Shaun Pulfrey pitched the Tangle Teezer detangling hairbrush on the BBC television series Dragon's Den.
Pulfrey was a professional hairdresser who developed the product after becoming frustrated by the difficulty of removing knots without pulling or damaging hair. The brush used a distinctive arrangement of flexible teeth designed to move through tangled hair more gently than a conventional brush.
His original Dragon's Den pitch did not secure the investment he wanted. That outcome is a useful reminder that appearing on the programme is not the same as receiving a deal. Tangle Teezer later grew through product development, retail distribution and international sales, becoming a major beauty brand.
The company's name is sometimes mistaken for the founder's name, but Tangle Teezer is the product and brand. Pulfrey is the entrepreneur behind it. The business also illustrates how a rejected television pitch can still succeed commercially when the product finds a strong market and the founder continues developing it.