The Apprentice 2015: Meet the candidates
Posted: Wed 7th Oct 2015
Meet the candidates competing for a £250,000 business investment from Lord Sugar in the new series of The Apprentice.
Enterprise Nation is publishing a review after each episode with the business lessons to take away:
Episode three: Invest in your team and speak the language of success
Episode four: Talking the hind leg off a donkey doesn't close deals
Aisha Kasim
Age: 30
Occupation: Inventor and hair extensions specialist
Lives: London
Aisha was born in Nigeria and moved to the UK when she was 15 years old. The owner of a hair accessories business which sells extensions, wigs and hair products, she has also invented a hair accessory which is a heated hair bun that curls hair and even wrote the jingle to accompany the product. She describes herself as hippy-ish, funny and quirky, and names Victoria Beckham as one of her business inspirations because she follows her passions which has led to her professional success.
She says: "Pressure makes diamonds. It's something I respond well to, I think it's go hard or go home."
April Jackson
Age: 26
Occupation: Owner, Jamaican boutique
Lives: London
Former Miss Jamaica, April was born in London, before moving to Jamaica and has lived in France and studied in New York. While living in Jamaica, she founded a successful event management company along with a children's charity. She cites Skinny Girl Cocktails founder Bethenny Frankel as one of her business inspirations because of how she grew her company into a lifestyle brand. April describes herself as ambitious, honest and loyal.
She says: "I'm Jamaican. We come first, we win on the track and we will win in the boardroom."
Brett Butler-Smythe
Age: 28
Occupation: Builder
Lives: Plymouth
Brett went straight to the Royal Navy after leaving school, where he worked as a marine engineer. He says starting his own property business from scratch is his biggest business achievement to date. He says his biggest strengths are being hard working, committed and trustworthy, and that he has no weaknesses. His attitude to business is 'work hard, play hard, work harder'.
He says: "I pride myself on not having any negative or bad traits about myself, they're all good, they're all positive."
Charleine Wain
Age: 31
Occupation: Owner, hair and beauty salon
Lives: Plymouth
Charleine served in the Royal Navy for eleven and a half years before leaving the service to start her own hair and beauty salon and online clothing boutique. She is a passionate fundraiser and has raised over £20,000 for various charities. She cites hairdressers Patrick Cameron and Toni & Guy as her business inspirations because of the impact they made in the hairdressing world. She says her drive and determination are her biggest strengths.
She says: ''I would describe myself as very determined, ambitious, and I always want to show that women can succeed in business.'
Dan Callaghan
Age: 23
Occupation: Director, fragrance retailer
Lives: Manchester
Dan's first job after university was working for an MEP at the European Parliament in Belgium, where he lived for a year. He describes himself as bright, optimistic and cheerful. He cites turning his fragrance company around after a difficult few years as the business achievement he is most proud of. He names Jeff Bezos of Amazon as one of his inspirations, because he feels the company has redefined the way consumers see online shopping.
He says: ''I'm just a generally all round quite entertaining person, I think. A lot of people laugh at me.''
David Stevenson
Age: 25
Occupation: Owner, sports marketing company
Lives: Nottingham
David's background is in sports marketing and his company specialises in increasing crowd attendances at sporting events. He says his greatest achievement so far was promoting a high profile football match between two women's national teams at Wembley to sold-out capacity. He cites Elon Musk as his business inspiration because of the amount he achieved early on in his career.
He says: "Me and Lord Sugar will work together because you've got age and beauty and those two go hand in hand all the time. Sugar's got the age and I certainly am beautiful."
Elle Stevenson
Age: 21
Occupation: Operations executive, construction
Lives: London
Elle describes herself as a 'geezer bird' and says she is effervescent, passionate and maybe 'a little insane'. Though she's the youngest candidate of the group, she says those who know her would say she is older than her years. As well as teaching herself fluent Latin, she lists her biggest business achievement to date as her previous role as operations director of a construction company at just 20 years old. She cites Taylor Swift as her business inspiration, calling her 'the best businesswoman of the 21st century.
She says: "I hate anything mediocre. I can't be middle. I hate being the person that comes second. I've never been the person that comes second. I'd rather be the one who fell over at the start of the race and never make it to the finish line."
Gary Poulton
Age: 34
Occupation: Programme manager
Lives: Birmingham
Gary spent seven years at a leading supermarket chain as a programme manager, developing new store sites. He describes himself as someone who likes to succeed in all he does, and his biggest achievement in business to date was delivering the largest property development programme in the history of the supermarket he worked at in 2010-11.
He says: "I look like the nice, easy going, laidback Brummie but once I start doing my business, people know I'm the real deal."
Jenny Garbis
Age: 23
Occupation: Business management student
Lives: London
Jenny graduated from university this summer, where she achieved the highest grades in her year for her business studies course. She describes herself as an adrenaline junkie who is only being happy when she's busy. A keen feminist, she cites actress Emma Watson as an inspiration for her role in the recent 'He for She' campaign. She says that if she didn't work in business, she would like to be in politics.
She says: ''You will see my name in lights; Jenny Garbis, don't forget that. That's going to be a global name. That's going to be an entrepreneur everyone looks up to.''
Joseph Valente
Age: 25
Occupation: Owner, plumbing business
Lives: Peterborough
Joseph describes himself as successful, passionate and driven. He says he applied for the show because he feels it is his destiny to be Lord Sugar's business partner. He currently runs his own plumbing company and feels having a business is like being a parent, as it needs undivided attention and nurturing, and that Hugh Hefner is one of his role models.
He says: "I am the definition of success, I'm a godfather of business and I'm here to make Lord Sugar a lot of money.''
Mergim Butaja
Age: 23
Occupation: Sales account manager
Lives: Coventry
Kosovan-born Mergim fled from the war-torn country to the UK with his parents and siblings when he was seven years old. Since the age of 18, he has been supporting his family by working in a range of jobs from sales to waiting tables. He names CEO of leisure retail chain The Range, Chris Dawson, as his business inspiration because of their similar backgrounds. Mergim says his determined attitude is his biggest strength and hopes he will inspire people who have lived through similar circumstances to succeed
He says: ''Why am I a worthy business partner for Lord Sugar? I'd be a challenge to him. Everyone he's met probably sucks up to him. I won't, I'll tell him like it is.''
Natalie Dean
Age: 25
Occupation: Corporate account manager, telecoms
Lives: Coventry
Natalie's business background is in corporate management in the telecoms industry. She describes herself as a tomboy and has a passion for football, playing for a local women's team and supporting Sheffield Wednesday. She says Liv Garfield, CEO of water company Severn Trent, is her business inspiration because she admires what she has already achieved in her career.
She says: ''If I set my mind to something I won't quit until I have done it.''
Richard Woods
Age: 31
Occupation: Director, digital marketing agency
Lives: London
Richard is a director of a digital marketing company. He describes himself as self-assured and ambitious, and says his only regret is not being a millionaire before turning 30. He says building up four profit-making companies is the business achievement he is most proud of to date and cites Richard Branson as one of his inspirationsbecause of the business empire he has created.
He says: "I'm a Swiss army knife of bouncy skills, business skills, enthusiasm, I've got everything highly tuned
and highly chiselled."
Ruth Whiteley
Age: 47
Occupation: Owner, sales training consultancy
Lives: Harrogate
Ruth describes herself as positive, colourful and driven. Her background is in telephone sales, though she previously worked as a DJ on a mid-morning show for her local radio station as well as a stint as a court reporter. Her biggest business achievement to date was setting up the telephone sales teams for an online schooling company in Scotland and Australia, as well as expanding the growth of the sales team in Philadelphia, USA.
She says: "Lord Sugar might think I'm a bit gushing, he might find me over-zealous, but I think he'll think I'm great.''
Sam Curry
Age: 23
Occupation: Private tutor
Lives: London
Sam has been working as a tutor since leaving university, he has a passion for the arts and has taken part in numerous films and stage productions. He cites the fact that he's always worked for himself as his biggest business achievement to date, and describes himself as loyal, honest and adventurous. Richard Branson is one of his main business inspirations because he agrees with the Virgin founder that you don't need to be ruthless or cruel in business to succeed.
He says: "I'm an interesting mix between happy go lucky and adventurous and then quite logical and sensible. It's a strange combination.''
Scott Saunders
Age: 27
Occupation: senior account manager, sales
Lives: Hertfordshire
Scott's business background is in sales, and he describes himself as sharp, motivated and obsessed with making his first million. He likes simple but effective brands such as confused.com and cites Richard Kiyosaki, founder of Rich Dad Company, as one of his business inspirations because he admires the way he does business.
He says: "People do say to me they've never met anyone like me.''
Selina Waterman-Smith
Age: 31
Occupation: Owner, events agency
Lives: Dubai
Selina studied in the UK before setting up her own events company in Dubai. She incorporates her performing arts background with the circus into many of the events that her company hosts. She describes herself as feisty, strong and kind. She cites setting up her business in a foreign country as her top business achievement to date.
She says: ''I am strong minded. I do like to be the leader.''
Vana Koutsomitis
Age: 27
Occupation: Social media entrepreneur
Lives: Barcelona
Vana speaks five languages and grew up in New York but has also studied in Spain, France and China as well as living in Shanghai and London. She currently runs a networking site for finance professionals. She says she has been entrepreneurial since the age of seven, when she sold her old toys on the streets of New York. She cites Aston Kutcher as one of her biggest business inspirations because he has an eye for commercial ventures.
She says: "I believe this is a marathon and if you have stamina and if you do things with integrity, morals and direction, you can get where you want to go."
You might also like…
