Yahoo Finance Tangle Teezer's Shaun Pulfrey: How he failed to tame the Dragons but succeeded on his own
Grimsby-born inventor Shaun Pulfrey may have failed to impress BBC Dragons’ Den with his tangle-taming hair invention, but that did not prevent him from succeeding. Pulfrey shares his inspiring journey and tips for budding entrepreneurs.
It all started back in 2003 when Pulfrey had his ‘lightbulb moment’. The hairdresser first cut his teeth in Newcastle and then the Vidal Sassoon salon in Manchester.
After working for years in salons and through experimentation, Pulfrey realised there was need for a quick and easy hairbrush which detangles hair without tugging and pulling it. This inspired him to research and develop a detangling hair tool, the Tangle Teezer.
What did Pulfrey learn from his Dragon’s Den experience?
In 2007, Pulfrey decided he was ready to present his idea to the world and pitched his business model to a panel of esteemed entrepreneurs on BBC Two’s Dragon’s Den.
He explains: “When I was on Dragon’s Den the show was at it’s peak. The Dragons always seemed to be right. I thought to myself – the timing is right to appear on the programme. It is a visual product and people will see it.”
But Pulfrey was unsuccessful. Peter Jones branded the idea as ‘hair-brained’ and James Caan called it a ‘waste of time’.
However, the knock-back did not stop Pulfrey and instead helped him gain plenty of attention from viewers who liked the Tangle Teezer.
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After appearing on the show his website was flooded with visitors inquiring about the brush. This spurred Pulfrey on to drive his idea forward and prove the Dragons’ Den moguls wrong.
Going solo and financing the Tangle Teezer
“I knew there was potential to do it [launch the Tangle Teezer] and find the funding,” Pulfrey says. “It took me three years to get the product to market. For three years I self financed it with my own salary. The final bill was £98,000.”
Using all his savings from working as a hair salon colourist and by remortgaging his London flat the pressure was on for Pulfrey.
“It took me three years to get the product to market. For three years I self financed it with my own salary. The final bill was £98,000.”
After five years the hard work finally paid off. It was in 2008 when Pulfrey’s creation officially launched and was stocked in major high street stores like Boots. For Pulfery, this was a huge turning point for the business and very soon his creation was appearing in salon chains such as Toni & Guy and Regis. In the company’s first year 35,000 brushes were sold.
In 2012 Pulfrey was awarded a prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation, with his company going on to win another Queen’s Award in 2014 for International Trade. Pulfrey was invited to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace to receive his award.
Pulfrey’s journey has not been an easy one.
He emphasises the importance of getting the right type of intellectual property protection to stop people from lifting or imitating ideas.
He shares one important tip for all budding entrepreneurs; research throughly and ensure your idea has not been developed and launched before.
