A MAN is on track to be Britain's richest Apprentice winner after "sacking" Lord Sugar.
Joseph Valente, 35, bagged business tycoon Sugar's £250,000 investment in 2015 before ditching him two years later to regain control of the boiler installation firm.
The ex-plumber axed his partnership before the business dived and ended up owing £2m in debts.
Valente then set up mentoring empire Trade Mastermind which he claims will be a £100-million-a-year business in the next year.
He said: “I deliver the tools for people from all trades to transform fledgling ventures into multi-million-pound commercial empires, rather than risking failure as they expand out of their entrepreneurial comfort zone.
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“My ‘students’ learn quickly how to cut through to core areas of business such as company structure, planning and strategy, marketing, sales operations, recruitment, human resources, IT, finance management, and even exit strategy – all topics I had to learn the hard way.
“It took three years to refine the course, but we are now experiencing exponential growth and I fully expect us to be a £100-million-a-year business within the next year or so.”
Trade Mastermind recorded one million pound in sales last month.
The landmark came just weeks after the firm expanded into its new home in Peterborough, Cambs.
Valente's new headquarters includes two training suites for around 200 learners.
He previously told The Sun that working with Lord Sugar was "tough" - even after being subjected to the intense interview process on the BBC hit show.
Valente said: "It’s the toughest challenge by far.
"I have never been in an interview process that's anywhere near as intense as that and I've hired nearly a thousand people in the last 12 years.
“No one conducts interviews to that level and to that intensity. So it's not like the real world, it's a hundred times harder.
“They really, really do put the pressure on and they go in hard.
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"They're doing so much background research on you, most companies wouldn't go into that level of detail in the real world.
“But if you can prepare yourself for and survive a scenario like that, everything else is a walk in the park as far as I'm concerned.”
And the entrepreneur is now stranger to living the high life after his win.
From jetting off to live in Marbella to rubbing shoulders with fellow millionaires, Valente has enjoyed his successes.
He recently revealed he has "driven every single supercar there is" - leasing them to "treat like toys".
Despite his appreciation of ultra-fast motors, Valente's true motoring love is his everyday car - a Range Rover Sport SVR.
He said: "It's fast, it's comfortable, it looks good.
"I don't think there is a practical everyday car out there in the market that matches that car. That's the one for me."
Valente was snapped at an event in London with the UK's richest gypsy Alfie Best, 54.
Sharing the picture on X/Twitter, Valente wrote: "Fantastic time in London last night thanks Alfie Best for having us! It was great to catch up! #success #mindset."
Best, who was born in a caravan on a layby in Leicester, now runs a residential park homes Wyldecrest Parks.
The empire which made £32MILLION in 2022.
