Life after the Apprentice seems rewarding for season 1o contestant Steuart Martens. While I was conducting this interview, Steuart was on the beach in Jamaica enjoying his vacation.
Steuart Martens, 27 (Washington, D.C.), born and raised in Washington DC, was the successful owner of four companies. Unfortunately, as the economy took a downturn, Martens was forced to close down two of his companies and lay off his entire staff. A serial entrepreneur, he is always looking for the next big business venture opportunity. Martens attended Purdue University on a swimming scholarship and received a Bachelor of Science in business. He also made it to the Olympic trials for swimming and is heavily involved in DC government.
Like all the candidates of the Apprenctice, Steuart’s ultimate goal was to become the Apprentice, but his efforts were cut short. Here Steuart expressed his frustration and moving forward.
When you walked out of the boardroom after being fired what was going through your head?
Steuart Martens: “It was an awful moment. I was really, really angry because, being a competitor, it’s really hard to lose. I know he said there were no losers but as far as I’m concerned I lost and it’s not fun. I’m a really, really strong competitor. When I walked out of there I had no idea why I was fired… I did everything I was asked to do and did it without any failure so it was extremely frustrating.”
How helpful was your consultation with Cathie Black in terms of continuing your career and what advice did she give you?
Steuart Martens: “When you meet anybody who is an industry leader like that and who has a lot of experience, especially running such a large entity, it’s great to just pick their brain and have a nice conversation with them. The biggest thing I took away from Cathie was that she is somewhat familiar with [the idea of keeping] your overheads down especially when you are moving fast.”
What have you taken away from the experience and would you do it again?
Steuart Martens: “I would definitely do it again. I really loved the experience, it was great. It was a great period of my life where I got to learn a lot about the entertainment industry and a lot about other people. It was just a phenomenal thing for me… When you’re in a stressful situation and working almost 20 hours a day for weeks on end you really learn to focus and for me that was the problem I had when I started four companies and was all over the place… That experience taught me to slow down, take a look and [follow things through to] completion and just really stay focused on a couple of things.”
By: Daedrian McNaughton