

The Worlds Toughest Interviewer - Mike Soutar - The Apprentice
What does it take to scale a business, earn trust at board level, and become the most feared interviewer on British television?
In this episode of We Have A Meeting, we sit down with Mike Soutar — co-founder of Shortlist Media, board director at Scottish Rugby and the V&A Dundee, and the man behind 13 seasons of The Apprentice’s most intense interviews.
You’ll learn:
• How Mike scaled Shortlist into one of the UK’s most successful freemium media businesses
• What really happens behind the scenes on The Apprentice UK — and how candidates crack under pressure
• Why founders need fast feedback, not fake validation
• How AI is reshaping the kind of people we hire — and the rise of the “super generalist”
• What every pitch deck gets wrong
• And how Mike’s daily mentoring gives him a frontline view into the mindset of the best emerging leaders
This is a sharp, honest, and story-driven conversation about what actually works when it comes to building businesses, making good decisions, and earning trust.
Watch now, only on We Have A Meeting.
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