HOW I MADE IT
Lord Sugar was so impressed with us, he put skin in the game
Susie Ma, founder and chief executive of Tropic
Susie Ma saw her sales rise twenty-fold after appearing on The Apprentice
TROPIC
It wasn’t the welcome Susie Ma had envisaged. Having landed at Heathrow airport with her mother, the pair were surrounded by their suitcases when they called a family friend who had previously offered them a place to stay.
“She said to my mum: ‘You are such an idiot. Why would you come to the UK with no job lined up? If I let you stay with me, you’ll never leave my home. So I’m sorry, I can’t even let you stay for one night,’ ” recalled Ma, who was 13 at the time.
With little money, they asked at the airport help desk what the options were for inexpensive accommodation. It was suggested they try a homestay — renting a room in someone’s home. The
