She was shown the door by Lord Alan Sugar in week six of the BBC business contest. But a year on after the show was filmed Amy Anzel is celebrating her success without the billionaire tycoon.
Candidates on The Apprentice battle it out to win £250,000 investment into their business idea and Lord Sugar becomes their business partner. Beauty entrepreneur Amy, 49, the CEO of dermaplaning brand Hollywood Browzer Beauty, was fired halfway through the process with a scathing dig from the magnate about her not becoming a project manager during her time on the show, despite her being sub team leader in four out of six tasks on the contest.
Lord Sugar referenced how New Yorker Amy had lived in Los Angeles and asked her if she was an 'LA Dodger'. He sniped: "You dodged the project management side of things, you've been here six weeks to show that you can do something, and you haven't shown me you can do something. And so it is with regret that you're fired. Thank you."
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Amy, whose a beauty tools brand that specialises in dermaplaning, hair removal and exfoliation tools, is now aiming for her business to become as big as Coca-Cola. She founded Hollywood Browzer Beauty back in 2017 and before the Apprentice her products were already stocked by retail giants including Boots, Argos, ASOS, Look Fantastic, Feel Unique and QVC.
But she has now landed her biggest business deal to-date with high street fashion retailer River Island. Hollywood Browzer Beauty has now launched across River Island’s online beauty offering and is being rolled out into hundreds of their stores across the UK.
Amy says this is the perfect pairing for her brand. She told the Manchester Evening News: "I am thrilled. I am so happy to go into this arena.
"This time last year I was probably being fired or coming out of the house. It's surreal that it's been a whole year and look where I am now, no thanks to Lord Sugar."
She added: "The best thing that could have happened is being fired in week six. So many great companies have approached us. They saw through the show and didn't think I was some idiot."
When Amy launched the brand five years ago, she started with just a £5,000 budget - and without any outside investment and still owning 100-per-cent of her business today, the brand has continued to go from strength to strength, with Amy having now sold over 3.5 million units worldwide.
As a former actress and producer Amy spent hours in make-up trailers and backstage dressing rooms around the world and picked up tips and tricks from various makeup artists and Hollywood stars.
The first products to launch with River Island are the brand's hero products The Hollywood Browzer Brow Perfecter and Dermaplaning Tool and the Hollywood Smoother, a sonic dermaplaning device in pastel pink, black and rose gold.
Mum-of-one Amy said about the collaboration: “We are very proud and excited to now be stocked at River Island, offering River Island customers the chance to get their ultimate glow on, without the need to visit a salon.”
And reflecting on her time on The Apprentice, she added: “My time on the Apprentice was shorter than I would have liked, but I had an amazing experience and am grateful to have had the opportunity to be part of the show. It’s given me the drive to push on even harder with my baby Hollywood Browzer Beauty, which I’m very pleased to say is growing rapidly.”
Amy continued: "I truly believe that everything happens for a reason - giving Lord Sugar a 50 per-cent stake of my business for £250,000 would be massively undervaluing where the business stands currently. I’ve just landed a fantastic deal with fashion giant River Island, which I’m thrilled about, and I’m confident my team and I will continue to scale up and grow the brand to huge heights.
“I like to think that in years to come Lord Sugar will regret his decision - I have the passion and drive to turn Hollywood Browzer Beauty into the next Coca Cola of the beauty world - and I won’t rest until I achieve that goal." Amy's products are currently stocked in over 147 countries around the world.
Amy was born in New York but has lived in London for the past 12 years and is a regular visitor to Manchester. Her celeb pals in the city include Coronation Street stars Katie McGlynn, Lisa George and Victoria Ekanoye and model Rhian Sugden.
Amy, who appeared on the first series of The Bachelor in 2002 in the hunt for a husband on the US reality series in which a bachelor dates a group of women over several weeks, in 2013 crowdfunded a musical version of US comedy series Happy Days, raising £250,000 from 345 investors in just six weeks.
Her theatre roles include Marty in the European tour of Grease, Cinderella with Jimmy Osmond, and the US tour of Annie. As a producer she has worked on shows such as the Olivier award-winning Dreamgirls, the UK tour of Legally Blonde and Moby Dick.
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