Mark Wright: Being The Most Successful Winner of The Apprentice
Mark Wright
Mark Wright is an award-winning and self-taught Digital Marketing specialist. He is a noteworthy
winner of BBC’s, The Apprentice . In securing the winner’s title, Mark went on to found and develop one of
the UK’s fastest growing digital marketing agencies ‘Climb Online’ , in partnership with Lord Sugar.
Climb Online is the most successful Business to have been founded by an Apprentice winner to date.
It’s headquarters is in London & it boasts a multi-million pound turnover. Mark now plans to
transform Climb Online into a global brand in Australia.
Mark Wright: Being The Most Successful Winner of The Apprentice
What did you take away from appearing on The Apprentice other than winning it and the money?
Mark Wright : I say this all the time, but winning The Apprentice is like winning the ‘Business Lottery’. You are provided with an excellent platform to launch your business, whilst securing a partnership with Lord Sugar, one of the UK’s leading Entrepreneurs.
Over the past 6 years I have learnt to deal with a whole host of challenges – from growing a start-up into a multi-million-pound turnover firm to creating a culture that staff and customers want to work with and are proud to be part of. More importantly, winning The Apprentice and working with Lord Sugar has taught me how to overcome and excel with any business challenge, enabling me to successfully develop Climb Online at scale.
You consider yourself the most successful winner from The Apprentice do you put this down to your wealth or fame?
Mark Wright : I am considered the most successful winner of BBC’s The Apprentice to date, because I am the only winner to turnover in excess of £1 Million during my first year of trading with digital marketing agency, Climb Online. As a business we have continued to exceed our growth targets year on year and have been extremely profitable from month two.
Innovation is key to business success, and as a Business Owner I have worked hard to do and be different. Aside from breaking the mould in digital marketing with Climb Online through our culture and business practices, I was the first Apprentice candidate to be listed on Forbes 30 under 30 and, in the same year, achieved a number of other accolades including the Institute of Director’s Young Director of the Year Award. For me, The Apprentice was never about fame, it was about business and provided an excellent platform to kick-start my journey as a leading Entrepreneur.
Would you be prepared to share the story of your journey at events and also be available for future media opportunities?
Mark Wright : Yes, of course – this is something I do regularly and thoroughly enjoy. For any speaking opportunities, please email [email protected]
What was your biggest mistake and what did you learn from it?
Mark Wright : Hiring the wrong people. In my time in business I have hired some very poor staff. I was once told that customers are never the problem in business is, it’s always the staff and that one bad apple can rot the whole tree. I have learnt that good people cost good money and that all staff need continued development at all levels.
Who or what has been most influential in your career and why?
Mark Wright : My Mum and Dad were both business owners and that was what made me want to run my own company (to be like them). From there I would say that Lord Sugar has more recently played a huge part in shaping my career. I guess that's what going on The Apprentice is all about.
Russ Turner 》If you could eat dinner with 3 people living or deceased who would it be?
The three people I would want to eat dinner with are Andrew Carnegie, Barack Obama and Ricky Gervais.
I admire all three of these people for different reasons, but what brings them together is their innovative approach to their career and goals.
What advice can you give to small business owners on how to take their business to the next level regarding raising finance?
Mark Wright : The first thing is you must want to take your business to the next level. So many people run “lifestyle businesses” and get caught up being small time. You would be surprised how easy it is to scale a business when you have the right systems and processes in place. You need a good core leadership team, a quality product and/or service delivering and consistent sales and marketing strategy. Once you have runs on the board (i.e. sales/ profit) it’s MUCH easier to gain investment.
Your company Climb Online what differentiates you and makes you stand out from your competitors and do you have any business moves in the pipeline?
Mark Wright : Climb Online inspires business owners to believe that their digital marketing can be done differently, by combining a high standard of customer service with an incredible return on investment. This led by our company mantra ‘If you grow, we grow”, which couldn’t be more accurate.
In finding Climb Online, I wanted to do something that would immediately set us aside from competitors whilst positioning us a digital marketing authority – As a result, we transformed conventional digital marketing services to appear as purchasable products: ‘Organic Climber’ ‘Paid Climber’ ‘Social Climber’ and ‘Creative Climber’, marrying the Climb Online brand to the service and redefining digital marketing as a whole.
This innovative approach, supported by a strong company culture has enabled us to secure contracts with hundreds of Businesses across the UK and overseas.
In addition to our core service offering, we are always thinking of new ways in which we can lead the sector, and have our very own training course, the ‘Climb Academy’, created to help reduce the digital skills gap by training entry level candidates in digital marketing.
What 3 key pieces of advice would you give to all aspiring entrepreneurs?
Mark Wright : Start: There is never a ‘right time’ to take a risk and start a business – be it personal issues or the state of the economy. Stop questioning what could go wrong, stop making excuses and start working towards your goals. It may be scary, but it’s exciting as hell.
Show up: So many people start a business, but give up far too easily. I’ll be completely honest, it’s a hard and often lonely road, with consistent challenges and issues that arise – particularly as your business expands and scales. Ultimately those who literally show up daily, work hard and remain in the game long enough, are those who will succeed. There is no real secret to business success, it’s a fact of consistent, hard work.
Be knowledgeable in the sector you operate in: So many people start businesses in sectors they have no experience in, which is bound to failure. If you like the idea of being the next recruitment expert, then you need to have worked within that sector for a number of years, preferably within an industry top dog. Learn the business model, understand their pitfalls and improve them when you go it alone.
Has your upbringing played any part in your success?
Mark Wright : Definitely. I grew up in Armidale, Australia, where my Dad is the local Mechanic and my Mum is the local Hairdresser. From a young age, both my parents ran their own businesses, which is something I always aspired to; having spent many weekends helping my Dad at the garage.
Despite inheriting their exceptional work ethic, on leaving school I didn’t quite know what sector I wanted to develop a business in, made worse by the fact I didn’t achieve any qualifications as I struggled [unknowingly] with dyslexia. All I did know is that I wanted to be a businessman and also had an interest in health and fitness so quickly became a personal trainer. When working at the Personal Training College, the Owner needed to increase sales, and I suggested that we build a website and sell our course online. From here, I taught myself digital marketing and within a matter of months, the Personal Training College went from generating 2,000 Aus Dollars per month in revenue to 240,000.
From here, I knew that I wanted to help other businesses grow through effective digital marketing and after multiple years working for various agencies, the concept for Climb Online was born.
Mark Wright now regularly mixes with an even more successful circle of friends since he won The Apprentice in 2014, see Mark below with the self proclaimed ‘Best Salesman on the Planet’ Grant Cardone
Who do you consider to be an exceptional entrepreneur?
Mark Wright : This would definitely be Andrew Carnegie: The way he created and dominated a whole industry over 100 years ago, whilst coming from a poor background is both unbelievable and admirable. I would encourage any aspiring Entrepreneur to read his story and research his journey, I guarantee you will learn a lot about business and success.
Do you need your company to be seen, heard and recognized as a leader in its industry?
We here at Business Digest Magazine give Mark Wright & Climb Online our seal of approval. To learn how Climb Online can help your company visit > Climb Online
“Climb Online is the result of what happens when an amazingly ambitious person gets the opportunity to seize the day”
