Shaun Pulfrey is the founder of Tangle Teezer, a British manufacturer of detangling hairbrushes. Established in 2007, the brushes are now sold in over 100 countries around the world and are used by celebrities like Cara Delevingne and Victoria Beckham. Shaun started a career as a hair colourist in 1978 and throughout his career worked at Pierre Alexandre, Toni&Guy, Nicky Clarke and Richard Ward salons. In 2002, Pulfrey released I Wanna Be Blonde, a book sharing his insider style tips. In 2003, Shaun began to research and develop the idea for Tangle Teezer brushes, with the aim of creating the world’s first professional detangling tool. In 2005, Pulfrey remortgaged his flat to finance the product launch.
Shaun then appeared on Dragons’ Den in 2007 to pitch his products to the Dragons. Pitching to Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, James Caan and Deborah Meaden, Sean offered 15% of the Tangle Teezer brand for £80,000 but was rejected. Jones labelled the brushes ‘hair-brained’, Caan said they were a ‘waste of time’ and Bannatyne said he wanted to ‘pull [his] hair out’. However, when the episode was aired, the Tangle Teezer website crashed as a result of public demand, with 1,500 orders placed. In 2008, Boots began stocking the brushes and by 2009, the brand had turned a profit and started to expand into a global market.
Many celebrities are fans of Tangle Teezer brushes an in 2013, Victoria Beckham tweeted about the brand’s Magic Flowerpot brush, while Cara Delevingne carries one in her handbag. The product has also won a number of awards from the across the style industry. Shaun himself won the Queen's Award for Enterprise & Innovation in 2012 and in 2015 was the ambassador for the Business is GREAT Britain campaign, a UKTI government initiative to help support UK entrepreneurs. 2016 has seen Shaun's business valued in the region of £200 million with the entrepreneur now set to sell and look forward towards new projects. Shaun is an established figure on the after dinner speaking circuit and has spoken at numerous events about the process of starting up his business, the challenges faced, his time in the Dragon's Den and how he grew his business from that point on.
How to hire Shaun Pulfrey
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Shaun Pulfrey for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
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“Shaun is the epitome of entrepreneur. It is not often you find the enthusiasm and effort Shaun puts into his business. Shaun’s after dinner speeches are a prime example of someone who had belief in both himself and the product he knew there was a demand for, and how it was turned into a reality against odds firmly stacked not in his favour” - Will, Fischer Energy
