What does it take to win?

From Adversity to Multi-Million Success: Mark’s Journey of Resilience and Ambition

Join Beyond the Boardroom with Aleksandra King as we explore the extraordinary rise of Mark, a young man who went from sleeping on a mattress with nothing to selling his business for millions of pounds. This episode takes a deep dive into Mark’s journey, uncovering the challenges he faced, the strategies he employed, and the mindset that propelled him to incredible success.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Mark’s inspiring story of overcoming adversity to transform his life.
• The bold decisions that defined his success in the boardroom and beyond.
• How he navigated setbacks and handled the inevitable ‘snakes’ on his path.
• The traits and tactics that aspiring entrepreneurs can adopt to achieve their goals.

Key Moments:

• From rock bottom: How Mark rebuilt his life and career.
• Strategic moves in the boardroom: Lessons from Mark’s journey.
• Overcoming betrayal and staying focused on the bigger picture.
• The personality traits that power resilience and ambition.
• Closing reflections and Mark’s advice for aspiring leaders.

Why Listen?
Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, a professional seeking inspiration, or someone curious about the dynamics of resilience and success, Mark’s journey is packed with actionable insights and bold perspectives.

Don’t Miss Out:

• Discover the mindset and strategies behind a remarkable turnaround story.
• Learn practical tactics for overcoming challenges in business and life.
• Be inspired to think bigger and achieve your goals, no matter the odds.

🎧 Tune in now for a masterclass in ambition, determination, and business acumen.

#Entrepreneurship #Resilience #BusinessSuccess #BeyondTheBoardroom #AleksandraKing #Leadership #Ambition

Transcript

 I'm Alexandra King and I'm the host of Beyond the Boardroom podcast. In this episode, I'm interviewing winner of the BBC Apprentice, Mark Wright. Who went on to sell his business for millions. We're going to cover just how he did it. What tactics did he use? How did he get by all the snakes in the boardroom?

Make sure you tune in and you'll find out. 

So 2014,  you won BBC The Apprentice and, and I would say against all odds watching that series. So. I'm going to jump right in there. Like, how did you actually win? How?  

That's a very good question. I would, I would challenge the fact against all odds. I think I won it almost easily. Um, but, uh, I would say getting onto The Apprentice is the hard part.

Not, uh, uh, winning it. Once you're on, you've just got to impress Alan Sugar. And I was in series 10, which had 20 contestants, not normally the 14 or 16 that that this format normally has. So I had, I was one of 20, that was better than one of 75, 000. That's trying out. If you're one of 75, 000, you're a needle in a haystack.

Once you're in front of Alan Sugar in the boardroom, you can impress your personality. You can impress your acumen. He can see you debating and getting challenged, challenging other people. And what I noticed really quickly when I got into the boardroom is Alan Sugar was looking.  To see who the other contestants look to for information when he does this really clever thing where he, instead of directing a question to one individual, he asks the group and it's really, it is psychologically genius.

And then the group looks to the leader because human beings are all by nature. We, we follow the leader. We, we're like sheep. We, we, we, we can, you know, when you're in the presence of a strong person, let's say, you know, when the boss is here and, uh, it, you, you can go into a house or an environment called the apprentice and The leaders start emerging amongst the pack just over time.

It's just human nature. It's, it's, it's how all things are since the dormant dawn of time.  And they know this, the apprentice production team know this. So they asked the group questions and the group looks to individuals. To say, no, we did do good. We could have done that better. And he's going, that's the one in that team.

That's the one in that one. That one's pretty good. And out of 20 in my group, there was three that were really sharp. Uh, a girl called Roisin, a lady called Bianca, uh, and myself. And, uh, I mean, we were,  I want to say 15 fold, uh, at an acumen above the rest of the  group in terms of business. Uh, ability, and they were the only other two I was worried about that were seriously competitive from an, from a business acumen perspective.

Okay. So you feel that you want it because you felt this inner confidence of sort of placing yourself, you know, in the top three already, you kind of felt instinctively that actually I'm, I'm quite good. And then you felt like a leader and you were receptive to the fact that others Saw you as a leader.

So this was just sort of happening before you even went anywhere near winning the process. Is that right? 

I could feel that, uh, the other contestants were starting to see me as a, as a threat. Uh, they would, they would put me in the threat category and I felt I was at, there was one moment, a pivotal moment in about week two or three.

In the boardroom and there was a lady in our, in the other team. And we went in and she said to Lord sugar, I'm really struggling, uh, in this process, you know, I'm a swimming coach. I'm a swimming teacher. This is a bit too  difficult. Basically I'm struggling being away from home yard. And I said to her, That is absolutely ridiculous.

You've taken someone's spot here and you can't hack it. And I looked over and Alan Sugar was smiling and I realized the way to his heart, the way to impress yourself on him, the more vicious you are, the more you got on the others, the more he was thinking, this is a person I can do business with. This is a person that can handle being in business. 

We'll get on to that. We're going to get onto that topic. We're going to get onto it. Um, I don't even know where to start with answering that one, but let's, let's, let's go back to, to what. the viewers observed in, in that 2014 series,  because there were moments throughout that you, you might've felt confident and whatever.

I obviously believe that you were both confident, but you did come across as nervous sometimes. Do you think that's fair?  

Yeah, I think that's very fair. And there was times I, I was nervous, particularly in, in week one, in the first task, because everything's new. The people are new. Being on TV, I'd never been on TV before.

The production, having to walk through a door seven times is all stuff that's just, I'd not experienced having a microphone all the time, having cameras, uh, and the chance of being fired. My biggest fear was being fired first, being the first person to go. Cause that sort of is like, I've quit my job. I've given up my flat.

Uh, I've put my whole life on the line here. And then I'm out the door after a day, it feels really not so great. So that was a big fear. And then, In about week 10, I had an incident where I, uh, I got like stage fright. I was doing a speech at Tesco's and I opened my mouth and no words came out.  And I'd, I'd got myself into the situation by saying to the project manager, you know, I'm the best salesman.

You don't leave your prize pony in the stable. You know, when you go to the races, let me do the pitch. So they let me do the pitch and I butchered it. I absolutely. Made a meal of it. And I thought I was going to get fired. And, and that,  that I was pretty nervous then.  

What did you learn from that?  

I learned  that when you're vulnerable and when you're honest, uh, good things still happen.

I always thought as a young man, you had to be number one. You had to win at all costs. You always had to be first. You always had to be the strongest. And that moment at Tesco's really exposed me. I'd never got stage fright before. Not only did we lose, I lost us the task. And then we went into the boardroom and I had an option where I could say, do you know what?

It wasn't my fault in the pitch. The product was really bad and I could push the blame onto our sub team. And instead I said, I messed this up.  I, I took the pitch on, I messed the pitch up and I cost us this task. And that is the point where I gave him the opportunity to fire me. I put all of the blame for the whole situation on myself.

So everyone, that could have been edited up so nice as this. This guy's done it. I've taken all of the blame. See you later. But I think in that moment, being a hundred percent honest,  you know, taking all the responsibility showed him here is a business person that is tough. That is a good sales person, but is also honest. 

and can take responsibility. So it showed maybe I was the, a more complete picture. 

That's definitely a really strong side that you showed. I mean, it's, it's horrible to work with people just to be around people in general that can't take accountability, that can't see their own fault ever. They're so stubborn that they, there's no room for growth if you can't acknowledge your weaknesses and work with those.

And it's, um, it makes a better person all around. I think 

taking responsibility for your actions is fundamental to being successful. I think in any area of life, and I think if you talk to somebody that's overweight, that can't see that they, they're still not ready for that journey. Same with someone who's on that level of success on that journey for success.

If they feel like, Oh, I got made redundant because you know, this, this happened in the business. You're not ready to be successful yet. And, uh, Everyone that I know that is quote unquote, super successful. They take huge accountability all the time of their own actions. And they take responsibility for things that they've got nothing to do with.

They're just huge on ownership. 

Yeah, ownership driven to see that change and hungry for that change. Definitely. Yeah. Right. Okay. So let's go back a little bit now.  What was little Mark like growing up?  

He was a pretty interesting, um, young man. He was dynamic, I would say, because, uh, from a young age, I didn't realize I was,  And I didn't realize my parent, my mama is staying with me at the moment at my house in the Gold Coast.

And she, um, did, we didn't realize that I had poor vision. I was incredibly short sighted. And it took until I was about 12 for this to be picked up. Obviously I didn't know I couldn't see well, the teachers at school didn't pick it up. So I was dyslexic and short sighted. So my learning was incredibly hindered at school.

But what this meant was because I couldn't read and write well, and I was. That's a bit more challenged than the kids at school. I had to rely on what came out of my mouth, my communication skills. And I was always at junior school, one of the cool kids in senior school, very much not one of the cool kids, but I was always a great communicator.

I was always really good at getting myself into trouble and getting myself. Uh, but young Mark was  loves the sport, wanted to play soccer, football, as it's called obviously in the UK, that's all he wanted to do was talk about, uh, girls and, and soccer. That was my, that was my, uh, uh, my thing. And, and I just love to chat, talk to anyone.

Okay. So you were a chatty.  Happy, cool kid, loved sports. And then just before apprentice, I mean, just before you decided to apply for the apprentice,  were you making like money? Were you, how were you doing? Well, were you not doing well?  

I wouldn't say I was doing well at all, actually. I left school and I thought I was going to be a rockstar.

Like I thought I'm going to take the world by storm. I'm going to be this big, super success in whatever I do. And I was just ready because I hated school. School was not a good environment for me. I failed.  terribly at school. I don't like sitting in a class being told what to do. And it just, it showed through my grades, I didn't apply myself and there's no excuse for it.

I just didn't do well, but I couldn't get out of there quick enough. And then I went in and got a football contract and I thought this is it. And I lost that contract from not applying myself, you know, not training hard enough, going out, drinking, doing all the wrong things. And I lost the contract. And then I realized life is a pretty vicious place.

If you're not doing well, if you're down, it can keep kicking you to a pretty low place. I ran completely out of money. I was sleeping on the floor on a mattress in Brisbane, trying to get my football career going and I just could not get off the ground. And I completely ran out of money. I completely ran out of hope.

And I was, I was down and out, uh, physically, mentally, financially. Uh, and that's what made me move to the UK because things were not going great for me here in Australia. And, um, and I decided to go traveling to see if I could broaden my horizons for what I wanted to do with my life, you know, career wise.

And I thought traveling would broaden my mind. It would help me meet new people and maybe find a different industry or, or some opportunity out there. And, and it did.  

So what made you, what possessed you, shall I say, to fill out that apprentice application form?  

Well, um, I was working at a digital marketing company in the UK.

Um, and it was, it was a terrible company. They, uh, they were really, the way they treated their staff was awful. The way they treated their customers was awful. But I was really good at digital marketing. So it was the first time in my career, I was good at it. I enjoyed it. I was plugged in. I was starting to make some money and I didn't feel like I was working up until that point till I found digital marketing, every job I did, every time I was at work, I hated it.

I felt like I was at work. I was watching the clock and all of that stuff. And digital marketing was the first time I loved what I did. And, um, So a friend of mine who sat at the desk next to me called Blake, he said, Hey, bro, I'm going to try out for The Apprentice. And I said, what's The Apprentice. He said, it's a TV show where an old man yells at you.

And I said, I've never, I've never heard of. Um, so he's like, come down to the tryouts with me.  So he sent me the application and I filled it out and, and off I went to the tryouts in Tottenham court road in London. And I didn't realize. The scale of the apprentice, I'd never heard of Alan Sugar. I hadn't heard of the show.

Um, and I just kept getting through one week after the next one layer of the auditions after the next. And I got through thousands and thousands of people and, um,  it, I don't know. I,  from the moment I got in the line to pass the, my documents at the tryouts, this is going to sound mental. This is going to sound like I knew  I was going to win  stop.

And  I just, I've never felt. Like,  like it, I don't know. It was like, I knew it was for me. I knew it was my, I knew this was it. I don't know. I've had opportunities where I've done stuff in the past, or I've tried things and I've, it hasn't felt right. And it's always been a bit clunky and whatever, from the moment I went to the triads, to the moment I won.

It felt fantastic. It just, it felt like I was in the right place at the right time. And when I handed the lady at, um, boundless, the production company, my CV and my business plan to try out, I said, hi, my name's Mark Wright, and I'm the winner of the 2014 apprentice.  And she was like, she just laughed anyway, on the night that I won the show, the lady from the reception came in to the, you're hired show.

And she said, do you remember me? I'm the lady from reception. And you said, your name's Mark Wright, and you're going to win the show. And you won it. And I was like, I mean, it was so amazing. I get goosebumps just talking about that story now, because I'm not really like that,  that felt right.  

If the way that you program your mind  is so important, and it does set sail in that direction, you know, if you had those thoughts right at the beginning, and you programmed yourself, I'm going to win, and you really felt it, and you can't explain why,  that definitely  Put you on that path to winning that show.

I I'm firm believer in that because I went through the audition process as well  for The Apprentice. Obviously I loved it. I found that really. Easy, easy. And I  like you, I knew 100%, I knew I'm definitely getting in. Like, there is no question. This is easy peasy. I love sales. I can do that any day, any day of the year, but I never had the thing in my head going, I'm going to win.

I had a thing in my head going, I can win if I want to. I can, but do I want to? We'll see. We'll see. I'm not sure if I want to win. Not sure if I want it. But I'm definitely a hundred percent sure that I can easily nail this interview. And I'm going to do that challenge, different approach to you, right?

Different outcome, different outcome, but I never thought I'm definitely winning like you did.  

That were that, that, I mean, Napoleon Hill says, whatever the mind can believe and conceive, it can achieve. And you know, that's why setting goals is so important. And this all stuff started in this manifestation where I wanted to win.

I got the opportunity to be in that process. And then I just made it happen. And obviously there was a lot in between all of the believing it and wanting it and all of that stuff. But  I probably haven't had that same feeling  about,  you know, a business or, or, you know, something like the apprentice in my life where I've gone, yeah, this is, I'm just going to absolutely smash this out of the park.

So, you know, Warren Buffett says you get three trips to the, to the pie counter in your, in your life, and you've got to know which, when each trip is. And I think that was my first or second time there. 

Yeah. I mean, I, I I've had this once before in a running race, cause I'm, I'm big on athletics and I started running from a young kid and I had that once where I.

stood on the track and I just knew I was this, this race. I've got it. I'm, I'm going to win and I'm going to win by such a long way and it's going to be incredible. And that's exactly what happened. Like it's this visualization, but it doesn't always come. You're right. There's like, there's moments. You 

know, 

and you've got to, Oh, when it, when you get that feeling, it's like, you know, when you know, you 

know, When you know, have you ever read the book, The Alchemist? 

Um, my husband has read that book and told me about it many times. Yes. 

Oh, it is. It's, I mean, it's a game changing book, but they always talk about omens and listening to your body and feeling for like you with the running race, me with the apprentice, whatever is sometimes you just get this, Yeah. They call it, you know, your gut instinct and you just think this feels right to me.

And, uh, you know, I think, you know, not to get too mystical with all this stuff, but I think it's an important element to all the other stuff that goes into business. 

Okay. So you then got into The Apprentice, you're in that house, which I, I found it  I've, I found being in the house really stressful. Like I didn't like the idea of being trapped.

Cause I don't, I want to be able to go where I want to go. I don't like someone else controlling my schedule. I can't sleep with people snoring. Like I just, I find it really hard. Like even my husband, it's like, it's like a dinosaur and the house is moving and it's like, I can't, and I've got to run away and block my ears.

And I really struggle, you know, without sleep and all of that. So I found the apprentice, even though I was in boarding school, that was fine. It was. Different.  But there's something about the apprentice candidates, 'cause they're all such high intensity and it's just, it's so much and you can't leave. Like how did you find it stuck in the house with them? 

Uh, well, I think  had, if I was to do it again now, I would really struggle. I'm a 34-year-old man. I have a family. I live in a lovely house and I'm really lucky in my life. At the time I was 24 and I'd been backpacking for two years living in dorms with 12 people snoring and doing all sorts of things. So the apprentice house was just like another dorm room for me at the time.

It wasn't, wasn't too far from my tenure of traveling. So I sort of coped with it really well, but I would really struggle now. So I think it came to me at a right time.  Of my life. Um, I was, I was a single man. I was a young man and I was sort of on it. The other thing that I did  when I was in there as I wasn't really friendly with the other contestants.

Uh, and that was a conscious decision. Um, I. What year were you on the show? 2016.  2016. So, um, there was a, as they, the show years went on in my, in my time, 2014, they were really strict about, we weren't allowed social media, um, outside of the house and all of this sort of stuff. Um, and inside of the house, there was like lots of rules.

We had these chaperones. To make sure that we wouldn't do task talk and all of this sort of stuff. Um,  and, uh, uh, I knew I kind of gauged quite quickly. I think these chaperones are reporting back to the production. Who's a good and bad contestants in here. So what I'm going to do is just be on all the time.

So I'm going to be the first in bed. I'm going to be the first up. I'm going to not drink because if that's getting fed back to Alan Sugar, surely that's another tick in my box. So I was using the, I was playing the whole game. I was, I was playing the whole game when the cameras were on and even more so when the cameras were off.

Yeah. And, and, and the main thing is, is that you wanted to play the game. You were in the right time phase of your life. You were hungry for that investment. You were in a position that made you really need it as well. It's like, you know, you were trying to make it. So you were incentivized. It was like, there was the motivation and you were in the right place at the right time.

And like you're saying, it wouldn't have worked necessarily now, or maybe as well, it probably would have worked, but it may be in a different way. Because like for me, I was 34. I had three little children under the age of 10. We were moving house from North London. It was the worst timing on the whole planet.

So my,  my mindset, my motivation was like,  why am I, why am I here? When my kids aren't in school, how is my husband coping? And then of course you can't communicate with him and you're worried. So you're distracted. It's not the same,  even though obviously there's this pull. Cause you think actually I can do it.

I'm doing well on all the tasks I'm selling. I can nail this if I want to. Yeah. But then also because you're 34, you're not handling maybe the sleeping, right. And you're maybe not handling the food. Like if you're not getting food, right. And  there's all of that, you know, so when you said in the beginning, Mark, when you said in the beginning there that like you said to that woman, Oh, you know, you can just  there, you know, just get on with it.

Carry on, you know, you're fine.  You know, proper business people will do that.  Yes. Like, of course, you know, Proper business people were professional. We can do it. We can put in the graph, but it's like, you've also got to be in the right frame of mind for that thing wanted, you know, in the right way. And, and maybe,  yeah, there's so much to this.

I mean, uh, I've, uh, recently had a child and, um,  It will, it has made me 10 times better boss, 10 times better manager, uh, because it's given me a different perspective and you can only see perspectives from where you are in your journey. And, uh, at that time I was a young, hungry, broke 24 year old. I had no girlfriend.

I had no obligations outside of that house. And I used to give my phone call to the other people in the house that had kids because I had no one to call really. So, um, I was at a great time in my life. And, and, you know, now if I think about where I am in my life, Now the apprentice is a terrible opportunity for me.

I wouldn't give away 50 percent equity in any of my companies. I don't need 250 grand and I don't want to sleep in a house with, you know, stinky people trying to be famous on sky sports. So,  

yeah. Thank you for entering my world that I was in when I did that, that, that change. And I did that because my daughter had a dream and was like, Oh, you won the apprentice.

And I thought, Oh, okay, that's a sign. Let me go and apply to the apprentice. I mean, we're Seriously. Um, I was going to ask you, you know, you've got like a, a nice sort of, um, Relaxed attitude about you sort of calm. I mean, not, maybe not on the show so much, but like outside of that, when you're doing business, you've got, you're quite a chill person.

Was that fair to say?  

I think it's very fair to say, uh,  my mom always said I'm happy. Go lucky. Don't really understand what that means, but she's always, uh, said I was always happy, go lucky. And I always wear my heart on my sleeve. Um, however, um,  That's all true. And I'm very relaxed. That might be some of the Australian in me.

Um, the other side is, uh, I'm fanatical about getting everything just right. Uh, getting everything perfect. Everything needs to be done perfect all the time in the stuff that I do and the stuff that my employees do and the stuff that happens in my companies. So although I'm, Relaxed. I'm a stickler for detail and I'm a stickler for quality.

And, um, I think it serves me well because the way I communicate is relaxed. And, um, and yeah, so  I think,  yeah, I don't, I don't know. I am a relaxed person. 

Yeah. So even though you're a relaxed person, then, um, what, what scares you? What are you afraid of?  As you navigate life,  are you running from anything? 

Gosh, that's a deep, that is a deep, that is a deep question. We're all scared of 

something deep inside, I find. Um, 

I think my biggest, I'm, I'm scared of myself. I think I'm my own biggest, uh, uh, supporter and my own biggest, uh, enemy. Right, in what way?  Because I hold myself to a, a bar that is un  unbelievably high that I, that I'm unable to, to meet.

And after all the amazing things that I've achieved in business or whatever, uh, I still, I never think about it. You know, I never look back. I never take time to reflect on, um, you know, the things that I've done. I'm always thinking about what am I gonna do, uh, tomorrow? And I think in a way that is.  it's, I mean, I'm pushing myself all the time, but at the other time, at some point, when do you stop and what, when is enough?

And, um, so, you know, it's just getting enjoyment out of life and slowing down. Obviously I, I, I don't want my parents to die. I mean, that's a, a fear I think everybody holds. I always think about that. But, um, since being, becoming a father, my world has completely changed. It is, you know, the only thing that if someone put a gun in front of my son today, I would just take the bullet.

Yeah. Without a second thought there. There's not, nothing comes in in comparison to, there's nothing more 

important on the entire planet is the, there's nothing 

that sounds really horrible to say, but I have seen it in people where they like the  sort of the being miserable because they get attention from it. In my 

experience, poor people are always poor and rich. People are always rich because it's in here. 

It's 

nothing to do with what's in your bank account.

It's a way of thinking. 

You talk about  the fact that you have never met  a business person, a good business person, that isn't ruthless.  That  triggers some, uh,  emotion in me.