Getting the brush off spurs Shaun on to success

An inspiring tale for any aspiring entrepreneur...

I was fortunate to be asked to interview the absolutely delightful Shaun Pulfrey by a client. They provide the software that Shaun uses in his highly successful Tangle Teezer business. Shaun was set to present at their annual customer conference and my article was to feature in their pre-event publicity.

Tangle Teezer is a revolutionary ingenious hair detangling tool specially designed to effortlessly and painlessly remove. Shaun drew on over three decades of experience as a celebrity colour technician and spent four years on research and development to create the Tangle Teezer.

Building the business hasn’t been all plain sailing. Back in October 2007, when Shaun sought an investor prepared to take a 15% stake in the business, none of the five Dragons on the BBC’s ‘Dragon’s Den’ could be persuaded to support him.

But all publicity is good publicity and, ever the optimist, Shaun remained resolutely upbeat: “It was valuable experience and gave the product some marvellous exposure. In fact, it made me even more determined to make a go of Tangle Teezer.”

The Dragons’ loss was Shaun’s gain and having the courage of his convictions paid dividends. Growth has been nearly 700% over the intervening three years.

Today, chiefly through word-of-mouth recommendation, the Tangle Teezer has become a phenomenon and Shaun is adding to the range all the time. It’s available in over 1,500 salons nationwide and globally and its following has spread beyond the hair styling community. Even the hard-to-please TV personality Anne Robinson enthuses, “Tangle Teezer is the strongest link!"

There's a message there about 'If at first you don't succeed...'

btw, Shaun said of our interview: "It's not often that I get to work so closely on an article about my business, and it has been been a very enjoyable experience."