‘Winning The Apprentice was great. But I’d like to go solo now’

Tom Pellereau, owner of beauty innovation business Stylideas, recently launched an LED face mask that aims to improve the condition of the skin. It sold out online within three weeks. 

The 45-year-old, who invented and patented the curved nail file, was the winner of the BBC’s The Apprentice television show in 2011. He put the £250,000 investment prize from Lord Alan Sugar into the business to create more beauty products.

Today, Stylideas has 15 employees and is based in Hemel Hempstead. Annual turnover is £5mn, and 30 of its Stylpro products are available in Waitrose, Boots, Argos, as well as Amazon and Look Fantastic. Two of the most popular products are the mini beauty fridge and make-up brush cleaner.

Sales in continental Europe now account for one-third of turnover.

Did you start your venture by accident or design?
By design. I was 32 when I won The Apprentice investment, but I had designed the curved nail file when I was 25. I saw my sister filing her nails on one hand and creating the perfect shape, but when she switched to the other hand it was very mechanical and I could see she was struggling. I thought: “You have a curved nail. Why not have a curved nail file?”

In 2005 I was headhunted by Altran, an innovation consultancy, so I put my invention on hold. After 18 months I realised that working as a consultant was ridiculous, as I wasted so much time pitching. I needed to put my own product on to the market, not other people’s products.

In 2006 I negotiated my first order for 65,280 nail files from a UK distributor, who secured a listing with Superdrug. I made about 20p apiece, £13,000.

I also went to Boots’ headquarters in Nottingham, a four-hour round trip, without an appointment, only to be told that the beauty accessories buyer was not there, but would be the following day. The next day I made the same journey and wore my black pinstripe suit. The buyer took pity on me and gave me half an hour of her time.

She said she could not buy from my distributor, and that I needed to get a licensing agreement from a US company. It took me almost a year to achieve that. I flew to Chicago and secured a global licensing agreement, for which Boots paid me $25,000 (£12,000 at the time).

I did this deal at 28 and really thought I had made it, and that I would invent another product and license it to them. However, they messed up by selling it as a gimmick in both Walmart and Boots. Sales were slow and two years later I cancelled the agreement.

Over the years I had spent £15,000 on UK, EU and US patents. I used credit cards, then approached the bank manager. He would not give me a business loan but said I could have a £5,000 car loan, so I said I would buy a car! By 31, the money had run out and I knew I had to get a proper job. I was updating my CV when I heard The Apprentice advert on the radio.

Without The Apprentice would you be where you are today?
It is very unlikely. Winning that investment was the seminal moment in my career. The previous winners had each won a £100,000-a-year job with Lord Sugar, but I was the first Apprentice Investment Winner.

What impact has inflation had on your business?
It has had a huge impact. Shipping costs have increased three to five times in the past two years. People have less money to spend on consumer goods now and it is almost impossible for us to put up prices to our retailers. We have survived by being innovative.

We have had two tough years, trying to maintain our margins. I have not earned as much, and there have been no bonuses for my staff or myself. My staff work so hard and we are understaffed. I feel really bad about this.

What is your view on last month’s Budget?
An increase in national insurance is really going to hurt businesses across the country. It will cut salaries and reduce the rate at which companies hire new staff. It will increase outsourcing and agency usage. During the election the message from Labour was growth, growth, growth. This will do the opposite. 

As a dyslexic who benefited unbelievably from the extra help a private school was able to offer, I was gutted to see VAT applied to private schools from January. It’s possible many schools [providing special needs education] will now go bust. 

What was your worst business experience?
In late 2019 Costco America agreed to buy $1mn worth of make-up brush cleaners on a sale or return basis. The product was due to go into their stores when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

There was a chance that if the US government had told Costco America to close their stores, all our products would be returned and my business would have become insolvent.

It was the scariest two weeks in my life, because we had no idea of the outcome, and it was out of our control. Luckily, the US stores remained open, the product sold well and Costco placed a repeat order.

If you inherited £1mn, how would you spend it?
There are two answers. One is slightly controversial. I would try and buy Lord Sugar out so I could become my own master, instead of still being an apprentice. At present we own the business 50:50. I see Lord Sugar every few months and we have a meeting lasting several hours.

Or, as my wife works in construction, we would buy a rundown place, like a barn, that she could develop into a perfect family home.

Do you have a pension?
Up until I was 40, I did not pay anything into a pension. I considered investing in my ideas was more important, and kept my living costs as low as possible.

When the pension rules changed, Stylideas started paying into a pension for every employee, including myself. I also took out a private pension with [wealth manager] St James’s Place.

When you get good years, and the company takes dividends, I pay into my pension. As the past two years have not been easy, we have not had any dividends. However, we did have dividends for three of the past five years. One year I contributed £50,000.

I used to think property was the best way to save for old age. As a landlord, I am concerned about future changes in the private rented sector. Who will spend money on developing small properties once the hard-working small-time landlords get squeezed out?

Do you have a huge credit balance?
No, I pay everything off each month. Other than a mortgage I don’t like having personal debt. I don’t have any loan for a car or credit card borrowing. I pay my credit card bills by standing order, and I don’t have an overdraft.

What unexpected bonus have you enjoyed since starting the business?
I really like travel, experiencing different cultures and making friends with entrepreneurs I meet at trade events. Every year in Bologna, Italy, there is a huge beauty products fair. Bologna is the most beautiful city. I also go to Hong Kong regularly. Beauty trends in Asia are slightly different. A major category is skin whitening devices, something I could never imagine here. 

Has any DIY saved you a significant amount of money?
I am very good at buying and fitting kitchens. So far, I’ve done three. A standard kitchen might cost up to £15,000 but I can generally get it done for less than £2,000. If you get it right, it’s like Lego. My wife, who is fantastic at DIY too, helps me, especially with the design side.