PENDLE entrepreneur Azhar Siddique says he has bounced back from his disappointing exit from “The Apprentice”.
The 33-year-old businessman from Colne, who grew up in West Street in the town, was fired by Lord Sugar on last Wednesday’s show under accusations of continually moaning about the strategy used in the task and for a lack of contribution in selling items to the Essex public.
However, Azhar, who heads his award-winning UK Equipment Direct Ltd refrigeration company in Manchester, says he has returned back to “Plan A” and is looking to develop that for the time being.
The former West Street Primary School and Park High student, who made his first pound by selling fish to his local pet shop, says he loved his time on the show and will not live down wearing those red shorts during the fitness task.
Azhar said: “The show is almost exactly as you see it and Lord Sugar is what you see, nothing more, nothing less. I really enjoyed the environment of the house, the excitement and thrills and not knowing when the call would come.
“I was asked what I would like to wear for that fitness task, but I was not expecting to be wearing the skimpiest pair of red shorts!
“I eat and breathe business so I really enjoyed the adrenaline rush of the boardroom process. I used my business experience and based my tactics on the merits of what I had done over the weeks. If Lord Sugar didn’t agree then I respect that decision.
“My goal was to get the £250,000 investment and to put that into the business, which unfortunately I didn’t get off Lord Sugar. We have managed to secure 80% of that though so we are well on our way to reaching where we want to be.
“We are a multi-million pound business with 18 staff and 30,000 sq. ft of space in Trafford Park which, believe it or not, I set up in the middle of the recession with a redundancy package, so it was never a case that I was going to neglect that.
“A lot of people said I looked very serious on the show, but business to me is very serious and it is not something I take lightly.”