Dean Franklin was crowned winner of series 19 of The Apprentice in April, securing £250,000 investment and the title of Lord Sugar’s latest business partner for his company ADL Air Conditioning.
Just more than three months on from this achievement, Dean spoke to the Recorder about how life and business has progressed since.
He said: “Winning the show still feels great.
“It’s one of those things that I’ve always wanted to do and now that I’ve actually done it I’m just thinking about what’s next.
“I want to get the business to a good, profitable position so it’s running comfortably and smoothly.”
In the show, Dean claimed he would use Lord Sugar’s investment to increase ADL’s capacity through buying more vans and hiring more engineers, which he said were the first things he did after the series aired.
He has doubled the number of company vehicles from three to six and now has 10 staff members.
“We’ve got more vans, we’ve got an office, we’ve got more engineers but the trouble is we need more already.
“The workload thanks to this heatwave has been incredible – it’s ridiculous at the minute.”
Dean’s journey to success was not all plain sailing though and in the semi-final he was put through his paces in an interview with Mike Soutar.
“I know I made the mistake in the interview and couldn’t get my words out but if I had got my words right then the interview would have gone so much better and they wouldn’t have had anything on me.
“Now people are realising we actually do need air conditioning – they’re saying ‘that guy from The Apprentice was right’.”
“I’m getting stopped for selfies and I’m being asked questions which is great but I’m still the same old Dean,” he said.
“I’ve not changed – I still like going out and about doing quotes for jobs and working hard.
“The work hasn’t stopped – if anything I’m working harder now than I ever have before.
“I like being stopped for pictures and asked about the show – it’s good to talk about.
“It’s not so great when they come and stop me when I’m eating my dinner – that can be a bit annoying but I like talking to people so it’s all good.”
He was even spotted in Upminster last month taking photos with school children.
He said: “I’m dealing with his team all the time but I did wake up to a few messages from him the other morning which was great.
“Lord Sugar is the man for business knowledge – anything I need, him and his team will organise and sort out so it’s still early doors but everything’s going well and I’m really happy at the minute.”
As the series progressed this year, Dean coined the nickname ‘Daddy Cool’ and utilised the 1976 Boney M. song in his public presentation task in the final.
“Every time the song comes on they go ‘Dad your song is on’ – it’s a cool nickname and it fits in really well with me and my business.”
Dean confirmed that for now, his attention is solely on ADL Air Conditioning amidst the summer weather.
“It’s been very, very busy for us – we’ve just had our busiest month ever – it’s been insane.
“It’s been a struggle to keep up with at times and we’ve had to work really hard but I couldn’t be more proud of the team I’ve got.
“I’m not trying to run before I can walk. I want the business to grow organically and naturally – that’s the best way a business can grow.”
