A former winner of The Apprentice who fell out with Lord Sugar has called for the star to ‘move on’ so a younger presenter can take over.
Joseph Valente impressed the tycoon with his business plan to franchise his plumbing business in 2015, for which he received a £250,000 investment.
But the 35-year-old entrepreneur ‘clashed’ with Alan Sugar over how to run the business, and they split two years after the program ended.
Despite regaining control of his company, the company became £2 million in debt.
But looking back, he told MailOnline he would thank the business magnate for the opportunities he was given and wished he had done things differently and kept Lord Sugar, 77, as an ally.
He now runs Millionaire Mastermind, a success network that brings together global entrepreneurs and ‘wealth creators’ to share their knowledge of how to get rich
The Italian entrepreneur impressed Lord Sugar with his business plan to franchise his plumbing business in 2015 and received a £250,000 investment
Mr Valente is depicted centrally in The Apprentice in 2015
However, despite these prospects, he said Lord Sugar had to “move on” and that the reality show is getting old.
Mr Valente said: “I think Lord Sugar needs to move on. They need a new host.
“I want Karren Brady to do it, she’s a powerful woman and she would be absolutely incredible. It needs a refresh.’
The Baroness is an assistant to Alan Sugar in The Apprentice and the current Vice-Chairman of West Ham United FC
She is one of the big names who will be speaking at events organized by Valente’s Millionaire Mastermind network.
“Lord Sugar is no longer the man he used to be; he’s obviously very successful, but he’s not recognizable to young people. They need someone younger.
‘They also have to get back to the real business and not to the commercial side. They need to attract people who care about business, not about showbiz and their five minutes of fame.
“They’re focusing too much on the entertainment side and the characters right now.”
Mr Valente previously spoke of how, when his business declined, he suffered from ‘severe depression’ and was ‘afraid to get up’.
Lord Sugar shared one of the articles about his company’s struggles, titled “Joseph’s Gas Firm Blown,” and retweeted it, saying, “You can’t win ’em all.”
But this motivated the entrepreneur to set up Trade Mastermind, to help plumbers, builders, electricians and carpenters grow their businesses through one-on-one online coaching.
And after lockdown hit, business started to boom for Mr Valente, who said his company is now worth £10 million.
He now runs Millionaire Mastermind, a success network that brings together global entrepreneurs and ‘wealth creators’ to share their knowledge.
Speaking to MailOnline, Mr Valente said he wouldn’t do anything differently if he could go back in time and go on the show again.
He said: ‘I had a plan and it worked. But I would do some things differently than after the show.
“It would have been wiser to have Lord Sugar as an ally, not that we are enemies. Now that I’m an adult in my 30s, I see the benefits of being able to leverage the name and its brand.
‘When I was twenty, I saw things differently. I am a very strong-willed person and I did not want to listen. I wasn’t always interested in the advice of Lord Sugar and his team.
Looking back at his path to success, his new mentor empire is now worth £10 million
‘But in business it’s important to listen to the opinions of others, whether you agree with them or not.’
When asked what he would say to Lord Sugar if he had the chance to speak to him again, he said: “I would like to thank you for the opportunity.
‘He was the cause of three key moments in my life. Within a few weeks of reading his book, I quit my job. Then he bought my company. When my company went bankrupt, he posted a tweet that gave me the motivation to bounce back from it.
“He posted ‘You can’t win ’em all’ and kind of mocked my downfall. So thanks for that, and it indirectly motivates me.
“I would have come back eventually, but not so quickly.”
The former winner has previously spoken about how not everything is as it seems on the reality series, with producers deliberately making tasks more difficult than they need to be.
He also talked about how the show filmed two endings, one of him winning and one of runner-up Vana Koutsomitis winning.
He claimed that there is a ‘rulebook’ that limits participants in the names, colors and logos they can use on tasks.
The entrepreneur said this can lead to contestants coming up with things that look “stupid” and that producers do this deliberately because if everyone comes up with an incredible product or service, it won’t be “entertaining” for viewers.
But he told MailOnline he thinks this is a good thing, explaining: ‘What it does is show a depth of character to overcome the odds and learn to deal with the challenges that arise in business.’
When asked what his advice would be to candidates, he said: ‘My advice would be to focus on yourself and what you are good at, and not on the other people.
“Don’t just hope that the others will fail and that’s why you stay – focus on doing something excellent to give Lord Sugar a reason to keep you.” Focus on what you can do to shine. I was absolutely focused on what I could control.”