[TV] The Apprentice (BBC1)

[giveusfalmerplease]

One of the contestants didn't even have a business plan.in the interview episode he said she had basically presented a brochure

 

[Badger Boy]

My biggest bugbear now is that you can be fired for not creating a very good babyfood, when your business plan is about sports management. You're getting fired for something so totally irrelevant, but you might have a better business plan than someone who skates on through because they're ok at marketing but then ask for investment in an obvious non-starter.

The premise is flawed. But I'll watch every episode they ever make.

 

[papachris]

I still watch it! However, over the years it's become more and more of a games how. At least half the candidatesI feel are only there for entertainment value or eye candy (both sexes).
As was mentioned by the previous poster some tasks are not relevant at all, plus why always split teams in two with very limited communication between each other? It's the exact opposite of what you really do in business

 

[Pavilionaire]

I watched the whole series and found I was enjoying it less and less as the weeks went on.

There was a smack of political correctness about the whole thing and I can’t for the life of me understand how either of those businesses were investable.

Investment is my job and the numbers in the business plans were ridiculous - I can only imagine what the dragons would have said to either of them.

The premise of the series now looks a bit dated and sends the wrong message imho - you can have a completely unfeasible business plan but still get someone to invest in it. No one would have put money in either of those businesses in the real world.


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I think what is dated is the show unashamedly pushing "girl power" with 4 finalists all pretty young things, all with rubbish business plans. The quality of the boys this year was an utter disgrace; statistically, the outcome of an all female final is 1 in 16, so highly unlikely. Maybe the BBC should consider the high number of young men that are committing suicide now and getting some balance on shows like this. What we need is a show with bright candidates from both sexes, not an agenda that paints men as buffoons and ordinary women as iconic tycoons.

 

[Badger Boy]

I think what is dated is the show unashamedly pushing "girl power" with 4 finalists all pretty young things, all with rubbish business plans. The quality of the boys this year was an utter disgrace; statistically, the outcome of an all female final is 1 in 16, so highly unlikely. Maybe the BBC should consider the high number of young men that are committing suicide now and getting some balance on shows like this. What we need is a show with bright candidates from both sexes, not an agenda that paints men as buffoons and ordinary women as iconic tycoons.

I couldn't disagree more. I think the male candidates were no good at all, but the female candidates who made it to the final 4 were all the strongest throughout the tasks. I think, without knowing the business plans in depth of the male candidates, they were fired due to performance on the tasks rather than based on the business ideas they were ultimately pitching. In my opinion, this is the great disconnect with the current format of the show - I find it hard to believe that none of the male candidates had a better business plan than matching pyjamas for a whole family (including a dog!) - but they needed to perform better in order to get to the stage to justify their business plan.

I would also suggest that The Apprentice isn't a social commentary, nor is it a reason for male suicide rates.

 

[Weststander]

I couldn't disagree more. I think the male candidates were no good at all, but the female candidates who made it to the final 4 were all the strongest throughout the tasks. I think, without knowing the business plans in depth of the male candidates, they were fired due to performance on the tasks rather than based on the business ideas they were ultimately pitching. In my opinion, this is the great disconnect with the current format of the show - I find it hard to believe that none of the male candidates had a better business plan than matching pyjamas for a whole family (including a dog!) - but they needed to perform better in order to get to the stage to justify their business plan.

I would also suggest that The Apprentice isn't a social commentary, nor is it a reason for male suicide rates.

Over time imho it’s become more about entertainment and an eclectic collection of ‘characters’. Who in turn are increasingly savvy about eg not making a load of enemies/bitching.

With 2 or 3 plausible candidates, maximum.

We as a family have only ever watched it for the entertainment, faux pas and incompetence. It still ticks those boxes for us.

I have little interest in the winning business idea, but genuinely wish Harpreet well.

 

[Badger Boy]

Over time imho it’s become more about entertainment and an eclectic collection of ‘characters’. Who in turn are increasingly savvy about eg not making a load of enemies/bitching.

With 2 or 3 plausible candidates, maximum.

We as a family have only ever watched it for the entertainment, faux pas and incompetence. It still ticks those boxes for us.

I have little interest in the winning business idea, but genuinely wish Harpreet well.

Same for me. I think it's become less and less about being good at business. I'd like to see more of the actual tasks, without impacting on the time spent in the boardroom because that's comedy gold.

 

[Lower West Stander]

I couldn't disagree more. I think the male candidates were no good at all, but the female candidates who made it to the final 4 were all the strongest throughout the tasks. I think, without knowing the business plans in depth of the male candidates, they were fired due to performance on the tasks rather than based on the business ideas they were ultimately pitching. In my opinion, this is the great disconnect with the current format of the show - I find it hard to believe that none of the male candidates had a better business plan than matching pyjamas for a whole family (including a dog!) - but they needed to perform better in order to get to the stage to justify their business plan.

I would also suggest that The Apprentice isn't a social commentary, nor is it a reason for male suicide rates.

But its a gameshow right?

You are only seeing what's been edited into the show. We have no idea as to the actual abilities of the candidates from watching it, its all for entertainment purposes. There's all kinds of issues around people being fired for specific reasons but if you are looking to invest in the business, the first thing you do is look at the business plans and numbers to see if they are sensible - what's the point in letting someone get through to interview if their business plan is absolute rubbish and there's no numbers in it?

Call me a cynic, but imagine the Twitter backlash if the two final candidates had been white males. Maybe we should be doing this to allow more gender and race diversification in business, I don't know - but don't create a false impression in a gameshow, do it for business reasons.

 

[WhingForPresident]

https://ohsoyum.co.uk

£25 to get a slab of cake sent in the post. Almost as inspired as the '£25 to get a quid's worth of pick n mix sent in the post' he invested in a few years ago, or the Welsh woman that won the last one (I think?) with her business, specialising in sending slabs of cake in the post for £25 a pop.

It's still quality bollocks to watch, mind.