With fortunes running into hundreds of millions, they are famed for their business acumen.
But it seems that the five tycoons of Dragons’ Den made a serious mistake when they gave hairdresser Shaun Pulfrey the brush-off.
He was told on the BBC show that his Tangle Teezer - designed to smooth knotted hair - ‘was not a business’.
And when he asked for an £85,000 investment in exchange for a 15 per cent stake in his fledgling business, he was bluntly advised that hewas not worth it.
But the 47-year-old persevered with his invention, and it will be stocked at 600 Boots stores from next month.
Internet sales of the hairbrush have also taken off, and Mr Pulfrey’s turnover in the past ten months has been £80,000 - landing him a profit of £200,000.
With Tangle Teezers now eing sold all over the world, he expects to turn over £1.5million from the product next year.
Had any of the Dragons - James Caan, Duncan Bannatyne, Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis - invested, they would now be entitled to 15 per cent of the profits.
This would have made them around £33,000 this year and an estimated £60,000 the next - taking them intprofit in just 24 months.
In business, a return of even 10 per cent - which makes your money back in ten years - is considered very good.
However, because the Dragons turned him down, Mr Pulfrey has retained total control of his company and is the sole beneficiary of its profits.
He has said he could pinpoint the moment he realised the Dragons would not support him.
Mr Pulfrey lives in a two-bed flat in Brixton, South London, which he remortgaged to help fund development of his invention.
He said that despite coming away empty-handed, his appearance on Dragons’ Den did help him.
‘The whole experience has been instrumental in my success because of the exposure it gave me and my product,’ he added. ‘But the actual success of the product has been driven by its ability to do what it says on the pack.’
Mr Pulfrey came up with the idea for the Tangle Teezer more than 15 years ago, but it was in 2004 that he began developing prototypes.
The brushes work because their specially-designed teeth flex just the right amount to minimise tugging while smoothing the cuticle.
In Japan, where they are popular, they have been found to add shine to hair which is already tangle-free.
The success of the British-made oval brushes has left Mr Pulfrey’s part-time staff rushed off their feet.
Daily Mail - Dragons’ Den reject has the last laugh after hair Tangle Teezer is stocked by Boots
