EPISODE ELEVEN

SEAM STRESS

Alex and Chris were welcomed back to the suite with hugs and the two recounted their harrowing boardroom experience. Alex revealed that Trump had said that he was a winner… right until he was drafted by Net Worth. Chris had no problem telling everyone that Trump had called him "a mess" and "a train wreck." Chris laughed and the group laughed along with him. But in an interview, Chris confessed that he knew he had to exercise more control over himself to be a better person in business and in life.

The next morning, Trump met the candidates along with Carolyn and introduced Michelle Scarborough, one of Trump's in-house attorneys. Michelle would be taking George's place for the week while he was away on business. Next up was a fashion task, Trump explained. Each team would get the chance to show off their creativity by designing their own line of clothing. The twist was that the new line would be "wearable technology," combining tech with fashion. The teams would work with American Eagle Outfitters, a leading retailer that designs, markets, and sells its own brand of casual clothing for the youth market. Each team would get a budget of $5,000 in the form of a Visa credit card for all of the electronic gadgets that would be merged with the apparel. Then, each group would present their new line with fashion models to two American Eagle executives, who would determine the winners and losers for the task. As always, the winners would be rewarded while the losers would return to the boardroom where another candidate would be fired.

Alex was excited about the prospect of making a new clothing line and Net Worth was happy to have him as Project Manager. Angie said that Alex was perfect for the role because he had a great eye for fashion. Chris said that Alex was the right choice because he was a self-proclaimed metrosexual. For his first order of business, Alex divvied up the responsibilities. Angie would present the fashion line while Chris would handle the money and buy all the necessary gadgets.

Tana, who had owned a clothing store, was the only one on Magna with experience in the fashion industry - therefore, she was the obvious choice to be Project Manager. Tana said the first thing the group had to do was get to know their customers. So, Tana and Kendra took a fieldtrip to an American Eagle retail store and talked with the young people who are the company's core customers. With pads and pens in hand, the two women interviewed teens and twentysomethings. They learned what tech items were important to the customers ("cell phone" was number one) and how the customers would like to see the gadgets integrated into clothing (everything from extra pockets to clips). On her way out, Kendra quipped, "I wonder if Net Worth was smart enough to have done this…"

At Best Buy, Chris racked up a bill of over four grand and hauled out bags and boxes filled with MP3 players, cell phones and PDAs - all the tech the team needed for their new fashion line. But when Chris got back to the suite, he had a terrible realization: he was missing a credit card. Chris said that the mistake was potentially devastating. If the team couldn't recover the card, they would lose five thousand dollars and automatically forfeit the task, he said. Chris called the store, but they were closed; he wouldn't know if he had cost his team the task until the next day.

Team Magna brainstormed about how the tech gadgets could be integrated into the American Eagle clothing. Tana took it a step further and decided to brand the clothing "Wearable Tech" with logos on all of the items. But, according to Craig, the team wasn't firing on all cylinders. He said that while he and Bren quickly put out several men's designs, Kendra was floundering. Even Kendra admitted that clothing design was not her thing. Tana said the problem was that Kendra couldn't communicate and Craig got frustrated. But Tana stepped in and defused the situation.

On Net Worth, Angie worked with their clothing designers, but confessed that the task was much more detailed than she had expected. Angie also said that she had far more to do than either Chris or Alex - and she admitted she may have taken on too much responsibility this time around.

The next morning, Chris showed up to Best Buy to get his credit card. Chris admitted it was a high-pressure situation and one where he would normally use some tobacco. But he said that he had quit and that he would not chew. In fact, Chris said that he actually felt less aggressive without the tobacco in his system. But later, the less aggressive Chris told a store employee, "I hope they find that credit card so I don't have to find an aluminum bat and break somebody's kneecaps." The store manager looked in their safe but couldn't find the card. Chris, however, refused to leave until they found it. So, he hung out for over an hour. Eventually his strategy paid off. The manager did turn up the card - and Net Worth lived to sew another day.

On Magna, Bren and Craig headed out to Brooklyn to the silkscreen artists who were putting the Wearable Tech logos on all of their fashion items. When Bren saw the office he was uneasy. Craig said he saw images of Bob Marley all over the place and knew it was a "laid back" establishment. It may have been just a little too laid back because the clothes had all kinds of problems. One jacket had "Wearable Tech" printed neatly on it - backwards. And a sweatshirt had paint smeared all over it. Craig said they had no other clothing or the time to make more. They were stuck with what they had. When the guys returned to their home base, Tana was stunned. In fact, she called the garments "a piece of s*** on a platter." Tana said she had two choices: cry or move forward. She chose to move forward and the team implemented creative solutions. Craig, for example, used White Out to cover the mistakes on a jacket.

It was tense over at the home base of Net Worth as the group raced against the clock to get their clothing, models and themselves over to the American Eagle store in time for their presentation. Angie made calls to find the group's missing models as Alex ran through the building looking for them. Finally, Alex found the models and it was a frantic scene as they changed clothes and everyone flew out the door. But in their rush, they had forgotten one thing: a jean jacket the team had created. In the harried cab ride to the location, Angie learned that it was three o'clock. The problem was, the team's time to present was also three. Angie felt the stress and declared, "I'm going to throw up."

Tana opened the presentation for Magna. She introduced the line and said that the team had done a lot of research. Bren jumped in and showed off specific clothing items on the models that included a sweatshirt with a GameBoy pouch in front and a jacket with a pocket specially designed for gadgets, like MP3 players. When an American Eagle executive asked what the most important piece of technology was for their customers, without hesitation Bren said the cell phone - and judging by the execs' faces, it seemed to be the answer they were after.

Net Worth finally arrived. But as they rushed in, they realized that they'd forgotten one of their pieces - their jean jacket. Angie said it was at that point that the blood rushed out of her head. The only problem for Angie was that she then had a presentation to do. Angie got in front of the executives, took a deep breath and began. Unfortunately, she stumbled during her opening… several times. In an interview, Alex pulled no punches, calling Angie's performance "terrible" and likening it to "a high school communications class." When one of the executives asked what the most important piece of technology was for their customers, Angie said she thought it was the iPod, which didn't seem to impress the execs.

Finally, The Donald arrived and the two American Eagle execs rendered their verdict. The executives told Net Worth that their presentation seemed scattered and unprepared. Also, their clothing wasn't as creative as it could have been. On the other hand, the execs liked that Magna did research and got into the head of the customer, which paid off in their clothing line. The two American Eagle execs said that the clear winner was Magna! For their reward, the team would get a shopping spree at the high-end retailer Bergdorf Goodman to buy some clothes of their own. Trump reminded Net Worth they would be taking a different kind of trip - to the boardroom, where another candidate would be fired.

The Bergdorf Goodman experience began for the members of Magna as soon as they walked in the store, where they met their personal shoppers. Craig was so impressed he said the store was like a "fashion museum." Kendra, arms full of clothing, called the reward "a dream come true."

In the suite, Net Worth commiserated. The candidates said that while they may have lost, they had worked together as a team. But in their interviews, they were a bit more honest. Alex said it wasn't his fault that Angie had frozen up in her presentation. Angie said that she would not get fired - the Project Manager, Alex, couldn't get the team to the presentation on time and Chris lost the team's credit card overnight.