The Apprentice fired candidate Alex Finn interview: 'Sabrina shouldn't be so tactical if she wants to win'

The latest hopeful to be eliminated from the BBC series on which candidate he thinks is in trouble

(BBC)

The latest Apprentice candidate to be fired by Lord Sugar has been revealed – and, as you’d expect, they’re not too happy about it.

For their fourth task, the candidates attempted to sell big at the world’s largest bodybuilding expos (you can catch up on the episode's biggest talking points here).

Things didn’t end too well for 21-year-old IT analyst Alex Finn who was sent home after being brought back to the boardroom for failing to sell a single item.

We spoke with the straight-talking Alex about the real reason why he was fired, his advice for “tactical” Sabrina and which candidate he thinks needs to step it up.

You said you didn’t think you were to blame for the failure of this task. With that in mind, why do you think Lord Sugar fired you?

To be honest, I didn’t think he had much choice. My downfall was saying I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. What I meant by “the wrong place” was being on the sub-team at the end of the day; I should have stayed on the product team. He thought I was trying to escape the fact I’d made very little sales, and at that point I think he’d made his mind up that I was trying to deny responsibility.

You made a last-ditch attempt at trying to save yourself right at the end. Did you think you’d got away with it when you were sat there?

Yeah, I did. I honestly believed I was justifying my point. I was the team’s scapegoat and was brought back purely to protect Sabrina’s position. She sent me over to the sub-team because it would have been virtually impossible to sell those sponges, so it was a very tactical decision. It left me in a very tricky situation trying to fight my way out of that corner.

Who do you think should have been fired?

It definitely should have been Sabrina that was fired. Pinning the blame on someone else is not something she should be doing if she’s looking to be a viable business partner for Lord Sugar. He did notice that and had some strong words for her, but ultimately, I didn’t argue my case as clearly as I should have done which put me in the firing line.

Do you have any hard feelings?

None. It’s a tricky business. In the boardroom, you have to stand up for yourself, fight your own corner and, at the end of the day, have no mercy.

You continually claimed you’re an exceptional salesman – so why wasn’t it working for you at the expo?

It’s not that it wasn’t working for me, that’s just how these expos work. It doesn’t work for anyone until it reaches the end of the day. No one wants to spend their money until the very end. I think Sabrina lost her rag a little bit and got nervous. She should have kept a calm mind. Khadija didn’t get a single sale so sending me to the sub-team was a complete waste of time.

What would have been your ideal task to manage?

Well, I’m a tech guy so anything to do with computers or drones. I’ll be interested to see if one comes up that would have been suitable for me. If it does, I'll be quite devastated.

Lord Sugar seems more hesitant than usual to let many errors slide this series. Do you think he should be giving people more chances?

On the contrary, I think he’s being lenient to some people. In the first four tasks, a project manager hasn’t been fired when usually they would have gone.

So do you think he’s perhaps being too lenient?

I don’t think he’s made any wrong decisions. It was questioned whether Frank should have gone last week but I think he based his decision on whether or not he saw him as a viable business partner as opposed to whether it was Frank's responsibility in terms of losing the task. It’s not just based on who sells the most.

Karren was particularly vocal in her feedback to Lord Sugar this week. Do you think she could have sealed your fate?

Karren’s go to do what she needs to do. My performance wasn’t at 100 percent and it was sad to hear she didn’t think I was selling as well as I should have been. I think her line was, “I’d be surprised if he could sell anything,” which was a bit harsh. Give me the right task and I’d sell more than anyone else in the room.

You were one of the younger candidates to appear on the show this year. Do you think more experience would have helped you get further?

People can presume they have more experience relevant to their age, but I think the series shows that age isn’t everything as it goes on. There are some candidates this year who have a lot of potential but I honestly believe the younger ones are edging it over the older ones. For example, Rick [Monk] is probably the oldest of the pack and he’s definitely got to step up his mark a little bit. He’s slowing down and not doing as well as he should be doing. Camilla, however, is only 21 and she’s an excellent businesswoman. It’s really interesting to see how it’s developing.

Who are you backing for the win?

I’m really interested to see how Kayode does. He’s quite a character and has been the most vocal so far. I’d say him, Daniel and Tom are ones to look out for. I have high hopes.

Are the tasks harder than you expected?

I used to watch it and think it looked easy but the reality is these tasks are absolutely solid. Not to mention you’re surrounded by a varied range of people with businesses worth millions.

Is the boardroom experience scary?

Yeah, it’s nerve-wracking. Everyone’s put their entire lives on hold and they’re in front of Lord Sugar for the potential opportunity of scoring £100,000. If anyone in that boardroom said they weren’t full of nerves, they’d be lying to you.

What’s next for you?

I run two businesses at the moment – a social media one, and another that’s a drone business called SkyFade. I’m also trying to seek investment for my business plan.

Lastly, have you got a gym membership since hitting the expo?

Well, if there are any personal trainers out there who fancy giving me shot…

The Apprentice airs every Wednesday on BBC One at 8pm​