Trials don鈥檛 come much harder than battling it out with 17 other candidates to win Lord Sugar鈥檚 拢250,000听investment 鈥� all in front of a TV audience of millions.
However, that鈥檚 exactly what Melica Moshiri did when she appeared in the current series of听The Apprentice.
The 32-year-old is the founder and director of AI recruitment firm SkillTorch and told 老九品茶Cloud of the lies she told her family and friends to explain her long absences for filming.
鈥淢y friends either thought that I was on jury service or that I鈥檇 gone to Iran because that鈥檚 where my family are from,鈥� she admitted. 鈥淢ost of them believed me.鈥�
Viewers have seen her survive the first two trials but strict rules mean Moshiri can鈥檛 discuss how much further she progresses in the show.
However the self-confessed 鈥榙igital nomad鈥� is more determined than ever to use the experiences gained on the show to build a global tech business.
Moshiri has been running her company since August 2022 and operates across the UK, Europe and the US, matching tech talent with top AI companies.
Being her own boss has always been her ambition 鈥� as it鈥檚 also helped her combine it with her other passion for travel.
鈥淲herever I鈥檝e been, I鈥檝e always been the top revenue generator,鈥� she said, 鈥渟o it just kind of made sense that I鈥檇 start my own recruitment company.
‘I wanted eyeballs rather than Lord Sugar鈥檚 拢250k’ – The Apprentice star
鈥淧eople told me for years to start my own recruitment company. Even my old boss said to me, 鈥榶ou鈥檙e going to be a CEO one day.鈥�
鈥淚 did always think that I could do with mentorship and investment from someone like Lord Sugar, which is one of the reasons why I applied to appear on听The Apprentice.听He鈥檚 a business tycoon and he鈥檚 so successful.
鈥淗e鈥檚 also invested in four or five other recruitment companies and some of them are still doing well.鈥�
Moshiri has been described as the 鈥榞lobetrotter鈥� on the show but she insisted her love of travel has been no obstacle to building a business.
鈥淲hen I do go away, I actually end up closing deals and I come back so refreshed,鈥� she said.
鈥淲ith the ability to work remotely, I鈥檓 always taking my work with me. It鈥檚 something I can do as a business owner.鈥�
Moshiri revealed she鈥檚 already had a couple of investment inquiries since the current series started being screened.
Asked about her approach on the show she said: 鈥淚 think I鈥檓 honest and I stand up for myself. I think I just say it how it is and I鈥檓 real.
鈥淚 said to myself 鈥業鈥檓 just going to be myself and really show who I am and how authentic I am鈥�. Why pretend to be someone you鈥檙e not?
鈥淚n my job I鈥檝e had to teach myself to be resilient and have a thick skin, so I almost need to be working in a competitive environment.
The Apprentice star swapping hospitals for Lord Sugar鈥檚 boardroom
鈥淲e鈥檙e all different characters and we鈥檙e all very competitive people, and I actually really enjoyed working with different types of people.
鈥淕oing on the show was the first time I actually got to know other people in other industries.
鈥淚 actually thought it was quite nice to meet those kinds of people with all sorts of different types of talent.鈥�