Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden has recalled how she once missed out on investing in Tangle Teezer and “lived to regret it”.
The businesswoman and her fellow Dragons passed on the hairbrush when it was pitched to them on the BBC show in 2007 – and it’s gone on to be a massive success and is now worth millions. And it seems it’s a case of once bitten, twice shy for Deborah, as when another hopeful with a hairbrush appeared on Thursday’s instalment (1 February) of the programme, she made it clear she would be giving it a serious look.
“I am having a deja vu moment because I remember there was a product that came into the Den that I said looked exactly like a horse grooming product,” she explained. “Last time I didn’t invest and it went on to do really really well.”
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“Yeah,” agreed her fellow Dragon Peter Jones, looking solemn. Steven Bartlett, who wasn’t a Dragon when the brush was pitched, turned to Deborah and added: “That did really well didn’t it?”
(Image: BBC Studios/Simon Pantling)
After the Manta brush was taken on the latest show, Peter told founder Tim Binnington: “There was a pitch that came into the Den, the Tangle Teezer, we didn’t invest and it’s gone on to do quite well. So I’m going to give you a little bit more consideration today so I don’t make the same mistake again!”
As Deborah laughed, Peter joked that he wasn’t going to get “completely killed by my daughters for not investing in something great”.
(Image: BBC screengrab)
When it was Deborah’s turn to give her thoughts on Manta she confessed to having some regrets over what happened with Tangle Teezer, whose founder wanted £80,000 for 15% of the business when they appeared in the Den 17 years ago.
“It’s really difficult because you are great, the product is great and also, we turned down Tangle Teezer!” she said, as the others laughed. “Lived to regret it,” Dragon Sara Davies teased, and Deborah acknowledged: “Lived to regret it!”
(Image: BBC)
Some viewers watching said they remembered the Dragons passing on the brush, but others were shocked. “Wow, they missed out on the opportunity to invest in Tangle Teezer,” one surprised fan said on X.
In the end Deborah did also pass on the Manta product, a gentle brush to help prevent breakage and boost shine. The founders did get offers from Peter, Sara and Touker Suleyman but decided to decline.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
