'The Apprentice' and 'Junior Apprentice' stories

[sscott]

And that bird who said "My personal life and my social life mean nothing to me. I live to work". That was the single most tragic, desperate, and frankly, sad moment from any telly show ever.

I thought that was Eddie saying he was the shortest in the group, I was in tears

Agreed, that was one unintentionally funny line!!!

[dste]

I wasn't going to bother watching this time as one and a half series was enough for me but for some reason I did end up watching it.

Where do they get these people.

[The Angry Jock]

Not from my work unfortunately, I still have to tolerate the self-important inflated bullsh*tters.

[TheBoingoBandit]

The app task was pointless.



The number of downloads does not represent the users enjoyment of the product. So you could have the 3000 all enjoying the product and paying for upgrades while the 10000 thinking their download is crap and not bothering to use it ever again.



Since it's all about selling upgrades, the enjoyment of the product rather than the number of downloads is more important.

[merman]

It's worse than that, the ideas were terrible (although people do seem to actually BUY that sort of thing) and the pitching to both the websites and the audience at a SHOW DEVOTED TO GADGETS AND MOBILE GAMING was awful.

But Jim talked himself out of the boardroom, which was damn clever of him.

[The Angry Jock]

He's definitely one to watch.

[Edward Eoifsch]

Hello.

I had done a little research and probed for details about the candidates this season. We now had 8 weeks, in the most recent task the candidates were presented with products, to choose from and sell to shops in France.

I reckon this was the finest performance from Susan, she was the leader for her team and she has shown her leadership capability, which has left candidates that doubted her, speechless. Definitely her finest hour, she sure showed Jim and it helped that she had Helen to pitch to the French retailer La Redoute, as Susan herself demonstrated the product, a back pack that turns to a booster seat, plus Susan sealed a deal with a French mobile phone store after she and Helen presented a mobile holder with bendable mount tubes that also double as stands and Helen now holds a record, in that she has won 8 tasks in a row, no previous candidates had managed that, also the sales Helen secured are the highest in the show's history to date.

This is a massive contrast to how Tom and his team performed. They had no sales with La Redoute and while Melody is multi lingual, she didn't help her team much, Tom wasn't happy with her and in the board room she tried to talk him down, however they both stayed and Leon was dismissed.

I can hardly wait to see how this lot fare at the interview task.

From Edward Eoifsch.

[sscott]

What games do you play Edward?

[ToxieDogg]

What games do you play Edward?

If you head over to the 'Apprentice' forums, you'll probably find out

[Sir Hilary Bray]

I'd love to bend Sussie over Lord Surgars Desk.

[Edward Eoifsch]

The final draws nearer, with two more tasks done. The pressure has really cranked up, it's the home stretch.

Before I continue, SScott take a look at my 'Pipe Mania' and 'Breakout' topics, just search.

Anyway, 'The Apprentice' this season has really delivered.

The biscuits task was funny, the team leaders were Zoe and Helen.

In Zoe's team, Tom pondered the possibilties and came up with numerous concepts, while Zoe and Susan went to a shop to find inspiration for their package design. As Tom and Melody finished at the biscuit factory and took the car back to the house, Melody decided they should do roleplay at their pitches to the supermarkets, Sainsburys, ASDA and Waitrose and when they actually did their pitches, the staff members looked absolutely puzzled, the little plays were ridiculous, but funny.

Meanwhile in Helen's team, Jim came up with flapjack biscuits with star shaped chocolates, despite that Natasha had doubts, due to the flapjacks, Helen liked the concept and lead the pitches to Sainsburys and Waitrose, when they went to ASDA, Jim decided to do it and he got carried away with his presentation, but the staff liked the biscuits and bought 800,000 units, this meant that Helen has scored 9 victories and her team were treated to a luxury hotel.

Meanwhile, Zoe and Melody bickered in the boardroom, like they did in the task, Tom came clean and admitted his mistakes, Susan spoke honestly and calmly, while her team mates debated. Zoe chose Tom and Melody to return with her to the boardroom, more rows happened and Zoe was dismissed, due to her inability to perform in the task, which is similar to her day job and her short temper didn't help.

The reinvestment task had it's ups and downs.

Natasha was leader teamed with Jim and Susan, whilst Melody lead the team with Tom and Helen.

Jim showed his sales skills and Susan did well also, but Natasha seemed clueless and ignored her team mates and their advice, although they won, Natasha's reluctance to reinvest cost them their reward.

Tom performed admirably, but Helen and Melody misunderstood the task, which was strange. Despite that Tom looked the weakest candidate by statistics, Melody was shown the door. I like Tom and feel relieved that he stayed, but I feel sorry for Melody, she wasn't always trustworthy and reliable, but she is talented and smart, she knows her stuff.

There was also a detailed programme 'The Apprentice: The Final Five' that showcases the final five candidates and looks at their backgrounds.

From Edward Eoifsch.

[Edward Eoifsch]

Here is a little update.

The most recent task saw candidates try to set up fast food restaurants and there were four places in the final, at the boardroom conclusion, Natasha was dropped from the show, due to her performance, despite a degree in hospitality.

That means Tom, Jim, Susan and Helen are the finalists and the final is upon us.

Tom is certainly smart and definitely a nice guy, as an inventor, he can come up with ideas, but whether that could justify his performance and the fact he has the least wins, is hard to see.

Jim is at home with presentation and sales, but as he speaks so much nonsense when he is carried away and as he is perhaps too sure about himself, he may come under fire.

I think Susan could do well, no matter what happens, she does seem like a whiny child, but she has achieved much for her age and she is so talented and has so much desire to succeed and in business she really knows her stuff.

I think Helen seems the most professional, she is truely driven and focused, although she hadn't set up a business, she has business knowledge, plus remarkable skills.

I reckon Helen truely deserves to win the most, but as alternative choices, Tom and Susan are good. No matter the results, they would achieve success.

From Edward Eoifsch.

[BennyTheGreek]

My friend was travelling back from a training course and saw helen in economy class on the train - this says to me that she doesnt win......




They are all dumb and deserve nothing better than a job shovelling censored out of a stable

[merman]

Well, I didn't expect that to be the result, but it does prove Sir Alan was looking at the business idea as well as the person... Dara said on Twitter that the winner gave him a present after the You're Hired show, which is nice...

[lanky316]

It was probably the best proposal for the Dragons Den series when you look what they bought to the table. Had Helen gone in with the idea she threw in to try and save her hide maybe closer but he deserved it on the strength of what it was supposed to be. Got to say felt sorry for Sugar, at least on Dragons Den they can say "they're all awful ideas, I'm out"