Shaun Pulfrey: Invention, Entrepreneurship and Turning Left.

Tangle Teezer (@tangleteezer) is arguably one of the business world's most surprising, and inspiring, success stories in recent years, and I was very honoured to be able to sit down with the brand's CEO and Inventor, Shaun Pulfrey to be able to learn about this incredible story. 

I personally can't remember a time before the Tangle Teezer existed: the hairbrush that fits perfectly, and ergonomically, in your hand and glides through hair painlessly detangling knots in its path. It's a huge hit with parents who no longer have to fight to get a comb through their children's hair at bath time and provides an instant 'refresh' to styled hair. 

Perhaps what first brought Shaun and the Tangle Teezer to our attention was his appearance on BBC2's Dragon's Den in 2007, where Shaun offered the assembled Dragons, including Deborah Meaden, James Caan and Duncan Bannatyne, 15% equity in the company for an £80,000 investment. Shaun, and his plastic brush, were dismissed as 'hair-brained' but viewers were so impressed that the day after the programme aired the Tangle Teezer website was inundated with orders. The rest, as they say, is history...

In it's nearly ten years Tangle Teezer has gone on to be sold in over 70 countries and counts celebrities including Victoria Beckham as fans of the brush, which comes in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes.

What struck me during this conversation with Shaun was how the idea was born. Shaun was a hair colourist in some pretty fancy London salons and wanted to send his clients to their stylist with freshly coloured hair that was tangle-free. What is now a global brand was back then a practical tool that he knew he needed, but couldn't find.

I learned a lot during this conversation, not least that there was a whole other life-changing story that ran parallel to the invention and launch of the Tangle Teezer. 

If reports are to be believed Tangle Teezer is now valued at over £200m so I wanted to find out from Shaun what it's like to go from earning a £-per-hour wage to being a multi-millionaire entrepreneur. 

I hope you enjoy this episode of The Beauty Podcast where it's hard not to feel inspired and cheer Shaun on for everything he's achieved.

Enjoy! EG xx

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