'Lord Sugar didn't like my business proposal so I've put it on the back burner'

• The Apprentice quarter-finals saw Steve Darken sent home in a double firing with Foluso Falade after his disastrous idea of making curry-flavoured vegan cheese.

• Self-confessed 'cheesy guy' Darken had dodged the boardroom for eight weeks, but when Lord Sugar heard he was seeking investment for a friend-finding app he said he wasn't interested. The management consultant from London explains why he has chosen to put that project on ice, following the cold shoulder from the Apprentice billionaire.

I'll admit it — I'm a cheesy person. I think I pretty much said that when we were looking for a Project Manager for the vegan cheese branding task.

It was awkward between myself and Rachel and Foluso, as none of us really felt like we knew the market. But I will say I did put myself forward before we agreed Rachel should take it on. At least she had tried vegan cheese.

I do love cheese. I couldn't tell you what cheese. I'm the guy that when you go to a party, they bring out the cheeseboard and I will have everything that's on there.

I definitely told a lot of cheesy jokes on The Apprentice. Half of them didn't even make the edit. I think it's very easy in this type of process to take it very, very seriously, and forget that the best work most people do is actually when they enjoy what they're doing.

So for me, that means not being afraid have a bit of fun sometimes. I come from a very corporate background, very professional, but at the same time if you don't have fun then you won't produce your best work.

I think we all got along really well this year. And again, cheesy as it sounds, I would say that we came a bit of a family. It was a pleasure working on the show, especially having seen so many of the past series thinking there's gonna be some tricky characters - actually it was completely the opposite.

I think I can get on with pretty much anybody and I am good at making friends. I think it probably helps that I'm the kind of guy who doesn't hold a grudge. I do believe in business, as well as in your personal life, you need to make an effort with people and you need to bring people together.

A few of the candidates said to me when the teams switched around that working with me felt more like being part of a team. Sometimes if you take a step back and work together as a team, you stand a better chance of succeeding and I think that goes the same for business as well.

Lord Sugar said he wasn't interested in my business idea of a social networking app. I think what the positive takeaway from that final boardroom was actually there was no criticism of me as a person. He actually said it was a pleasure to be associated for last ten weeks, which was quite nice. It was humbling, to say the least. But the business idea wasn't for him.

I think when you compare Rachel, for instance, she has an established business, she has multiple gyms, it's already a success. And I think it's a probably a more attractive proposition for Lord Sugar in the near term than a completely new business. I think he was probably acutely aware that a lot of tech businesses, especially app-based, require a lot of investment and we only get £250k.

My idea was for a social networking app that would take control of the whole end-to-end of meeting people, going out, socialising, booking tickets, booking events and getting rewards and discounts for doing it. I think the tagline I had at the time was 'Turbocharge your social life and reward you for going out.' It was something entirely new.

But it's on the back burner at the minute, I'm working on other projects. I think being on the show drove me to really embrace my entrepreneurial spirit and go out and do new things and take a few more risks. I've moved into a new building where there's a lot of startups and I've met a lot of new people and found other projects. I'm joining as a director of the Talent Athlete Group which is a sports agency representing female athletes.

And I'm also going to be working with Foluso on her social enterprise Brandin'it, helping young people design and brand their own products.

The first day I met Foluso, I loved her. I think she's such a sweet, passionate, wonderful person and hilarious as well. And then she told me her business, and I absolutely loved it. It's something that I think society needs right now. I just said, 'Look, I'd love to be a part of that if you'll have me.'

It's gonna do a lot of good for society, not just profitable financially, but also really make a difference in people's lives. And that's just so exciting to be part of.

So maybe Foluso and me getting fired together was meant to be.

Steve Darken told his story to Albertina Lloyd.

The Apprentice continues with the semi-final, interviews week, on BBC One at 9pm on Thursday 11th April.

Read more: The Apprentice

• The Apprentice 2024 line-up in full

• Where are The Apprentice winners now?

• The Apprentice's most explosive boardroom showdowns

Watch: Lord Sugar has started work on a TV drama inspired by his own life story