Boost Juice founder Janine Allis is no stranger to a television set, having already been on Network Ten’s Shark Tank.
Now, the entrepreneur is starring alongside Lord Alan Sugar on Celebrity Apprentice Australia 2021 as one of his two advisors, with Lorna Jane founder, Lorna Jane Clarkson.
For Allis, working with the celebrities and hearing their personal stories were the most memorable part of the experience.
“We had a beautiful moment with The Veronicas because their mum is really sick,” Allis told The Latch.
“Sometimes it’s just listening to them and going, ‘that is really sh*t. That is just horrible.’ And then just giving them the time to tell me about their beautiful mother and how divine she is.”
She continued: “I also have admiration for Ross Noble who has this incredible story about where he lives. There were massive fires and deaths and that part of what his charity, The Red Cross, is all about. Raising money for those people that really needed help during the fires. They all have their various reasons for being there and it’s very real for them.”
Between Allis, Lord Sugar and Clarkson are multi-billions of dollars worth of business acumen, however, Allis was surprised at how the celebrities faired.
“I think genuinely I was surprised how they were there for the right reasons,” Allis said. “I think you always see someone like a Martha [Kalifatidis] and go, ‘Oh, yeah, yeah. La da da,’ but you know, she’s a smart, savvy businesswoman. She’s got it going on,” she revealed.
“Wippa [Michael Wipfli] was obviously a charmer and David [Genat] — he just really did a great job at narrating the whole thing. Shayna [Blaze] was also very good. There were a number of people who stood out.”
Speaking to her experience on Shark Talk and more recently Celebrity Apprentice, Allis explained why the two business-led shows are so different.
“It is different in some respects,” she said. “In Shark Tank, they’ve already got businesses and they’re at that stage where they need help. Am I going to give some advice to Alex [celebrity Alex Hayes] on social media? No. But there are also other elements of his business that I can assist with.”
That being said, Allis did take away some lessons herself from the celebrities despite being their advisor.
“At different times, different people teach you all sorts of things. You’ve just got to listen,” she said.
Celebrity Apprentice Australia will air on Channel Nine and 9Now from Sunday to Tuesday.
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