Yes I have sat on an interview panel.

Before the final, I felt sure Bianca was going to win, but she just blew her chances.
There's a difference in being confident and self assured and being merely stubborn or pig-headed. Right from the start she was told that her pricing policy was wrong, but she refused to listen. Then she was told that in reality the packaging didn't match her idea of a "luxury product", again she ignored sound advice that was blatantly obvious to everyone else.
I certainly didn't like Mark, but in the end LAS had no option. Mark was someone he could just leave to get on with it. With Bianca he would have needed to "hold her hand" throughout the manufacturing side, and probably in the search for outlets. The very least he would have expected from her was to get the price point and packaging right.

The point was that she accepted the figures as fact, SMEs do not want to spend £3Ka month, and there was no mention of cost of acquisition of a customer. I remember the dot com boom, people with no technical knowledge throwing money at people with n idea which was no more than a URL.

Mark was never other than respectful with people he worked with. They are competing for a solo prize so once the team task is over it's not surprising they turn on each other. They all do it.

It's a competition, there are no prizes for being nice.


I've no idea what you are on about. I never said anything about a specific edit for a candidate. Others have been mentioning "his" edit. There is no such thing. I'm not defending Mark because I support him. I think what's being said about him here simply isn't born out by what we saw on the show.

How does someone like Mark help our economy ?

Deleted.

I felt the same as you, I was sure Bianca would win it unless she made a spectacular mess of things in the final episode and unfortunately she did. She didn't manage her team at all and ignored every one of them when they tried to tell her about the pricing issue, then she chose to ignore the market research people, then to top it all off she ignores people who work in the hosiery industry. She totally blew it and she is dreaming if she thinks she can charge over 20 quid for a pair of tights, maybe if she were an established brand with a good reputation she could get away with it but not as a brand new company.

Bianca is going to be fine she's ready to launch the tights company and got a financial backer. Her website is currently being created http://biancamillerlondon.com/

Well since this thread is about Mark and the 'edit' has been mentioned, I just put the two together to explain why I didn't like him.
Sadly there's nothing else to judge on except the edit we're given. From that I've got a negative impression of Mark. But that's not such a big issue since it's not exactly going to matter much to him what I think. It's not going to ruin my day either.

I think Mark is the most suitable winner since it was changed to a partnership with Lord Sugar

They both won, they both got what they wanted. If her business wasn't viable, nobody would've given her financial backing

source?

many of my clients fit into that category and spend that and more. if a client gets a good roi, they will spend the money. I do not operate in the London market (which Mark's business obviously will) which is a different world to that, in which I operate.... I think that you think you know, when really you don't...

Good for you, it's not my experience of working with SMEs

Her business is definitely viable, I don't think many people out there would disagree with that and I actually wanted her to win as I preferred her idea. The issue she fell on was the pricing, looking around at higher end tights you have companies like Spanx offering tights with built in controlwear for about 40 pounds but they have been around for quite a while and are a well known brand so can get away with charging that amount of money for their products.

As a new business I think she'd be better off starting towards the lower end then working her way up to more higher end stuff. That way she can get herself a good amount of customers who might then be prepared to pay more as she expanded as they know her products are good and will last. Whatever she decides to do, I hope it works out for her and she makes a success of it as the potential is there.

Blimey

so, because it's not your experience then it's not true? any excuse to have a dig at Mark because you are obviously far too over sensitive about the way he went about winning this year's series.

If you are going to dig, at least make it relevant

I don't get why Lord Sid kept saying it was the devil in him that made him choose Mark, as if it was a risky and creative decision. It wasn't, it was the most mundane thing he could've done, jumping on to a pointless gravy train driven by someone who already does that job for a living.

Yes, it's an easier way for him to make cash quicker, but he doesn't need the money and it sends out a bad message - in business be boring, don't take risks, don't be creative.

I don't care about him at all, not in the least bit sensitive, I'll stick with my premise that not many SMEs are sitting there waiting to spend £3K a month on his services.

That is by far the best post on this thread. You my friend saw through and past all the BS. I too saw it EXACTLY this way.

Well put.

probably more businesses than individuals that would spend 20 quid on a pair of budget quality tights. just sayin....

lets be honest - as boring as business plan as it was,it was 100 times more workable than Bianca's dreamworld