Tim Campbell - Living and Learning
As another series of The Apprentice draws to a close, Caitlin Mackesy Davies caught up with Tim Campbell, its first and arguably most successful winner, to discuss bright ideas, the Big Society and being a social entrepreneur.
First, tell me about the social enterprise you head up, the Bright Ideas Trust.
Bright Ideas Trust is a registered charity that focuses on helping people who are from inner city areas in London who want to start a business, but can’t do it because of lack of capital, bad choices they may have made previously, or the fact that they just don’t have the knowledge or experience to do it. We help them to take their passions and make them into businesses.
After your success on The Apprentice, you could have done anything – why did this project capture your imagination?
For me it was why not? I wish that I’d had the opportunity when I was younger to participate in business and found the advice and guidance and the financial and mental support for that. I still have commercial businesses that run outside of the Trust and run concurrently.
This idea that you have to choose a particular path – either the hard-nosed business route or the save-the-world route – is kind of a false distinction. The reality for me is that I am able to do both at the same time.
Why did you choose to be a Community Interest Company (CIC) rather than simply a registered charity?
The catalyst for going down the CIC route was the change in the law that brought about the CIC in the first place – which was to find a bridge between charities and limited companies. The idea was that a CIC was going to be further developed so it was easier to manage assets and the transfer of assets in a vehicle that was outwardly all about doing good, but actually functioned in a very similar, dynamic way as a normal limited company. We wanted to make it clear to people we were going out to get support from that this was something that was going to do good within the community.
Unfortunately, that transition [of the CIC] hasn’t developed as quickly as we envisaged. There isn’t enough focus on enterprise as well as the social aspect – I think the combination of the two is really important.
Do young people feel that they can succeed? Is society sending that message?
I think it’s happening by accident, which is dangerous because it is unmanaged and therefore can’t be scaled up or focused to the point that we need it to be in this country. The reality is that people coming from school are thinking about how they make a difference to their lives. They are constantly reading about the three Rs – redundancy, repossession and recession – and they are thinking: "Oh my gosh, what am I going to do?"
Thankfully, into that void where education isn’t really stepping up to the mark, is communication via magazines and websites, and television of course, talking about the journey of entrepreneurs, taking control and creating wealth for themselves.
What I would love is for this to stop happening by accident, and that we embed in our education system much more [teaching] around wealth creation, about business and commerce, and dispel the myths about business being bad, Fat Cats and bonuses, and that nonsense.
We need to have more people who walk out of school thinking "Yes, I could start a business", be that social or purely commercial, and “Yes, I can create wealth”. You have far too much emphasis on people attaining letters after their name, rather than thinking: "What can I do with my head and my hands to create wealth in this country?"
What do you feel about the Big Society? Does the government need to do more to get us all energised?
That’s not government’s job, that’s not what government is for. I’m not sitting around waiting for David Cameron and Nick Clegg to come along and save me, and anyone who is is going to be waiting a long time. For one thing, that’s not their job, and for another there is an element of personal responsibility in this situation.
What we have to be clear about is that successful people drive themselves forward. I think what government can do is to create an environment in which there is a meritocracy – where if you work hard, you are going to get what you deserve.
What’s the greatest lesson you took away from your Apprentice experience?
It’s interesting, I separate the BBC TV show from my actual apprenticeship. The show was very much around direct competition with individuals who all claimed to be shining stars in their own right. There was only ever going to be one outcome from that. You are going to get a clash of personalities, and people who are going to do what they think is necessary to get that particular prize.
My real education came working for two years for Lord Sugar. I saw the power of engaging people, enhancing talent, focusing on people who weren’t strong in your team to make the team better overall, understanding about deliverables, understanding how business actually worked – because I had to build a company from scratch. It is really about people. Successful businesses have successful people and successful relationships with those people. That’s what makes a difference.
Do you still feel you are an apprentice in any way?
In many ways yes, but not like on the show! I’m still constantly learning, which is fun, but more about business, myself and my role as a family man.
