Former Apprentice winner Joseph Valente has explained how ‘sacking Lord Sugar’ made him even ‘richer’.
The Italian entrepreneur, 35, impressed the business mogul with his business plan to franchise his plumbing business in 2015, receiving a £250,000 investment.
But when the partners ‘clashed’ over how to run the business, Joseph and Lord Sugar parted ways, two years after the program ended.
Despite regaining control of his company, the company found itself in debt to the tune of £2 million, prompting mocking comments from the media personality.
Reflecting on his path to success, with his new mentor empire now worth £10 million, Joseph explained how the spot only spurred him on.
Former Apprentice winner Joseph Valente, 35, has explained how ‘sacking Lord Sugar’ made him even ‘richer’
The Italian entrepreneur impressed the business magnate with his business plan to franchise his plumbing business in 2015 and received a £250,000 investment.
Speaking in an interview with The sunhe explained how a ‘massive statement’ from Lord Sugar on the company’s social media drove a wedge between them.
Joseph began, “I was the first student to buy out Lord Sugar and break off the relationship. I told him personally.’
In 2020 it was revealed that he had sold the plumbing company, which he co-founded with Lord Sugar, and that it owed almost £2 million.
cEditors lashed out at the owner, who they said must have known ImpraGas was in trouble, as reported by the Daily mirror.
While struggling with ‘severe depression’, Joseph told how he was ‘afraid to get up’ and received a slew of negative comments on social media.
He continued: “What spurred me into action was Lord Sugar. He shared one of the articles, “Joseph’s Gas Firm Blown,” and retweeted it, saying, “You can’t win ’em all.” That touched me deeply.’
Using his anger to ‘fight back’ and ‘prove a point’, the entrepreneur founded Trade Mastermind, to help plumbers, builders, electricians and carpenters grow their businesses through one-on-one online coaching .
After lockdown hit, business started to boom for Joseph, who says his company is now worth £10 million.
Despite regaining control of his company, the company found itself in debt to the tune of £2 million, prompting mocking comments from the media personality.
Reflecting on his journey to success, with his new mentor empire now worth £10 million, Joseph explained how the spot only spurred him on
In an interview with The Sun, he explained how a ‘major story’ by Lord Sugar over the company’s social media drove a wedge between them (Joseph centers on The Apprentice)
“I started selling online training and giving virtual seminars. I went from losing everything to making £100,000 a month from my apartment within three months,” he added.
In 2020, after it was reported that ImpraGas was £2m in debt, Joseph told MailOnline: ‘ImpraGas was sold to REL Capital in January 2020, we have not gone bankrupt.
‘We were faced with a challenging economic environment and decided to sell the brand, assets and intellectual property. All over-70s and many contractors kept their jobs. Customer guarantees were taken over by the new owners and we created a newco that allowed the creditors to continue doing business, which they did.
‘VBH Assests is a Ltd company that has gone into voluntary liquidation and yes, it owed creditors money, but to secure the best possible future for the new company this was our only option.
‘We have built the largest independent boiler installation company in Britain in just a few years, winning and beating British Gas to become national installer of the year in 2019. What we achieved was incredible and our success should not be overlooked.”