‘I lost it all by 29…’: Controversial Apprentice winner reveals how he bounced back from ‘catastrophic’ £2million collapse to rebuild his empire — now making over £3million and vowing to become a billionaire by 50… - suong
THE Apprentice winner Joseph Valente has bounced back from a “catastrophic” business fail to make a huge sum of money.
The flashy entrepreneur, 36, who began life as a plumber before launching his own
His firm Trade Mastermind Limited, which helps tradesmen scale their operations, has posted an impressive bottom line in its latest accounts filed to Companies House.
The business has £157k in cash, but is owed a cool £3.277m from debtors – almost triple the previous filing.
It also has a security blanket in the form of a profit and loss reserve of £1,005,496.
Joseph has never been short of confidence and at the weekend laid bare a bold ambition to become a billionaire by the age of 50.
In a candid Facebook post, he said: “I made millions in my 20s and by 29, I’d lost it all.
“A meteoric rise building one of the fastest-growing businesses the construction industry had ever seen… followed by a catastrophic fall.”
Revealing how he bounced back from his business setback, he continued: “I went back to work harder than ever before seven days a week for five years starting from a laptop on a shoebox in my living room during lockdown. From that, I built what’s now become the world’s largest education business for trades.”
Joseph said he wants to have nine figures in cash no later than the age of 40, which he believes will set him on a path to make a billion in the decade that follows.
It would be a monumental change in fortunes following the collapse of his boiler installation firm ImpraGas in 2017, which reportedly racked up £2m in debt.
Initially, the company was a success, bringing in annual sales of more than £10m and employing more than 150 people.
But just three years after Lord Sugar sold his shares back to Joseph in 2017 – two years on from pumping in a £250k investment – Joseph was forced to sell the indebted firm to Rel Capital.
Earlier this year, Joseph reflected on how the BBC‘s Apprentice has changed from his series in 2015.
“Now, it’s ‘Love Island In Suits. In 2015, we weren’t allowed to use social media either while involved with the show. Now it’s a self-promotion free-for-all all.
“The more drama and attention, the more eyeballs. We live in a clickbait world, so scandals boost the ratings.
“What hasn’t changed is the stresses and strains on the contestants, which are carefully orchestrated and are even worse than you assume from the TV footage.”
Gia Giudice Breaks Silence on Rumors of Secret Marriage to Boyfriend Christian Carmichael trucc
The 'Next Gen NYC' star, 24, has been dating Carmichael since 2020
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Gia Giudice is setting the record straight.
In the Nov. 3 episode of her podcast, Casual Chaos, the 24-year-old daughter of Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice addressed the "crazy rumors" circulating online that she got married.
She began by sharing that there is a "crazy AI account on Facebook" that has been "making the most fake news" about her life. One of those "news" headlines was that she has tied the knot with boyfriend Christian Carmichael — and it seems some people have taken it as truth.
"I was in the nail salon the other day, and this lady was like, 'Oh, my God, your wedding dress was gorgeous.' And I was like, 'What is she talking about?' " Gia recalled. "Like, I did not get married, nor am I engaged, nor did I have a secret wedding with only my immediate family. Like, none of this happened."
"Like, we're not getting married," the Next Gen NYC star continued, referring to Carmichael.
Gia said there are also rumors that she's "been pregnant before," to which she responded: "Not pregnant. Maybe I just looked chunky that day."
As for all the fake news, she told her viewers, "Just ignore it all."
"Like, no one's pregnant. No one's married. No one's engaged," she said.
Gia went on to speak about her relationship with Carmichael, whom she began dating in 2020 after the pair met during a beach weekend in New Jersey ahead of her freshman year of college at Rutgers University.
"We've been together since we were 19," she said, before sharing what keeps their connection solid. "I think the foundation of our relationship is honestly trust. We've been through a lot. We've been through a lot of ups and downs. So I think the biggest thing is trust. And we're still going strong."
Gia previously noted on her podcast that her family fully supports her relationship with Carmichael.
"My mom loves Christian," she said. "But, you know, Christian honestly has an amazing relationship with everyone in my family."
She shared that Carmichael has also visited her father, Joe Giudice, in the Bahamas, where he lives. "You guys have a great relationship," Gia told her boyfriend, who had joined her on the podcast episode at the time. "You guys always joke around with each other."
While she's not engaged or married, Gia did recently make a major life change, finally deciding to move out of her mom's home and into an apartment. She revealed during her Nov. 3 podcast episode that she is set to move to Jersey City, N.J., "in one week."
Addressing whether she sees herself ever leaving her home state of New Jersey, she said, "I'm open to exploring other towns in my 20s, whether it's Brooklyn or I do move to [New York City]. But Jersey City was a good step for me because my heart will always be in Jersey."
"My family's here. My boyfriend's here. And it's just the perfect happy medium to make my commute easier to the city, but then also make it easy for me to just get on the highway and come see my family or boyfriend," she continued. "So I don't know. I'm open to exploring in my 20s, but long term, yes. I think I will always be in Jersey."
