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| The ecstatic Yours Truly team: Martha Prange, Dade Migas, Julian Crick and Alexa Grey. (Bruce Bottomley Photo) |
There was no 鈥測ou鈥檙e fired,鈥� and no bad-boy billionaire with a comb-over, but other aspects of The Apprentice rang true for four AV俱乐部 commerce students who triumphed in the .
The experience truly felt, in the words of its tagline, like the 鈥渢he ultimate job interview.鈥�
鈥淭rumped has given us an amazing portfolio of work that really impresses people,鈥� says Alexa Grey, whose team claimed the briefcase-shaped trophy after a two-month-long competition. 鈥淏eing overwhelmed, and still getting through it, was great 鈥� this is what we want to do, so it鈥檚 reassuring to know that we can do.鈥�
Trumped is a business competition for university-level entrepreneurs based on Donald Trump鈥檚 reality show The Apprentice. Hosted by Saint Mary鈥檚 University, almost 50 university teams competed in Trumped, which like the TV show, gives competitors a series of tasks 鈥� each followed by a recap in the boardroom.
鈥淵ours Truly鈥濃�攖he Dal team comprised of Alexa Grey, Martha Prange, Julian Crick, and Dade Migas鈥攅ntered on a whim. The day applications were due, Mr. Crick and Mr. Migas approached Ms. Prange, asking her to fill out their team. They already had Ms. Grey, who had organized two successful charity fashion shows, onside. 鈥淚 said I鈥檒l join, but only if we win,鈥� recalls Ms. Prange. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 realize how competitive we were until we started this competition.鈥�
Trumped presented three separate challenges 鈥� the first, a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society. Yours Truly organized a concert, two bar nights, and a cookbook signing (Martha Prange spent the summer honing her business savvy by republishing her grandmother鈥檚 muffin cookbook, Muffin Mania). They ended up raising more than $8,000 and placing first. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how we won,鈥� laughs Ms. Prange. 鈥淚 think it was out of fear.鈥�
Only half the teams proceeded to the second challenge, designing an advertising campaign for ice-cream seller Pinky鈥檚. Yours Truly bagged this challenge, too. 鈥淥ur angle for the Pinky鈥檚 ad was that you could be a complete slob while you were eating their products, as long as you kept your pinkies up,鈥� explains Ms. Prange.
Pinky鈥檚 will be running the billboard and radio ads designed by the students this summer.
Eight teams proceeded to the third round, a challenge from Molson鈥檚, which is sponsoring Halifax鈥檚 summer KISS concert. The challenge was to design the Molson鈥檚 VIP tent and do promotions for the concert. Yours Truly put together a promotional plan, from VIP cards to posters, and Ms. Grey even enlisted two models from her fashion shows to help with a photo shoot.
While Yours Truly came in third in the Molson鈥檚 challenge, they were the overall winners by a landslide. As well as winning, the students came away from Trumped with job skills, networking contacts and a ton of stellar references.
鈥淲e think it鈥檒l open a lot of doors,鈥� says Ms. Prange. That鈥檚 an understatement. 鈥擬s. Prange and Ms. Grey鈥檚 new business venture鈥攄oesn鈥檛 even have a website ready, and they鈥檙e already receiving work offers.
鈥淚鈥檝e never been invested in something the way I was in this competition,鈥� she adds. 鈥淭his is real-world success and accomplishments鈥� a lot of things I learned in the classroom, I was able to apply.聽 Plus, we had a lot of fun. We did this with friends. It was work, but we had a really good time.鈥�
They鈥檙e still riding high on their success, so what鈥檚 in the future for Yours Truly? For one thing, they鈥檙e going to spend the Travel CUTS money they won in the challenges. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e probably going to go to Florida,鈥� says Ms. Prange.
Adds Ms. Grey: 鈥淭o spend time on the beach and relax!鈥�
鈥淭o write our business plan,鈥� her friend corrects.