Wirral fashion designer on why The Apprentice rejection was the best thing for her business

When designer Karina Molby came so close to appearing on The Apprentice, only to be rejected in the final round, she admits she was heartbroken.

Karina had hoped a potential partnership with Lord Sugar on The Apprentice would give her slow sustainable fashion brand Floor Fourteen the boost it needed.

“I loved doing it but it just wasn’t going that well so when I was watching the show one night I thought I’d give it a shot and apply,” she says.

“I got down to the final round, the last 80 out of over 10,000 applicants, but then that was it and I felt so deflated. I thought, how will I ever do it now?”

Little did she know that 18 months later in September 2020, with the country still in lockdown, she’d be launching a new brand that would become a big success and a celebrity favourite … all without any help from TV mentors or investors.

Karina’s Wirral-based business, Molby the Label, has since featured in countless fashion magazines and become a popular choice for stylists. One of her dresses even appeared in a Disney movie.

Now, with a new series of The Apprentice about to start, 31-year-old Karina can look back positively on her own near-miss experience.

She recalls: “I did the online application, got through, and went to Manchester to audition. 

“I’d had a heads-up from a previous contestant that there was a ‘30 seconds to impress’ round but I wasn’t sure what to do because I didn’t really have any success in business at the time, so I thought I’d sing a song to stand out.

“There were hundreds of people in a hotel and they were calling up 15 at a time to be seen by directors of the show. Everyone was saying things like ‘I’ve raised £50,000 for charity’ or ‘I’ve had five promotions and I’m only 21.’ 

“I stepped forward, pressed play on my phone and sang Freed from Desire with the lyrics changed to ‘Lord Sugar’s on fire.’ Everyone was clapping and I got through!”

Karina completed more rounds, talking about her business and her application, and was told she was through to the next stage in London.

There she faced a further six rounds, including a 60-second challenge to sell broken objects, and a boys versus girls one to build an IKEA desk.

“The whole day was filmed as if you were on telly and I just felt so awkward, I wasn’t myself at all,” Karina remembers. “When we left they said we’d find out on a particular date and if we didn’t get a call we hadn’t got through. 

“I was still really hopeful, I’d actually planned all my outfits for the show on a PowerPoint while I was at work, so I kept my phone on speaker all day but by 9pm when there was no call I knew it was all over.”

Despite her disappointment, Karina carried on sewing in evenings and weekends in her garage but when lockdown was announced she worried that could spell the end for her business.

“I thought there was no point doing it because nobody was going out so nobody would be buying anything. But then a friend I went to uni with started her brand up again and she told me she was the busiest she’d ever been. 

“I made a top, my first one in lockdown, and sold eight in a day whereas I’d normally sell eight in a month. I realised people were actually spending money even though they weren’t going anywhere. 

“I kept designing, one or two influencers bought my dresses, they posted them and I started getting loads of messages and followers. 

“At first It was still just me in my garage and I could only make 15 dresses a week so I used to open the website on a Sunday, take those orders then close it. 

“When the orders grew, I got two or three seamstresses in, and my mother-in-law was helping me. Within a couple of months I’d open the website at 6pm and have to close it at 6.05pm with 100 orders, it was absolutely crazy.”

Actress Cath Tyldesley gave Karina’s brand its first TV exposure, and orders came in from other celebrity fans including Laura Whitmore, Louise Thompson and Vicky Pattison. 

In October last year, Molby the Label – which now has a team of 12 – moved into a new studio in Eastham. 

“One of our dresses was worn in the Disney film Stargirl which was really cool,” says Karina. “And one of my proudest moments was when the BBC invited me to go back to my old school, Pensby High School, and talk about my business.”

Karina, daughter of charity fundraiser Mandy and LFC star Jan Molby, is happy to be an example of what you can achieve even when things don’t always go to plan.

“I always think now I am glad I didn’t get on to The Apprentice because I don’t think my business would be doing what it’s doing if I had. Everything happens for a reason.”

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