I'm sure he only said that a few times in Episode 1. And every previous series...
Did you know Alan Sugar started his own business when he was 17?
Originally Posted by far2cool:
“I was getting annoyed at his attempts to be 'down wiv da kidz!' - followed by suck up laughter...”
“I was getting annoyed at his attempts to be 'down wiv da kidz!' - followed by suck up laughter...”
Blame his scriptwriter for those cringe moments.
Originally Posted by Pamplemousse:
“Blame his scriptwriter for those cringe moments.”
“Blame his scriptwriter for those cringe moments.”
Occasionally quite funny, usually drifting a little closer to corny - matches his own style pretty well. I'd wager he's quite capable of making those sorts of words up all by himself! Inclined to believe him when he says he doesn't get help. I'm sure he doesn't need lines like "Brings new meaning to the phrase down in rags" written for him. :p
Originally Posted by Vol:
“I'd love to see 17 y'o Alan Sugar try to start a business in 2012...”
“I'd love to see 17 y'o Alan Sugar try to start a business in 2012...”
He has said before, that if he was starting out now he would gointo apps - find a million people to buy one fr £1 each.
Well, he's no Ella Henderson. In case you didn't know (because they never mention it), she starred in The X Factor at SIXTEEN!!!
Originally Posted by Teddybear99:
“He has said before, that if he was starting out now he would gointo apps - find a million people to buy one fr £1 each.”
“He has said before, that if he was starting out now he would gointo apps - find a million people to buy one fr £1 each.”
...because that is going to guarantee a million people... if this was the case everybody would be doing it. Its fair game, could Sugar really with no money set up a successful business in this market? Its questionable and really the point of 'when I was 17 etc' is plain annoying and shows a lack of knowledge about small businesses struggling hard at the moment.
Surely it's reasonable for him to say to 17 year olds on his his show which has as it's central theme: business that he started his business at this early age. He didn't come from a wealthy background and in some ways I'd have thought that in the sixties it would have been more difficult than nowadays for a working class person to start a successful business.
To say that he's ignorant of struggles in business is clearly silly and to imply he had it easy somehow is quite frankly ignorant. Not sure why deriding Sugar's success is de rigeur in some circles nowadays but I find it distasteful.
To say that he's ignorant of struggles in business is clearly silly and to imply he had it easy somehow is quite frankly ignorant. Not sure why deriding Sugar's success is de rigeur in some circles nowadays but I find it distasteful.
Originally Posted by trevor tiger:
“Surely it's reasonable for him to say to 17 year olds on his his show which has as it's central theme: business that he started his business at this early age. He didn't come from a wealthy background and in some ways I'd have thought that in the sixties it would have been more difficult than nowadays for a working class person to start a successful business.
To say that he's ignorant of struggles in business is clearly silly and to imply he had it easy somehow is quite frankly ignorant. Not sure why deriding Sugar's success is de rigeur in some circles nowadays but I find it distasteful.”
“Surely it's reasonable for him to say to 17 year olds on his his show which has as it's central theme: business that he started his business at this early age. He didn't come from a wealthy background and in some ways I'd have thought that in the sixties it would have been more difficult than nowadays for a working class person to start a successful business.
To say that he's ignorant of struggles in business is clearly silly and to imply he had it easy somehow is quite frankly ignorant. Not sure why deriding Sugar's success is de rigeur in some circles nowadays but I find it distasteful.”
Fair enough, but he plays the same record. He doesn't just mention once how he came from nowhere etc...
What niggles at me is when he uses this line as some kind of justification as to why others should be successful in their tasks. Like, 'well I started my business when I was 17 so you've got no excuse for failure'. However he's misssing one huge point with that statement. At 17 was he an immediate success in everything he tried to sell and was he given a deadline of 48 hours in which to turn a profit and see a return on his investment in an economy suffering a double dip recession where selling in the highstreet is up against online retailers. I think not. They are not even allowed to use the internet so how is that putting them on an even playing field with other retailers? If your a market trader in the 1980's perhaps but has nobody told Lord Sugar that markets and the highstreet is dying out because people just aren't spending their money on the street anymore.
It's a bit like Tom Jones sitting there expecting a group of young singers to go out and sing 'What's New Pussycat' and expect to get a multi million pound recording contract for it.
It's a bit like Tom Jones sitting there expecting a group of young singers to go out and sing 'What's New Pussycat' and expect to get a multi million pound recording contract for it.
Originally Posted by The Wizard:
“What niggles at me is when he uses this line as some kind of justification as to why others should be successful in their tasks. Like, 'well I started my business when I was 17 so you've got no excuse for failure'. However he's misssing one huge point with that statement. At 17 was he an immediate success in everything he tried to sell and was he given a deadline of 48 hours in which to turn a profit and see a return on his investment in an economy suffering a double dip recession where selling in the highstreet is up against online retailers. I think not. They are not even allowed to use the internet so how is that putting them on an even playing field with other retailers? If your a market trader in the 1980's perhaps but has nobody told Lord Sugar that markets and the highstreet is dying out because people just aren't spending their money on the street anymore.
It's a bit like Tom Jones sitting there expecting a group of young singers to go out and sing 'What's New Pussycat' and expect to get a multi million pound recording contract for it.”
“What niggles at me is when he uses this line as some kind of justification as to why others should be successful in their tasks. Like, 'well I started my business when I was 17 so you've got no excuse for failure'. However he's misssing one huge point with that statement. At 17 was he an immediate success in everything he tried to sell and was he given a deadline of 48 hours in which to turn a profit and see a return on his investment in an economy suffering a double dip recession where selling in the highstreet is up against online retailers. I think not. They are not even allowed to use the internet so how is that putting them on an even playing field with other retailers? If your a market trader in the 1980's perhaps but has nobody told Lord Sugar that markets and the highstreet is dying out because people just aren't spending their money on the street anymore.
It's a bit like Tom Jones sitting there expecting a group of young singers to go out and sing 'What's New Pussycat' and expect to get a multi million pound recording contract for it.”
I would love someone to say that to him in the boardroom!
In all seriousness, I don't think he expects them to be quite as successful as he became, not least because he did it all over an extended period of time and they have about two days. What he's looking for is the potential, so that when he does ultimately invest in someone, he knows that they will put the investment to good use, and one day could become as successful as him.
Originally Posted by Pamplemousse:
“I'm sure he only said that a few times in Episode 1. And every previous series...”
“I'm sure he only said that a few times in Episode 1. And every previous series...
”
No he's never mentioned it!
Originally Posted by vampirek:
“...because that is going to guarantee a million people... if this was the case everybody would be doing it. Its fair game, could Sugar really with no money set up a successful business in this market? Its questionable and really the point of 'when I was 17 etc' is plain annoying and shows a lack of knowledge about small businesses struggling hard at the moment.”
“...because that is going to guarantee a million people... if this was the case everybody would be doing it. Its fair game, could Sugar really with no money set up a successful business in this market? Its questionable and really the point of 'when I was 17 etc' is plain annoying and shows a lack of knowledge about small businesses struggling hard at the moment.”
I think he could, what he was basically sayng was that in hard times, instead of finding 100 people to spend £10,000 you find a million people to spend one pound.
I do agree with you that it is a very tough time for small businesses, mine has been fairly disasterous over the last couple of years. However, I'm not a born salesperson like Alan Sugar is. It's something I know I have to work on. I do believe that some people just have the business 'X Factor' and will do well whatever they sell.
