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JANUARY 2011 SPOTLIGHT
International Corporate Lawyer. Entrepreneur-Cupcake-Baking Extraordinaire. Donald Trump's next Apprentice.
January 2011 Spotlight winner, Brandy Kuentzel is the essence of elegance under pressure. She showed us the ability to stay true to herself while staying focused on success.
January 2011 Spotlight winner, Brandy Kuentzel is the essence of elegance under pressure. She showed us the ability to stay true to herself while staying focused on success.
28 million people tuned in and watched as she conquered the job interview of a lifetime. As polished and eloquent as she is, there is still something about Donald Trump’s new apprentice that is so down-to-earth that it resonates with young, intelligent, ambitious women all across the country. Even before her first official day on the job with the Trump Organization, she gained such an impressive audience that she’s well on her way to becoming an icon in her own right.
We caught up with Brandy before she knew she won the title of the next Apprentice; she stated that she believes in showing respect to everyone she interacts with while keeping the task about the task. And the thing we love about Brandy is that she stays true to those words, even with cameras catching the most precarious moments between teammates and potential disasters on her final challenge. |
Brandy's story
Photo Credit: NBC
It seems random at first glance: high school valedictorian, animal shelter volunteer, corporate attorney, cupcake truck driver, Donald Trump’s next apprentice. But as we talked with Brandy, we realized a subtle yet powerful common thread throughout her unique and diverse career journey: learning to build productive relationships and maintaining long-term thinking.
And one of the most attractive things about her is genuineness. Even now that she's a superstar, she remains humble. She carries a genuinely respectful attitude toward everyone she interacts with from clients to competitors to girls that ask to interview her for this new forum called Beauty & the Boardroom. But she's also proved that she is... tough. She takes everything in stride, from gender rivalries to difficult coworkers, and continues to quietly and powerfully deliver on every project she faces in her career.
And one of the most attractive things about her is genuineness. Even now that she's a superstar, she remains humble. She carries a genuinely respectful attitude toward everyone she interacts with from clients to competitors to girls that ask to interview her for this new forum called Beauty & the Boardroom. But she's also proved that she is... tough. She takes everything in stride, from gender rivalries to difficult coworkers, and continues to quietly and powerfully deliver on every project she faces in her career.
Student Jobs
At the age of 30, Brandy technically has over half her life, 16 years, of job experience: she began her first real job at age 14, working for a small business owner in Alaska where she grew up. Starting here, throughout her work experiences, she developed an aptitude for cultivating professional relationships. In addition to playing varsity sports, she worked all throughout high school in Alaska and continued working throughout college at UCLA to finance her BA in Political Science. She was a waitress and did work-study for the Department of Neurosurgery at UCLA. She then studied abroad, mentored, became a director for the Study Abroad Program and worked for the California State Senate. She’s had, in her words, “a lot of very bad jobs and a lot of good ones.” What we noticed, however, is that for Brandy, her jobs were more than duties. Even after she graduated, she continued to volunteer her time tutoring. She used these opportunities to develop what are now her world-class people skills.
Performing service jobs while maintaining a heavy academic load was not easy. Because patrons at a restaurant, for example, expect stellar service from a competent and cheerful waitress whether or not said waitress has a midterm the next day, Brandy gained moxie maintaining composure even in the midst of being under personal pressures. She enjoyed her time in college but she never experienced it without having to clock in to at least one job. She even worked for the US Senate for Alaska during her “time-off” year after graduating UCLA. While she imagines it would have been more fun to kick back, she stayed focused, fearless of whatever job and academic credit requirement came next.
She entered the Juris Doctorate program at University of Chicago Law School and continued to hone her relationship-building skills as she helped entrepreneurs with legal services through the Institute for Justice, as well as tutored children. Focused on her long-term goals, she was able to maintain that difficult balance between work and school. And the number and diversity of her jobs helped cement in her the crucial life lesson of respecting people and forming working relationships.
Performing service jobs while maintaining a heavy academic load was not easy. Because patrons at a restaurant, for example, expect stellar service from a competent and cheerful waitress whether or not said waitress has a midterm the next day, Brandy gained moxie maintaining composure even in the midst of being under personal pressures. She enjoyed her time in college but she never experienced it without having to clock in to at least one job. She even worked for the US Senate for Alaska during her “time-off” year after graduating UCLA. While she imagines it would have been more fun to kick back, she stayed focused, fearless of whatever job and academic credit requirement came next.
She entered the Juris Doctorate program at University of Chicago Law School and continued to hone her relationship-building skills as she helped entrepreneurs with legal services through the Institute for Justice, as well as tutored children. Focused on her long-term goals, she was able to maintain that difficult balance between work and school. And the number and diversity of her jobs helped cement in her the crucial life lesson of respecting people and forming working relationships.
International Corporate Attorney
Photo Credit: NBC
Fresh out of law school and having just passed the Bar, Brandy headed into a career with a prestigious international law firm. She loved the challenge as she was propelled into yet another learning curve and the rewards that came with it as she became adept in mergers, corporate acquisitions and leveraged buyouts. Given her aptitude for hard work and her continually developing ease with people, it’s not surprising that Brandy was drawn towards the business aspect of law over becoming a litigator; being a crucial part of a team of individuals all working together to buy and sell companies motivated her more than the confrontation of litigation. As a corporate attorney, she found satisfaction in coming to mutual agreements through strategic negotiations.
But while putting in hours from 6am until 2am, she sometimes found it easy to get lost in the grind. At this juncture, her long-term thinking motivated her. While forming her professional life, she took the time to build bridges and cultivate relationships with junior people at equity firms along the way, always thinking, “...potentially 10 years from now...”
Now that hard work is paying off in expected and unexpected ways.
But while putting in hours from 6am until 2am, she sometimes found it easy to get lost in the grind. At this juncture, her long-term thinking motivated her. While forming her professional life, she took the time to build bridges and cultivate relationships with junior people at equity firms along the way, always thinking, “...potentially 10 years from now...”
Now that hard work is paying off in expected and unexpected ways.
Something else happened during her early law years as well; Brandy was quietly forming her plan B. While she had landed a prestigious job that might have seemed like an ultimate goal, Brandy had the drive for something perhaps beyond that. Brandy had always loved to bake, and for some time she let the idea of starting a cupcake business grow in the back of her mind. Her idea was subtle at first, more like a small dream almost buried by those long-standing notions of prestige, but it was something she knew she would love to make a reality one day when she had the time and resources.
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Baking-Smiling-Pink-Van-Driving Entrepreneur Extraordinaire
A lot of people are surprised when they read about Brandy’s next project: Sweet Ride. But considering her motivation of long-term thinking and her acute ability to work a diverse cross-section of people by this point, the transition proves to be not quite as big of a leap as it appears. When her law firm started to see lay-offs, Brandy felt more and more inspired to bring her quiet cupcake plan into action. But really, cupcakes? Plodding through the entire business cycle? Uncertain outcomes? Scary as it must have sounded, she focused, and stepped forward fearlessly. Perhaps the greatest factor that led to Brandy going forward with her idea to co-found Sweet Ride was that she believed in herself.
Accustomed to being regimented by billable hours, she propelled herself into yet another learning curve as she navigated the transition into entrepreneurship and co-founded Sweet Ride, a mobile cupcake business in San Francisco, California.
Accustomed to being regimented by billable hours, she propelled herself into yet another learning curve as she navigated the transition into entrepreneurship and co-founded Sweet Ride, a mobile cupcake business in San Francisco, California.
The daily responsibilities obviously shifted but the new job demands of co-owning a cupcake catering service surprisingly had a lot of overlap with Brandy’s expertise. While she was no longer around a corporate negotiation table, her ability to form solid business relationships optimized everything from managing employees, to leveraging professional connections, to selling the cupcakes to the public. Brandy and her co-founder cultivated Sweet Ride until selling it and seeing it off into its new home city as Brandy set off on her next journey as well.
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Donald Trump’s Hand-picked Apprentice
Brandy competed against thousands of applicants, went toe to toe against the best and the brightest for 13 grueling weeks and claimed the title of Donald Trump’s next apprentice. And so comes the question that millions of people have been asking: How did she do it?
Before going into the competition, Brandy remembered what her mother had taught her about the importance of having her own definition of success; so she defined what mattered most to her. She wanted to walk away proud of how she treated people and how she contributed to the tasks whether she got the credit or not. She wanted to stay real and be a great competitor. She didn’t want to become just another character on just another reality show. With that long-term mentality that had already carried her through years of hard work and discipline, Brandy went into the competition with a firm commitment to maintain her core value of treating everyone with respect.
Her number 1 strategy for the boardroom, which is a room famous for hosting emotionally charged blow-outs, was to let Mr. Trump call the shots and not speak unless spoken to. While many of the contestants fight to deny faults and take credit for successful tasks, she planned to keep it simple by doing a great job and not worrying about credit. Easier said than done! But it seems as though her years of practice maintaining composure under pressure paid off. Even with camera crews catching all the details of tense moments, she stayed committed to her original plan.
While her critics have called her aloof (she just might not provide enough drama for a network reality show because she treats people with so much class), it’s clear now that her disciplined strategy proved to be effective. Every time Mr. Trump spoke to her, she actually had something worthwhile to say. And on the tasks, she held back the negative when it would have been easy to criticize. She also resisted giving input in neutral situations: instead, she kept quiet unless she knew she was adding value. And she never passed up an opportunity to roll up her sleeves.
Before going into the competition, Brandy remembered what her mother had taught her about the importance of having her own definition of success; so she defined what mattered most to her. She wanted to walk away proud of how she treated people and how she contributed to the tasks whether she got the credit or not. She wanted to stay real and be a great competitor. She didn’t want to become just another character on just another reality show. With that long-term mentality that had already carried her through years of hard work and discipline, Brandy went into the competition with a firm commitment to maintain her core value of treating everyone with respect.
Her number 1 strategy for the boardroom, which is a room famous for hosting emotionally charged blow-outs, was to let Mr. Trump call the shots and not speak unless spoken to. While many of the contestants fight to deny faults and take credit for successful tasks, she planned to keep it simple by doing a great job and not worrying about credit. Easier said than done! But it seems as though her years of practice maintaining composure under pressure paid off. Even with camera crews catching all the details of tense moments, she stayed committed to her original plan.
While her critics have called her aloof (she just might not provide enough drama for a network reality show because she treats people with so much class), it’s clear now that her disciplined strategy proved to be effective. Every time Mr. Trump spoke to her, she actually had something worthwhile to say. And on the tasks, she held back the negative when it would have been easy to criticize. She also resisted giving input in neutral situations: instead, she kept quiet unless she knew she was adding value. And she never passed up an opportunity to roll up her sleeves.
Her reward for staying committed to her plan?
Photo credit: Virginia Sherwood/NBC
This maturity and team-player mentality won over even her opponents. The awe-inspiring and determined Liza admitted that she did everything she could to get rid of Brandy as a competitor and when she couldn’t, she recommended that Mr. Trump hire Brandy. Even candidates on opposite ends of the personality spectrum, like the smart and sweet -always-try-your-best Poppy and the powerful and confident Stephanie, spoke up to endorse Brandy when asked by Trump for their recommendation.
Brandy walks away from the reality show experience with everything she wanted: she now has a cemented reputation as smart, tough and adept at respecting diverse people and building productive relationships. Another perk from sticking to her goals: she has a job at the Trump Organization!
Brandy walks away from the reality show experience with everything she wanted: she now has a cemented reputation as smart, tough and adept at respecting diverse people and building productive relationships. Another perk from sticking to her goals: she has a job at the Trump Organization!
In 5 Years from Now...
Photo Credit: NBC
Just two days before Brandy was congratulated for winning the title of the next Apprentice, she excitedly admitted to us that, for the first time in her life, she didn’t know exactly where her next step would be. As long as she can remember, she’s known what she wanted and it’s been likewise regimented. Competing on a television show for the job of a lifetime was an anomaly for her.
She is now an impressive asset for the Trump Organization.
As an unexpected side effect, she’s realizing that it’s ok to do things for fun. Just a couple of years ago, if asked her next step, she would have given her standard “on track for partnership at the firm” answer. Yet now she’s considering life outside the traditional definitions of prestige.
She is now an impressive asset for the Trump Organization.
As an unexpected side effect, she’s realizing that it’s ok to do things for fun. Just a couple of years ago, if asked her next step, she would have given her standard “on track for partnership at the firm” answer. Yet now she’s considering life outside the traditional definitions of prestige.
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"In matters of style, swim with the current. In matters of principle, stand like a rock." ~T.Jefferson