentice00:00
High Stakes and Hard Lessons: Selling for £10 Million08:41
Engineering Happiness: Designing a Life in Australia16:48
Trolls and Truths: The Correlation Between Success and Haters24:32
Sacred Time vs. Trade: The Logic of Working Through Holidays32:12
Resilience and Results: Redefining Ruthlessness in Business41:01

 

📲 Connect with Aleksandra:
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@AleksandraKing
Instagram → https://instagram.com/king.aleksandra
LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleksandraking
TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@king.aleksandra
Website → https://aleksandraking.com
🌐 Join Aleksandra’s Inner Circle → https://laylo.com/aleksandraking
💌 Business inquiries → aleksandra@aleksandraking.com

👉 Don’t just listen—be part of the conversation.
🌐 Join Here → https://laylo.com/aleksandraking

📢 The views expressed by guests are their own and do not reflect those of Aleksandra King, the podcast, or its producers. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only.

0:00:00.120,0:00:06.720
you won BBC The Apprentice I think I I won it 
almost easily I said hi my name is Mark Ry and

0:00:06.720,0:00:13.440
I'm the winner of the 2014 apprentice and she 
was like she just laughed anyway on the night

0:00:13.440,0:00:19.240
that I won the show the lady from the reception 
came in to the your HED show and she said do you

0:00:19.240,0:00:23.720
remember me I'm the lady from reception and you 
said Your name's Mark R and you're going to win

0:00:23.720,0:00:30.960
the show and you want it what are you afraid of 
in life are you running from anything [Music]

0:00:37.640,0:00:42.560
I'm Alexandre King and I'm the host of Beyond 
The Boardroom podcast in this episode we look

0:00:42.560,0:00:49.120
at what happened after Mark won The Apprentice 
how much help did Mark actually get what actually

0:00:49.120,0:00:57.460
happened and why did he land up selling 
his business and walking away tune [Music]

0:00:57.460,0:01:11.960
in so you go in you then win 250,000 investment 
how do you feel it felt like a madeup fairy tale

0:01:11.960,0:01:19.480
sort of moment it was like all my family was there 
and the sort of there was so much happening and

0:01:19.480,0:01:25.520
uh you know I my social media following went 
through like went up hundreds of thousands in

0:01:25.520,0:01:31.280
one day people on the street were asking me for 
selfies I mean you you you you'll know this it's

0:01:31.280,0:01:38.360
just I went from being a regular person that's 
backpacking in the UK to like everyone asking

0:01:38.360,0:01:44.640
for photos hundreds of thousands of people on 
social media um people wanting me to pay me

0:01:44.640,0:01:52.480
to go here and do this and it was just so much it 
was too much I couldn't um process it at the time

0:01:52.480,0:01:59.840
I probably haven't even processed it to to this 
day it was amazing it was a once- in A- lifetime

0:02:00.680,0:02:07.280
incredible enjoyable experience and I I I'll look 
back on it when I'm sitting in a nursing home and

0:02:07.280,0:02:13.960
I think no matter what happens in my life before 
that point or or to the day I die that will be

0:02:13.960,0:02:21.200
one of the things I think about on my death it's 
a moment of elation of complete ecstasy must be

0:02:21.200,0:02:28.120
so you then have Lord sugar as a business partner 
you're one year in you're turning over 1.7 million

0:02:28.120,0:02:34.720
you've got over 30 members of sta you've got 230 
odd clients that's a lot of clients by the way to

0:02:34.720,0:02:38.920
cope I mean I know a thing or two about digital 
marketing companies agencies such as such as the

0:02:38.920,0:02:46.480
one you were running my husband runs the same 
and it's like 230 clients so how are you coping

0:02:46.480,0:02:50.680
with the pressure and then you've got Lord sugar 
and his accounting team and you got meetings like

0:02:50.680,0:02:57.520
how are you even surviving not not well not well 
I made a lot of mistakes in the first two years

0:02:57.520,0:03:03.560
the first three years particularly uh my main 
mistakes being exactly what you just highlighted

0:03:03.560,0:03:12.320
I I got way too many staff on low salaries so the 
quality of the employee was was was not fantastic

0:03:12.320,0:03:19.160
and that caused its own issues uh we got way 
too many customers on low retainers on on small

0:03:19.160,0:03:25.120
budgets so it sounds great to say 230 customers 
not if they're all paying A1 pound each that's

0:03:25.120,0:03:31.040
that's terrible so the numbers and it all sounds 
great on paper there was some issues like the old

0:03:31.040,0:03:36.440
duck you know smooth on the surface and the legs 
were going crazy underneath and if you looked at

0:03:36.440,0:03:45.680
my agency when I sold it we had like I think we 
had like 43 customers uh 45 customers but they

0:03:45.680,0:03:52.600
were enormous yeah and we had you know uh not many 
more staff than than the numbers you read out okay

0:03:52.600,0:03:58.800
there quite a few more but it was a long time on 
big bories and you know it was just working more

0:03:58.800,0:04:05.640
harmoniously um so the things the stress of 
winning the show having the money having Alan

0:04:05.640,0:04:11.760
sugar as your business partner um and the and it 
was the first time I'd ever own and ran a business

0:04:11.760,0:04:15.560
so I'm a business owner for the first time I'm 
business partners with Lord sugar for the first

0:04:15.560,0:04:22.600
time I've never seen 250,000 PS before that's all 
new that's at this point are you getting advice is

0:04:22.600,0:04:26.600
Lord sugar saying listen like you need to scale 
back you you you're growing too quickly the

0:04:26.600,0:04:32.040
retainers are tooo small I mean are you getting 
advice or is it all on you you it's all on me

0:04:32.040,0:04:40.240
100% 100% all on you and he tells you at the very 
start you are going to do this on your own boy I'm

0:04:40.240,0:04:45.920
going to look after the accounting the finance 
you bring to me legal stuff but I don't want to

0:04:45.920,0:04:50.800
know about digital marketing I don't want to know 
about you know this that and the other I'll see

0:04:50.800,0:04:54.680
you once a month at the board meeting but you are 
either going to make it work or you're not going

0:04:54.680,0:05:00.640
to make you're in hot water you've got this public 
following you're now public figure and you better

0:05:00.640,0:05:10.040
succeed or else yeah and it you feel it I felt 
every ounce of the pressure people we got sued

0:05:10.040,0:05:16.000
we had other digital marketing agencies hacking 
our website hacking our server hammering us on

0:05:16.000,0:05:23.320
SEO hammering us giving us negative reviews we 
had I mean it was a lot I was stacking on weight

0:05:23.320,0:05:31.240
um and eating and drinking really unhealthily 
working just hours that were un unbelievable

0:05:31.240,0:05:41.240
for a sustained period it was a hard hard hard 
time um I it was it was thank God I was 24 and

0:05:41.240,0:05:47.120
young and didn't have many obligations because I 
pretty much lived in the office yeah um you have

0:05:47.120,0:05:53.320
to you have to and and I just made it I made what 
it I made the opportunity work but it it took some

0:05:53.320,0:06:02.160
working you see you definitely have to be at that 
right stage in your life I mean yeah I I knew that

0:06:02.160,0:06:10.800
that would have been as a 30y 34 yearold person 
I knew that the outcome would be all of that

0:06:10.800,0:06:18.000
and you would have to literally give everything 
without any scope because it's all on the table

0:06:18.000,0:06:24.880
and it's like all on nothing situation so you you 
have to your life you you you have to you have to

0:06:24.880,0:06:30.960
submit you give your life for that opportunity 
and The Apprentice winners that haven't been as

0:06:30.960,0:06:36.200
um successful with the opportunity that I have 
they haven't and it might be the right decision

0:06:36.200,0:06:40.920
for them in their life and the place they're at 
they haven't given their life to that opportunity

0:06:40.920,0:06:45.840
and it hasn't worked yeah yeah I I could kind 
of tell that that's the direction it's going in

0:06:45.840,0:06:50.920
and when I met Lord sugar in person he reminded 
me of my own dad who has the same work ethic my

0:06:50.920,0:06:57.520
dad's also in business and like crazy strict and 
totally like that you know and I I had already

0:06:57.520,0:07:03.440
had my kids and I was thinking I'm not sure I 
want to necessarily work in that way now I had

0:07:03.440,0:07:08.040
wanted it when I was the age when you went into 
The Apprentice because that's how I was working

0:07:08.040,0:07:12.240
in in what I was doing you know Building Systems 
implementations and things so I would do crazy

0:07:12.240,0:07:18.080
hours and I loved that in the middle of nowhere 
in a in a gambian jungle or whatever you know but

0:07:18.080,0:07:23.320
as your life changes it's like how much are you 
going to give and also how much can you physically

0:07:23.320,0:07:29.320
give so so you're now putting on weight you're now 
you're drinking you're not sort of balancing the

0:07:29.320,0:07:33.640
world work life thing and you're getting stressed 
so what's what's going on now what's happening to

0:07:33.640,0:07:40.920
you and how how are you managing it wasn't it 
wasn't good it it manifested in um me having

0:07:40.920,0:07:48.760
fainting episodes where I would like black out or 
um like just faint um which was new that was that

0:07:48.760,0:07:56.440
something I had seen before um and I was just so 
stressed and I was under so much uh pressure uh

0:07:56.440,0:08:04.880
from myself from the media from the board of 
my company um and it was it was challenging

0:08:04.880,0:08:08.680
there's no doubt about it and that's what I say 
to people who who message me and stuff they're

0:08:08.680,0:08:13.760
about starting a business okay you're not going to 
be maybe have the same public profile I have and

0:08:13.760,0:08:19.680
maybe Alan Sugar's not your business partner but 
it's going to be tough the first 12 to 18 months

0:08:19.680,0:08:27.440
of a startup business is Relentless you need to 
live and breathe it and uh really ride the ups

0:08:27.440,0:08:32.760
and downs for it to get to where needs to go and 
look later in my career it was not like that at

0:08:32.760,0:08:41.400
all but certainly for the first three years it was 
it was pretty rough yeah okay but then you kind of

0:08:41.400,0:08:50.400
work through that somehow and then you sell the 
business for 10 million so why why did you sell

0:08:50.400,0:08:58.000
Mark uh why did I sell well first of all I got 
an incredible offer um to to for my company to

0:08:58.000,0:09:03.760
be sold the average digital marketing agen in the 
UK sells for two to three times ebit D we sold for

0:09:03.760,0:09:10.280
N9 and a half times e ebit d so that's a pretty 
good offer uh the other the other side of that

0:09:10.280,0:09:14.960
coin is um I wanted to be spending more time in 
Australia which is where I'm doing this from I'd

0:09:14.960,0:09:23.760
missed every friends's wedding funerals birthdays 
uh births of children I'd missed everything and I

0:09:23.760,0:09:28.880
was starting to be forgotten amongst my friends 
and family at at home I'd sacrificed 12 years of

0:09:28.880,0:09:35.000
my life to building up my career and and and all 
of that good stuff so I felt it was time to spend

0:09:35.000,0:09:40.720
more time um with the people that mattered most 
to me so the offer came at a good time and the

0:09:40.720,0:09:47.040
other businesses I own and manage are either in 
Australia or can be done um you know Visa V over

0:09:47.040,0:09:52.800
here so um that that that's what led to that 
decision so a bit of work life balance which

0:09:52.800,0:09:59.320
we'll get to in a second so um your work ethic 
like from the email correspondents that we've had

0:10:00.280,0:10:05.440
you know LinkedIn whatever you're very good at 
responding to emails I quite like that you know

0:10:05.440,0:10:14.320
you're very professional is that super important 
to you yeah yeah my email inbox uh and all my

0:10:14.320,0:10:22.680
inboxes are U meticulously organized I respond 
to everything within within the day I receive it

0:10:22.680,0:10:28.200
um everything I'll have we we have the Sundance 
rule in my my offices where anything that comes

0:10:28.200,0:10:34.840
in the day we respond to to before we before we 
leave um because that is part of the service you

0:10:34.840,0:10:39.880
get from working with me at any level I answer my 
phone quickly and professionally I write back to

0:10:39.880,0:10:44.880
you quickly and professionally and I'm honest 
with you and that's that's a guarantee that I

0:10:44.880,0:10:50.560
give the people that I that I work with and even 
organizing this podcast or anything that I do is

0:10:50.560,0:10:56.200
we do it properly we do it fast we do it organized 
and we we do it that way and where where does that

0:10:56.200,0:11:04.960
come from does that from from did Lord rub off on 
you in that way is he similar oh gosh he he's he's

0:11:04.960,0:11:11.120
he's probably a bit more than me but um probably 
my dad my my dad always had a theory you know how

0:11:11.120,0:11:16.760
you do anything is how you do everything whether 
you're washing a mug whether you're cleaning your

0:11:16.760,0:11:22.800
car he always said you can tell a good employee 
from how they keep their car you can tell a

0:11:22.800,0:11:27.480
employee from how they keep maintain their house 
you know all of this stuff and and and Lord sugar

0:11:27.480,0:11:34.640
was exactly the same he would comment to me on how 
I was dressed how I was shaved uh you know stuff

0:11:34.640,0:11:42.040
that maybe you shouldn't do these days let's say 
he doesn't uh give give a stuff about that no his

0:11:42.040,0:11:50.160
brand of mentoring is um direct old school let's 
call it old school and direct but my dad is a hard

0:11:50.160,0:11:56.680
bastard he is a hard hard bastard so I grew up 
in a household with a with a tough dad and then I

0:11:56.680,0:12:04.040
went into business with a tough guy and I Lov look 
getting sworn at to me is it's just a Monday let's

0:12:04.040,0:12:08.880
rock and roll some people get really offended 
by that and they want to you know take it to the

0:12:08.880,0:12:14.600
employment tribunal or have a winge that's I love 
that stuff that brand of mentoring works for me

0:12:14.600,0:12:20.720
it doesn't work for everybody you know I I got a 
business partner that was right for me believes in

0:12:20.720,0:12:28.880
competition believes in working hard believes in 
tough love uh and it works for me right so do you

0:12:28.880,0:12:38.000
ever ghost people not I will tell them I'm going 
to ghost them I find ghosting so rude it's so I

0:12:38.000,0:12:43.480
don't get that ghosting thing I don't get it um 
there's only I can only think of one or two people

0:12:43.480,0:12:49.560
I've ever ghosted because I don't think they're 
cognitively got all the stuff going on upstairs um

0:12:49.560,0:12:54.360
but most people I'll say look I'm not interested 
in what you're selling here or what you're doing

0:12:54.360,0:12:59.480
here or your podcast is a load of Tosh I'm not 
interested and then they'll write back and say

0:12:59.480,0:13:05.880
I told you I'm not interested don't write to me 
again but so with me um some of my ex-girlfriends

0:13:05.880,0:13:11.360
will might attest to this you always know where 
you're at you'll always know if you can send

0:13:11.360,0:13:16.960
another message or not yeah I love that and I love 
you know in this podcast your honesty is coming

0:13:16.960,0:13:22.000
across as well you're talking about you know those 
numbers that that I read out you know that are on

0:13:22.000,0:13:27.360
from the different magazine articles so like well 
that's a bit inflated or that wasn't a good number

0:13:27.360,0:13:31.880
because of you know you are super honon that 
comes across and it's life is too short right

0:13:31.880,0:13:36.040
especially with things like partners and that why 
would you why would you stay in a relationship

0:13:36.040,0:13:41.640
with someone when you're not like feeling it why 
can't you just have the courage to tell them you

0:13:41.640,0:13:47.200
know to their face like listen like it's you know 
I don't I don't get why people don't do that but

0:13:47.200,0:13:53.840
yeah I I I I don't I don't understand it and um 
I think it better you know I used to be the best

0:13:53.840,0:14:01.120
uh bullshitter in the game when I was younger uh 
and as I've gotten older and more um refined more

0:14:01.120,0:14:07.640
mature uh more professional I've just learned that 
if telling the truth and being direct with people

0:14:07.640,0:14:13.800
and being honest with people is is the best policy 
it gets me the best results in business it gets me

0:14:13.800,0:14:21.440
the best results in my personal life um and do you 
know the people left in my life after I'm direct

0:14:21.440,0:14:27.160
with them are the ones I enjoy being with anyway 
so it's the results great yeah they've accepted

0:14:27.160,0:14:32.160
you for who you are and they love you for that 
so that's that's amazing right so let's go to

0:14:32.160,0:14:39.760
where you are now you're in property I mean that's 
that's where you want to be right that's um that's

0:14:39.760,0:14:45.400
a sweet spot I would say well Lord sugar uh used 
to say to me pretty much at every board meeting

0:14:45.400,0:14:55.480
Mark we do uh business for fun and property to 
make money and uh I agree um it's it's I love it

0:14:55.480,0:15:03.440
um I love it because it's challenging but it's fun 
I love it cuz I'm good at it um and it's different

0:15:03.440,0:15:09.080
and I can do it anywhere in the world so there's 
there's so many elements to it that I'm working

0:15:09.080,0:15:14.320
um with and I have lots of new stuff happen every 
week and that that keeps me interested but it is

0:15:14.320,0:15:19.040
it is good for the back pocket as well if you 
get it right if you get if you get it right it

0:15:19.040,0:15:23.840
can work so I've just I'm starting a new property 
company in New Zealand at the moment I'm doing one

0:15:23.840,0:15:31.560
in Australia at the moment I've got one in the UK 
that's that's doing very well um so it keeps me

0:15:31.560,0:15:37.480
interested and it's a good place to you know hone 
the stuff that I learned from Lord sugar who's a

0:15:37.480,0:15:44.600
massive property Tycoon um if you know I might as 
well uh if I've seen success go and have a bit of

0:15:44.600,0:15:53.600
that myself okay so are you happy oh definitely 
yeah and what's the best thing about your life

0:15:53.600,0:16:01.480
right now I've set my life up I've designed my my 
life is by Design uh I live in a house on a lake

0:16:01.480,0:16:11.640
in Australia which only has 20 plus Degree Days uh 
I have uh a fantastic uh fiance who I'm about to

0:16:11.640,0:16:19.720
marry I have an amazing son who uh is very healthy 
and and doing developing well and I have an office

0:16:19.720,0:16:26.160
down the road which is amazing um I have a great 
office I have businesses where I go to the board

0:16:26.160,0:16:30.600
meetings I drive to the meetings and I enjoy the 
people I'm working with and that's not always been

0:16:30.600,0:16:37.040
the case so I've set up my life where I love my 
house I go to a gym I enjoy an office I enjoy so

0:16:37.040,0:16:48.080
I'm in this phase of my life of doing hard stuff 
but that I enjoy and um that makes me happy yeah

0:16:48.080,0:16:53.120
okay so in terms of your work life balance I 
mean are you doing anything to do with like

0:16:53.120,0:16:58.840
mindfulness or journaling or anything like that 
for your mind and you mentioned working out so

0:16:59.840,0:17:06.600
how was that balance going yeah I mean I try to 
meditate every day um for 15 minutes at the end

0:17:06.600,0:17:14.040
of every single day um I'm a bit of a Nutter 
about self-help stuff um I'm always listening

0:17:14.040,0:17:21.280
to self-help books and uh different podcasts 
and things about improving my health um and

0:17:21.280,0:17:29.000
and wellness so I have two coaches that I pay for 
coaching a nutritionist um and um one that I work

0:17:29.000,0:17:33.640
with like a personal trainer type thing but it's 
like an exercise physiology because I have some

0:17:33.640,0:17:39.760
issues in my back so um I believe because people 
pay me to coach them about business why would I

0:17:39.760,0:17:46.000
not believe in paying people for their expertise 
to help me in other areas I need in my life so

0:17:46.000,0:17:51.360
I'm working really hard on my on my health at the 
moment um to complement the other stuff that I'm

0:17:51.360,0:17:56.320
doing in my businesses I love that I love the 
fact that you say you engineer your life it's

0:17:56.320,0:18:01.000
like drawing your ideal life and then you go for 
it I love that I love it right we're now going

0:18:01.000,0:18:08.000
to move on to your LinkedIn posts okay so I'll 
start with this one this is what you're saying

0:18:08.000,0:18:13.760
I've always been different whenever I've tried 
to cover that up and act more normal I found

0:18:13.760,0:18:25.480
less success what do you mean by that um I I I'll 
give you a reference to The Apprentice actually

0:18:25.480,0:18:32.200
the candidates that uh watch the previous series 
before they go on the series is before them and

0:18:32.200,0:18:38.800
they try and act like or take on the personality 
of a contestant that's been in years past always

0:18:38.800,0:18:44.520
fail because you cannot fake being someone 
you're not for 12 weeks impossible situation

0:18:44.520,0:18:51.320
it's too tiring yeah you you can be you and that's 
either going to be accepted by Lord sugar and the

0:18:51.320,0:18:57.800
public or it's not but at least you're going to be 
realistic and go on to be successful in whatever

0:18:57.800,0:19:06.760
your realm of life is that is the same I've had 
times in my life where I have felt the need to

0:19:06.760,0:19:14.480
act differently against my my will or against 
who my my nature is or my ethics and it's always

0:19:14.480,0:19:23.320
turned out badly differently how to fit in maybe 
you know to fit in at school or to fit in to try

0:19:23.320,0:19:31.680
and uh date a girl or to get a job or to work in 
a team or an organization and I've always done it

0:19:31.680,0:19:38.640
to try and get some form of success or a goal and 
it's I've either got it and it's not felt right

0:19:38.640,0:19:46.440
or I've either not got it and burn crashed and 
burned miserably and it's I've Trace that back

0:19:46.440,0:19:54.840
like an air crash investigation to always acting 
not in a reflection of who I really am not being

0:19:54.840,0:20:02.680
who I am at my core value and whenever I've done 
that I've failed so my theory is if you are just

0:20:02.680,0:20:09.680
you we're all weird we're all messed up let's just 
agree to that and be who you are and I agree that

0:20:09.680,0:20:14.960
sometimes people will come into my life hate who 
I am and they leave and sometimes I'll come in

0:20:14.960,0:20:20.080
and love who I am and stay and that's all fine 
and if you just do that you're going to have

0:20:20.080,0:20:24.640
better people around you you're going to get into 
the opportunities that are right for you you're

0:20:24.640,0:20:29.280
not going to get into the ones that are wrong for 
you and the net positive of that is going to be a

0:20:29.280,0:20:34.800
better life yeah cuz if you look at someone like 
Lord sugar as well he's completely and utterly

0:20:34.800,0:20:41.520
unashamedly and unapologetically himself isn't 
he yes let's let's be clear about and like your

0:20:41.520,0:20:47.760
dad and my dad you know it's people with strong 
personalities that don't apologize for who they

0:20:47.760,0:20:54.320
are they're not and they they tend to live the 
best lives I to I need to be honest with the

0:20:54.320,0:21:00.280
more you Flex to other people's will you know Lord 
sugar probably always gets to go and eat where he

0:21:00.280,0:21:05.040
wants to eat because not too many people are going 
to argue with he he's picking that restaurant you

0:21:05.040,0:21:10.800
know I've Got Friends where I know when I'm 
out with them they've got very strong Wills

0:21:10.800,0:21:15.880
they picked the restaurant they picked the bottle 
of wine you know they just get what they want in

0:21:15.880,0:21:22.280
life and that they seem pretty happy when I saw 
my husband at work um I mean I was on holiday at

0:21:22.280,0:21:26.000
the time and he joined the company while I was 
on holiday and he walked into the office I was

0:21:26.000,0:21:30.320
like I'm definitely going to marry him and then 
the night yeah yeah the next night we went went

0:21:30.320,0:21:35.360
out you know I just was like you know do you want 
to have kids one day and d d he was like yes and

0:21:35.360,0:21:38.960
then I went home to my friends I was like I'm 
gonna marry him and that's exactly what I did

0:21:38.960,0:21:46.000
and I'm very happy you know because if you do what 
you want to do in life and you you know you like

0:21:46.000,0:21:51.960
you're saying Mark like you engineer your life 
then you can you have to be happy because you're

0:21:51.960,0:21:59.960
doing what you want so the outcome is going to be 
more in your favor yeah and and I don't understand

0:21:59.960,0:22:07.040
I cannot comprehend people who you see them like 
I've got some some family members like this who

0:22:07.040,0:22:12.480
say you know oh you know I think about I'm not 
so unhappy in my career I'm so unhappy in my life

0:22:12.480,0:22:17.760
I'm so unhappy I'm so unhappy and I just think 
you mustn't be that unhappy because why would

0:22:17.760,0:22:24.400
you just not change it it's so easy to there's 
so many companies to work for there's so many

0:22:24.400,0:22:30.560
gyms to go and improve your like there is so many 
ways to be not where you are but you just mustn't

0:22:30.560,0:22:37.040
be uncomfortable enough because you I literally 
I call it with my partner we call it braining it

0:22:37.040,0:22:45.320
out we brain out every element of our house of our 
life of you know I want every bit of my house and

0:22:45.320,0:22:51.120
life and business thought about it brained out I 
want to just I want to design it so and people say

0:22:51.120,0:22:58.720
wow this is amazing it's on purposely amazing yeah 
but some people are also on purposely they have

0:22:58.720,0:23:04.040
victim mentality because they kind of like and 
that sounds really horrible to say but I have

0:23:04.040,0:23:09.600
seen it in people where they like the sort of the 
being miserable because they get attention from it

0:23:09.600,0:23:15.000
and every go oh no and you know you can do this 
and they get a lot of feedback and in a way that

0:23:15.000,0:23:20.120
feedback is rewarding which which sounds horrible 
but there are some people like and you're right

0:23:20.120,0:23:26.800
they obviously don't like it dislike it enough 
to change um but no one's coming to change their

0:23:26.800,0:23:33.520
life like no one's going to magically wand them 
out of that situation except for them and a lot

0:23:33.520,0:23:38.320
of the time it it it doesn't change I I'll give 
you another example I'm getting married in the go

0:23:38.320,0:23:44.040
Coast in December and we sent congratulations 
thank you thank you and obviously a lot of my

0:23:44.040,0:23:48.920
friends live in the UK and my partner's from 
Finland and um so there's a lot of invitations

0:23:48.920,0:23:54.960
G out across the world and some people have said 
to my to my partner and I it's I wish you would

0:23:54.960,0:24:01.320
hot the wedding until we can afford to come 
for the ticket or whatever you know some close

0:24:01.320,0:24:07.200
members of family the issue is which I said to my 
partner they'll never be able to afford to come

0:24:07.200,0:24:14.080
in my experience poor people are always poor and 
rich people are always Rich because it's in here

0:24:14.080,0:24:20.080
nothing to do with what's in your bank account 
it's a way of thinking and uh once you change that

0:24:20.080,0:24:26.600
way of thinking everything else changes and it's 
that's the hardest bit of the process to change

0:24:26.600,0:24:34.800
in most people yeah that's a very interesting one 
okay so another LinkedIn post go for it you hit

0:24:34.800,0:24:43.600
me with them okay if you don't have haters trolls 
and enemies you aren't doing anything worthwhile

0:24:43.600,0:24:53.520
really in my experience there is a direct the more 
people that have trolled my posts uh attacked me

0:24:53.520,0:25:00.440
on Google reviews on LinkedIn on uh Twitter and 
all of these various places there has always been

0:25:00.440,0:25:08.600
a direct correlation between the better I'm doing 
and the more haters I have right so when I was

0:25:08.600,0:25:15.360
broke flat broke as a pancake working at a steak 
restaurant sleeping on the floor I had no haters

0:25:15.360,0:25:21.520
I had no trolls I couldn't get any likes on my 
Facebook posts then I won The Apprentice and I

0:25:21.520,0:25:26.240
had hundreds of thousands of followers and all 
of a sudden people were saying he looks funny

0:25:26.240,0:25:30.960
he speaks funny he doesn't deserve to when I 
know more about digital marketing than me hang

0:25:30.960,0:25:37.520
on that person doesn't know me and all that had 
had changed was I was doing better I was doing

0:25:37.520,0:25:42.080
something worth doing I was doing other people I 
was doing something that other people were jealous

0:25:42.080,0:25:48.120
of and that made them dislike me because I was 
being successful at it and I found whenever your

0:25:48.120,0:25:54.040
business is doing better you're more healthy 
you're earning more you're doing better people

0:25:54.040,0:26:02.720
start to say things about you and comes from a 
place of jealousy in their own circumstances get

0:26:02.720,0:26:10.200
I get some pretty Savage stuff um mainly about 
just you know I don't know what I'm talking

0:26:10.200,0:26:17.320
about I've only been successful because I was in 
business with alen sugar um uh all of that sort of

0:26:17.320,0:26:24.360
stuff you know I get all of that you know go kill 
yourself and all of that sort of stuff but it's

0:26:24.360,0:26:30.760
it is water off off a duck's back and um sometimes 
I'm going to be completely honest with you I'm at

0:26:30.760,0:26:38.920
a place in my life now where I'm so content with 
it sometimes I do posts just to upset the um the

0:26:38.920,0:26:46.400
trolls because it amuses me okay I've got one of 
those I've got one this must be one of them this

0:26:46.400,0:26:54.240
is you responding to an article okay headlined how 
to get 55 days off this year while only just using

0:26:54.240,0:27:03.240
25 days annual leave Mark replies what a time to 
be alive this is the new culture that goes hand

0:27:03.240,0:27:11.880
in hand with nonsense like a 4-day working week 
and working from home holy guacamole I mean this

0:27:11.880,0:27:18.360
there's a lot in this post okay are you bringing 
this up because you don't agree with my my my

0:27:18.360,0:27:26.560
viewpoints and and and they they've upset yourself 
um I'm bringing it up for two reasons I can see

0:27:26.560,0:27:32.520
that the response from the public public was 
meaningful like there there was a response people

0:27:32.520,0:27:41.320
had a lot to say um I also bringing it up because 
I guess the way it's worded it's definitely trying

0:27:41.320,0:27:46.800
to annoy some people because obviously it's 
very generalized and you you can't possibly

0:27:46.800,0:27:51.840
make a statement like working from home isn't 
good at all because like you know people work

0:27:51.840,0:27:56.560
from home and very effectively obviously there's 
people that work from home and they work from home

0:27:56.560,0:28:03.800
like we know we know so it's a very general thing 
but um it was just one of those Mark moments I

0:28:03.800,0:28:09.680
think where I'm not sure you is that a windup or 
do you actually think this I intentionally word

0:28:09.680,0:28:16.560
some things to create conflict because the the 
best way to increase social media visibility is

0:28:16.560,0:28:24.440
engagement so it is a windup so it's not up well 
let me let me finish by saying I completely stand

0:28:24.440,0:28:29.440
by that post and I agree with all of the things 
that I said and and let's break it down one at a

0:28:29.440,0:28:36.880
time I don't I fundamentally at my core believe 
a 4-day work week will be a disastrous situation

0:28:36.880,0:28:42.720
if big companies enter into it yeah I believe 
that working from home full-time working from

0:28:42.720,0:28:48.160
home kills the culture of a company and it's hard 
to build a brand and a company culture and retain

0:28:48.160,0:28:57.080
staff and un for them to understand the values of 
a company that they don't go into but I need a way

0:28:57.080,0:29:05.200
of communicating with people who don't really want 
to hear me out so I sometimes go for the jugular

0:29:05.200,0:29:12.080
on one liners that I know will really upset them 
because if you're sitting at home in your pajamas

0:29:12.080,0:29:17.280
taking the biscuit getting a full salary and 
you you're one of the people who really take the

0:29:17.280,0:29:24.320
Mickey and you see my post you are going to be up 
you're going to be fearful that your way of living

0:29:24.320,0:29:34.640
is going to leave uh and so they come hard in the 
paint at me and I I absolutely love it yeah I mean

0:29:34.640,0:29:39.520
I suppose it does depend on the type of business I 
mean I work with teams that you know they just do

0:29:39.520,0:29:46.960
work from home but my word do they do a brilliant 
job because for those guys like a designer that's

0:29:46.960,0:29:53.480
doing a specific logo or some sort of you know 
print that you're doing and either they deliver

0:29:53.480,0:29:58.320
it or they don't I couldn't care less what pajamas 
they're wearing or what biscuit they eating it I

0:29:58.320,0:30:03.000
literally don't care what time I do what I care 
about is what ends up in my inbox is something

0:30:03.000,0:30:07.560
that I like and like you've done a good job and 
it better be on time it better be on time and

0:30:07.560,0:30:12.360
also you better respond you know when I send 
that text reply like that efficiency like you

0:30:12.360,0:30:17.160
can be on the moon I couldn't care less as long 
as it comes in but I obviously get your point

0:30:17.160,0:30:21.640
that there's some businesses where you've got 
to have that brainstorming session and you need

0:30:21.640,0:30:29.320
that culture I completely understand so that's 
why it depends definitely I for for me the way

0:30:29.320,0:30:36.920
you build a company is by having a good brand a 
good culture and good values it's very hard to

0:30:36.920,0:30:45.600
instill a culture values and all of that good 
stuff if you never see the person uh that you

0:30:45.600,0:30:52.560
you know that you're working with and I think my 
concern is people can do what they want no one's

0:30:52.560,0:30:58.120
waiting for Mark Wright to tell them what to do 
let's be completely honest but with the develop

0:30:58.120,0:31:05.520
M of artificial intelligence and the ability now 
out of places like India the Philippines and all

0:31:05.520,0:31:13.720
of these places the US the UK Australia they need 
to be very careful what you wish for you might

0:31:13.720,0:31:19.520
wish for a four-day working week it won't be long 
before you have a zero day working week because Ai

0:31:19.520,0:31:26.760
and the Philippines are willing to do your work 
for you and that's I'm you might hate me these

0:31:26.760,0:31:34.600
folks out there but I'm on your team I'm trying 
to foresee what is coming and make sure that we

0:31:34.600,0:31:41.080
all have jobs and money for the future yeah I I'm 
I'm totally with you on the four- day working week

0:31:41.080,0:31:46.680
I mean that's nonsense I agree about that that's 
silly you've got to just at least work your five

0:31:46.680,0:31:53.720
working days please every everyone it's not that 
hard if you if you're upset about working five

0:31:53.720,0:31:59.120
days a week you need to change jobs you're in the 
wrong profession you're in wrong career because I

0:31:59.120,0:32:05.080
love I want to work I race to the office on Monday 
I can't get there quick enough because I love I

0:32:05.080,0:32:12.880
love it if you're not doing that change jobs this 
brings me on to a very very very controversial one

0:32:12.880,0:32:21.120
where you say you don't understand businesses 
that close between Christmas and New Year's Eve

0:32:21.120,0:32:31.240
and that you sell more when others are closed 
yeah uh it's just that really upset the uh the

0:32:31.240,0:32:39.000
wokies that one that run really got that Lit the 
touch fire on the um on on the people in the cheap

0:32:39.000,0:32:49.360
seats and the reason basically I um I went to 
do I was doing something I don't know sending

0:32:49.360,0:32:54.200
oh was moving house and I was trying to get some 
quotes for some stuff for the house and everyone

0:32:54.200,0:33:02.960
I removal company internet this thing this thing 
we're closed from the 20th of December till the

0:33:02.960,0:33:13.280
17th of January what oh so I can't have internet 
until then or I can't remove my stuff and whatever

0:33:13.280,0:33:20.640
whatever whatever now and people were like oh yeah 
good luck working on your deathbed good luck you

0:33:20.640,0:33:25.320
know blah blah blah blah blah listen people need a 
break people need to go on holidays people need a

0:33:25.320,0:33:30.720
weekend one of the best pieces of business advice 
I ever forgot maybe the best was from Alan sugar

0:33:30.720,0:33:36.640
that he's never worked a weekend he finishes at 
5:00 on a Friday he doesn't start again till 9:00

0:33:36.640,0:33:44.400
on Monday I was not saying don't have a break I 
was saying that organizations should be able to

0:33:44.400,0:33:53.080
take orders process customers and still trade to 
help people and and create Revenue through holiday

0:33:53.080,0:33:59.400
periods now there is much more than there's 52 
weeks in a year the week between Christmas and New

0:33:59.400,0:34:05.600
Year is one week There's still 51 other weeks you 
can go on holidays or some staff could still work

0:34:05.600,0:34:12.080
that week and go on a holiday at different time 
my companies do it we do record trade in those

0:34:12.080,0:34:16.720
times maybe there's something that when other 
people are closed people go to the you know if

0:34:16.720,0:34:21.240
there's all the cafes are closed and there's 
one who's open who's selling all the coffees

0:34:21.240,0:34:27.880
sometimes just being the only game in town is a is 
a pretty powerful sales strategy okay again you've

0:34:27.880,0:34:31.960
you've explained it so the controversy was there 
on purpose because you're not saying don't go on

0:34:31.960,0:34:36.360
holiday over Christmas because obviously parents 
you know you've got to go when your kids have a

0:34:36.360,0:34:39.560
holiday they've got a break which is normally over 
the Christmas period you're going to go with your

0:34:39.560,0:34:44.840
son you're gonna you know you want to that that 
family time is really important and it normally

0:34:44.840,0:34:50.240
comes around that period but you're not saying 
don't do that you're just saying keep business

0:34:50.240,0:34:54.360
operating especially if it's critical business 
I mean obviously hospitals and all that you know

0:34:54.360,0:35:00.080
that's a no-brainer but like you're not saying 
just work you know work over Christmas you're

0:35:00.080,0:35:04.320
just saying Christmas is my favorite time of 
the year it's my favorite day of of the year

0:35:04.320,0:35:09.840
it's my I love it I absolutely love it I love 
sitting at the Christmas table with my family

0:35:09.840,0:35:16.720
and my friends and it's it's the most beautiful 
sacred time in my in some of my life is being at

0:35:16.720,0:35:23.280
the Christmas table but that doesn't mean my 
business is shut down that's all I'm saying

0:35:23.280,0:35:27.640
and uh and this is what I'm saying business 
isn't for everyone I think what I'm saying

0:35:28.480,0:35:33.600
is the best business advice I can give you it 
might sound uncomfortable maybe you your business

0:35:33.600,0:35:40.600
doesn't want to open then but my businesses do and 
I still enjoy Christmas but I'm just saying spread

0:35:40.600,0:35:48.400
it out have C you might have Muslim employees that 
work that Christmas period and you give them that

0:35:48.400,0:35:54.800
Christians that time off and you work over Eed 
or what what whatever it is exactly yes so you be

0:35:54.800,0:35:59.600
more flexible you see Mark which is what I what I 
wanted you to explain about your post because that

0:35:59.600,0:36:04.760
that makes more sense to me than what you posted 
because obviously I agree with that but I wouldn't

0:36:04.760,0:36:09.720
agree with the just flat posts which says you know 
just basically work over Christmas go if you go

0:36:09.720,0:36:14.320
like Mark you as well forget your kid go work over 
Christmas but obviously these posts are designed

0:36:14.320,0:36:21.840
for um yeah no they they're interesting here 
we are talking about them and uh I get so many

0:36:21.840,0:36:27.560
uh messages and and stuff but look my this is my 
true beliefs and when you ask me to explain them

0:36:28.120,0:36:33.160
tell me if you disagree yeah no I I I actually 
agree with that now that you've explained it I

0:36:33.160,0:36:40.960
agree I agree with everything pretty much that 
you've said so maybe maybe accept this one this

0:36:40.960,0:36:49.000
is the one post it's the last LinkedIn post um all 
right you talk about the fact that you have never

0:36:49.000,0:37:01.200
met a business person a good business person that 
isn't ruthless that triggers some uh emotion in

0:37:01.200,0:37:09.240
me um obviously I come from entrepreneurship it's 
like it's been in the family like I've I've grown

0:37:09.240,0:37:16.480
up living and breathing everything that business 
is you know from the ground up all that Journey

0:37:16.480,0:37:24.560
up and down all of it um there is something about 
the ruthlessness in business that I have a like

0:37:24.560,0:37:33.560
a problem with you know um I had an exboyfriend 
once that I wonder if he's listening he lied on

0:37:33.560,0:37:38.640
his application to go to to do an MBA you know 
these Business Schools they're very tough you

0:37:38.640,0:37:44.840
know the application process and he lied that 
English you know wasn't his first language um

0:37:44.840,0:37:52.160
so he sort of you know manipulated the the whole 
thing about his mom and so on for this application

0:37:52.160,0:37:57.440
and and got in and would write the exam that's 
easier in English and that really bothered me

0:37:58.040,0:38:05.480
because I was like well that's dishonest you've 
you don't really deserve to be in that position

0:38:05.480,0:38:11.280
you've cheated and you know what he said to me 
he goes you know people like me are going to get

0:38:11.280,0:38:19.640
ahead in life because I I know how to play the 
system I know I'm ruthless I you know because

0:38:19.640,0:38:25.600
there are people out there that will sell their 
kidney to get ahead in business and he was sort

0:38:25.600,0:38:32.000
of saying that to me and never have I ever been 
so put off a man in my life you know human like I

0:38:32.000,0:38:39.840
couldn't understand you know I don't relate that 
I think you did well making him an ex-boyfriend

0:38:39.840,0:38:47.520
let's let's uh say that um and the the answer 
is what he was doing was not ruthlessness it was

0:38:47.520,0:38:57.440
dishonesty um and when I talk about ruthlessness 
I mean resilience and I mean toughness um

0:38:59.080,0:39:05.440
every successful business leader I've worked 
with or ever met speaking doing podcasts on

0:39:05.440,0:39:12.240
my journey across board room tables to be 
successful you need a level of resilience

0:39:12.240,0:39:19.920
and toughness and decision-making ability that 
is I deem ruthless and it comes down to what the

0:39:19.920,0:39:28.800
definition of Ruthless actually means and it is 
not being dishonest it is not taking advantage of

0:39:28.800,0:39:37.120
people it is not doing anything at all costs it's 
making the tough decisions at the right times and

0:39:37.120,0:39:45.440
doing what needs to be done and if you do it with 
a resilience and an honesty and an Integrity that

0:39:45.440,0:39:50.880
is ruthlessness that makes you successful and 
I truly believe you can't be successful without

0:39:50.880,0:39:57.200
that right okay so let's unpack the definition 
of ruthlessness which is actually according to

0:39:57.200,0:40:05.920
the Oxford dictionary having or showing no pity 
or compassion for others well then then then I

0:40:05.920,0:40:12.520
I've used the wrong word I think you've used the 
wrong word I think you used the wrong word I if I

0:40:12.520,0:40:19.840
was looking for one word it's toughness toughness 
is ruthlessness sounds better than toughness right

0:40:19.840,0:40:28.800
it does it sounds sounds more robust yeah uh so 
I I don't mean at all cost costs absolutely not

0:40:28.800,0:40:34.200
because um you you could go and set up a Ponzi 
scheme and just steal money if you wanted to be

0:40:34.200,0:40:40.040
successful make money that but that to me is 
not successful that that's that's just making

0:40:40.040,0:40:45.440
money at at any cost and that's ruthlessness and 
that you know that that's not the right way to go

0:40:45.440,0:40:49.960
about it yeah I think I'm be I'm being a little 
bit tough on you there because of you know I've

0:40:49.960,0:40:55.280
read ahead of this I was doing research on this 
and especially this post and I actually came

0:40:55.280,0:41:01.080
across so many articles you know business articles 
you know the entrepreneur there that credible you

0:41:01.080,0:41:06.840
know journalists writing about ruthlessness in 
business but in a very very positive way so it's

0:41:06.840,0:41:14.360
not like it's un unheard of and unusual for you 
to say that I will just say um when you talk about

0:41:14.360,0:41:22.400
ruthless business people I would consider one of 
those to be Steve Jobs you know I think the way

0:41:22.400,0:41:29.400
that he operated was a little bit ruthless not 
just with the people his team like come on why

0:41:29.400,0:41:33.360
aren't you working later hours let's go let's go 
we need to get the product out I don't care that

0:41:33.360,0:41:38.400
you haven't eaten I don't care that it's 3:00 
in the morning you got to work and he was also

0:41:38.400,0:41:45.800
incredibly ruthless with himself he had no pity or 
compassion with the fact that maybe he didn't eat

0:41:45.800,0:41:49.960
breakfast he's been in the same clothes for three 
days that these are real stories he would not

0:41:49.960,0:41:55.640
even get changed sometimes because why why would 
you there's no time you have to work so he was

0:41:55.640,0:42:01.560
incredibly ruthless and I feel like that there's 
going to be a price right and he paid I think with

0:42:01.560,0:42:10.360
his life he gave his absolute health for this 
I agree you know I agree I love Steve Jobs um

0:42:10.360,0:42:17.760
for for for for multiple reasons but he was he was 
ruthless in probably every sense of uh the word um

0:42:17.760,0:42:22.200
you know if you even look at the way what he how 
he was with his daughter and all of that sort of

0:42:22.200,0:42:29.440
stuff he he really he really was ruthless um but 
he was a incredible businessman if you read the

0:42:29.440,0:42:37.640
Glass Door reviews for Elon musk's company he is a 
ruthless guy he is there is no doubt about the way

0:42:37.640,0:42:44.920
he operates he's he's a ruthless guy but coming 
back from that I believe you have to be tough

0:42:44.920,0:42:50.040
and resilient to be successful in business I I've 
just seen too many people there's too much that

0:42:50.040,0:42:57.480
happens to you on a weekly basis for if you cannot 
handle pressure stress to to make it it's just too

0:42:57.480,0:43:05.800
difficult and um that's what I was trying to get 
across in that post yeah um well I think there

0:43:05.800,0:43:11.320
was one thing he said as well which I quite liked 
because obviously I walked off The Apprentice I it

0:43:11.320,0:43:16.760
wasn't for me so I I will always do what's right 
for me and maybe there's a ruthlessness about me

0:43:16.760,0:43:20.360
because it's like oh you took other people's place 
and someone else could have something something

0:43:20.360,0:43:26.520
but then the ruthless side of me is like well hang 
on a minute I got myself in I will get myself out

0:43:26.520,0:43:30.800
if that's what I feels right for me no one is 
going to tell me what I'm like a cat you can't

0:43:30.800,0:43:35.840
make me do anything I don't want to do like there 
is no way on God's Earth I'm going to do something

0:43:35.840,0:43:42.440
I don't want to do um and he was the same in the 
sense that he was like if you w to get out of

0:43:42.440,0:43:48.200
something if something isn't working if it's not 
aligned with your your deep values then you've

0:43:48.200,0:43:57.520
got to change course like in that way I agreed but 
I can tell in two minutes of meeting you on this

0:43:57.520,0:44:03.440
podcast tonight you you are what I would call 
a ruthless tough person without a shadow of a

0:44:03.440,0:44:10.760
doubt I know that you are a certain type of person 
that can handle pressure that can handle stress

0:44:10.760,0:44:16.840
that can handle tough conversations I know that 
straight away by talk by talking to you in in in

0:44:16.840,0:44:23.200
two minutes and my friends have this like joke 
about me they call me Houdini because as soon as

0:44:23.200,0:44:29.080
I'm in a situation where I don't want to be there 
a meeting a night out a dinner I don't even say

0:44:29.080,0:44:36.160
goodbye to people I'm just not there anymore and 
um and and and like you with The Apprentice or or

0:44:36.160,0:44:41.200
or or or anything as soon as I'm in a situation 
I think this isn't for me I'm off I'm out I'm out

0:44:41.200,0:44:46.320
the door it's just a waste of time isn't it Mark 
I've taken up a lot of your time I've got three

0:44:46.320,0:44:51.440
last very quick questions and this has come from 
the public so I've just chosen the top three um I

0:44:51.440,0:44:56.720
said I'm interviewing you let's see what have you 
guys got so first one have this is really funny

0:44:56.720,0:45:05.800
have people ever got you confused with Mark Wright 
from Twi the only way is I know know yeah I mean

0:45:05.800,0:45:12.720
this is probably the number one thing I get asked 
now and um all the all of the time we get confused

0:45:12.720,0:45:19.840
I get letters for him I get emails from him I get 
social media DMS from people that certainly think

0:45:19.840,0:45:27.240
I'm him uh that we get confused all the time I've 
met him and um he's a Charming guy he's a lovely

0:45:27.240,0:45:34.560
Guy and um he he's done incredibly well and he's 
a lot more uh famous uh quote unquote well-known

0:45:34.560,0:45:41.200
than I am and uh but he deserves all of his 
success okay and what was your favorite task on

0:45:41.200,0:45:52.080
The Apprentice and why we had one at a farm show 
the uh bath West Farm Show and I sold 11 hot tubs

0:45:52.080,0:45:58.480
and it was my favorite task because I did well 
and we won but but I just loved the selling and I

0:45:58.480,0:46:04.160
loved being out in the public um selling to people 
and it felt like when you're trapped in that house

0:46:04.160,0:46:10.360
with the same people I felt like I was getting a 
bit of like um like a bit of like being in jail

0:46:10.360,0:46:14.800
you know like I felt like I was trapped almost 
like you said before and when I was out at the

0:46:14.800,0:46:20.040
farm show selling with the public I kind of felt 
like I was normal again like I was like part of

0:46:20.040,0:46:25.560
the people again and there was there was something 
nice to that as well okay last question how much

0:46:25.560,0:46:34.040
time do you really get to get ready in the 
mornings people love this why is this can I ask

0:46:34.040,0:46:39.680
you because this is the out of all the questions 
I get asked the two biggest questions are what's

0:46:39.680,0:46:45.360
Alan sugar like yes and when the phone rings do we 
really have 20 minutes to I must have been asked

0:46:45.360,0:46:53.000
this $1,000 they want to know loads of people yeah 
and I as you will know it's true yeah you don't I

0:46:53.000,0:46:58.280
mean obviously because I couldn't sleep so I I 
was like next to I slept next to the window so

0:46:58.280,0:47:03.080
I could hear them sneaking by and parking their 
little cars and I knew I knew they were on their

0:47:03.080,0:47:09.560
way so I was kind of like mentally I was mentally 
prepared for them anyway so sort of yeah but it is

0:47:09.560,0:47:17.080
really short isn't it it's just so really really 
short and it's really really early like 400 a.m.

0:47:17.080,0:47:24.840
in the morning I just remember it being so early 
and uh but like I said I loved every minute of it

0:47:24.840,0:47:30.800
brilliant mark thank you so much much for coming 
on this podcast like you've been absolutely

0:47:30.800,0:47:37.760
amazing thank you for your honesty like it's been 
super interesting thank you thank you for your

0:47:37.760,0:47:42.880
tough questions and inviting me on it's been a 
pleasure to be with you and here my LinkedIn posts

0:47:42.880,0:47:48.160
read out loud that's the first time that's ever 
happened but I I I wish you every success I know

0:47:48.160,0:47:56.960
it's going to be a great podcast and thanks again 
for having me on thank you and likewise [Music]

0:47:56.960,0:47:57.600
he
Mark Wright Profile Photo

Entrepreneur / The Apprentice Winner

Mark Wright is an Australian-born entrepreneur best known as the winner of the tenth series of The Apprentice in 2014. His journey began with significant hurdles; undiagnosed dyslexia and poor vision hindered his education, and the loss of a professional football contract left him financially "down and out," sleeping on a mattress in Brisbane. Seeking a fresh start, he moved to the UK, where his natural communication skills eventually led him to win Lord Sugar’s £250,000 investment for his digital marketing agency, Climb Online. The first years of business were grueling; the pressure of rapid scaling—initially managing over 230 low-value clients—caused significant health issues, including fainting spells. Mark eventually refined his strategy, focusing on high-value retainers and quality staff before selling the business for £10 million.
Now living a "life by design" on a lake in Australia, Mark manages property ventures across Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. He is a vocal advocate for accountability and "toughness" in business, crediting his success to a relentless work ethic and the ability to make difficult decisions. Today, he balances his professional life with his role as a father and fiancé, prioritising wellness through meditation and health coaching.