The Partner Season 1 Episode 1: Introductions and the First Elimination

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On his CNBC series, "The Profit, "serial entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis bit off a bit more than he could chew by investing in a number of businesses that now require round the clock managing.

Now, with his new show, "The Partner," Marcus Lemonis decides to document his search for the right partner to share the burden of managing all of his ventures.

After reviewing thousands of applications, Lemonis selects just a handful of individuals to spend several weeks with him so that he can get to know them and select who would make the best "partner."

The first candidate Billy tells us about his humble roots and rise to running a huge marketing group with a sales market of $10 million/year,

Stephanie is the next candidate and is not only a mom but also works as a board member for CUNA, a trade organization, and works as a CEO of a nonprofit credit union, all of which she believes are winning qualities.

Chuck has run his own restaurant and even launched and sold a franchise.

Michael is in business and development.

Carrie is the founder of two successful companies.

Erin runs three different small businesses.

Peilin runs a candy distribution company online along with her husband.

Buffie runs a set of retail tax practices.

Ricardo provides business consulting for sports organizations.

Juliana works at a nonprofit as a program manager.

Once everyone has a chance to meet each other, Marcus arrives and greets everyone. Marcus then talks to all of his candidates individually. Stephanie raps for Marcus. Billy chokes when Marcus asks him a simple question but then manages to come up with a response. Juliana has a chance to check out her competition and decides that Peilin and Buffy.

Marcus feels that Carrie is a little stiff and dry. Chuck did 2 tours in Iraq as a marine.

Marcus recognizes that Ricardo wears his emotion on his sleeves. Peilin too tears up when talking about her background. Juliana also has a personal story.

One candidate calls the premise of the show, "the capitalism Hunger Games."

Marcus then brings everyone together and tells them that he's going to challenge his candidates with a set of unorthodox tasks. The first task is for each individual to tell Marcus in about 2 minutes why they should be his partner.

Buffie goes first and has to tell the nearly 60 people in the room why she'd make the best partner. Marcus feels her response lacks some substance. Michael doesn't strike any chords with anyone in the room either. Juliana is emotional making Marcus wonder whether her "softness will turn into strength." As per Marcus's prior assessment, Carrie is rather dry. Billy gets interrupted by Marcus because he wants to learn more about him as a person.

Stephanie has trouble with her performance and chokes, which surprises Marcus. Ricardo speaks from the heart but has some trouble providing a concrete answers.

Erin has no problem speaking confidently. Chuck provides a high quality response. Peilin has a lot of practice speaking in front of people.

Soon it's time for Marcus to provide his feedback and eliminate 5 individuals.

So who's on the chopping block?

Carrie and Michael are the first two to be eliminated. Surprisingly, Ricardo is also quickly eliminated.

However, it was no surprise that Stephanie was also eliminated. In a tense moment, Marcus must decide who the last spot for partner will go to. It turns out, Billy is asked to leave.

And with that, the top 5 candidates, Juliana, Peilin, Buffie, Erin and Chuck move on to the next round.

Stay tuned for the next episode.

CNBC