About Us
A note from Tim Campbell, First Winner of The Apprentice:
I have developed this exciting website to open up speaker opportunities for fellow Apprentices who have much to offer the business community, I have enjoyed sharing my experiences and know audiences out there will be eager to know how it all began.
People thought I was mad leaving a nine to five management job with London Underground to take my chances on the first ever Apprentice programme.
Although I enjoyed what I was doing I wanted more out of life – a chance to show my free spirit, an opportunity to learn more about business.
Being part of what has now become an audience and ratings winner was certainly a revelation. It wasn’t the walk in the park some of my fellow contestants were expecting and was definitely the challenge I was hoping for.
Looking back on it I didn’t really think about appearing foolish. I was confident enough in my own ability to know that I could prove I knew what I was doing without appearing brash. I knew I could work well as a team, after all this was something I did in daily life.
Doors have certainly opened for me as the first winner. It has been a tremendous opportunity which I have made the most of. I suppose that was one of the things that Sir Alan liked about me from the beginning. Nevertheless I was not pampered in my sales role with Amstrad. It was a tough and demanding job from the beginning and a great opportunity to learn about corporate life.
It was also a revelation getting to know the workings of the business directly from the man who is regarded as one of the UK’s top entrepreneurs and pioneers of free spirit and enterprise. He was a mentor more than a manager and I learned many things from him, including the benefits of delegation and the power of sound investment. These are lessons I have carried with me into my own ventures.
He gave me the confidence to believe in myself which is why I had the confidence to quit my Amstrad job eventually and set up \Bright Ideas Trust to help other young people like myself. Keeping your feet on the ground and remembering that thousands of people are tuning in for entertainment as well as enlightenment was important. It may have been fortunate that we were a new idea tucked away on BBC2.
Attracting ten million viewers on prime time television must seem incredibly daunting for the latest Apprentices who definitely need nerves of steel. Anyone getting involved must be aware that it has the power to change lives in every way.
Call the Apprentice Speakers on 08707 602 813