When a friend of a friend approached Michael Dubin at a party in 2011 about needing help moving a surplus of razors, a light bulb went off in Dubin’s head that would result in a billion dollar deal 5 years later. He thought of the tremendous hassle that comes with purchasing overpriced razors with extraneous features, and realized that if he could eliminate the need to go to a store and provide simple razors for cheaper- real men would appreciate the result.
It only took a week for him to buy the domain, dollarshaveclub.com, and within a few months he had quit his job to work on his new company, Dollar Shave Club, full time. Although the shaving industry was already packed with competitors all trying to make their razors bigger and better, Dubin’s razor took it back to basics and proved to be exactly what the world needed. In March 2012, a Dollar Shave Club went live as its promotional video, featuring Dubin, was posted on Youtube. Dubin’s lack of seriousness and comedic encounters around a large warehouse proved to be the perfect pitch for his company, with 12,000 orders the day of release.
As Dollar Shave Club began to grow and succeed, Dubin was excited to expand his product line from strictly razors, but to oral care and shower supplies. Each year his sales more than doubled and by 2016 he had an offer of 1 billion dollars from Unilever for the company. Dubin never had any intention to sell his company so young, but with the promise that Dollar Shave Club wouldn’t change from its initial intention, he started to entertain the idea. What could he do for the business with 25% more time and no worry of running out of money? So in his hotel room, still in his pajamas, he hit okay and the deal was finalized.
Now with over 3 million subscribers, Michael Dubin is enjoying the life of a CEO with no financial burden and a Dollar Shave Club is continuing to grow and advance.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/290539
That’s crazy that a simple idea could reinvent an already highly competitive market. It must have taken a lot of courage to chase his dream and quit his job, but it turned out to be a huge payoff in the end. I wonder how he plans to expand the business moving forward?
It just goes to show how profitable it can be to make something someone does everyday more convenient and cheaper.
Simplicity sales. In my mind, that is the appeal of Dollar Shave Club. Michael Dubin was smart to “go back to the basics.”
The fact that this subscription box has become one of the most popular in the world is just amazing. Though I don’t personally subscribe to their services, I know plenty of people that do and they all love how basic, yet effective everything is. It is such a simple idea, but with the perfect execution that Dubin put forth it really goes to show how something simple can thrive in today’s market.