Dollar Shave Club – A Smooth Idea

In a world dominated by recycled ideas, repackaged products and me-too business models it’s refreshing to be blown away by an idea that’s totally unique, in large part due to its simplicity.

Thanks to Chris Taylor at Mashable.com for bringing this to my attention. Taylor wrote yesterday, “A dollar a month for razors, shipped to your door? Most thrifty guys and gals who wield a blade in the bathroom won’t need much convincing that that’s a good idea for a startup. But how to ensure that they hear about it, and that they have enough confidence in the company to sign up?

Simple: create a funny YouTube video — one with so much swagger, sight gags and bear costumes that it seems poised to go viral.

That’s the apparent strategy behind Dollar Shave Club, a startup from LA-based Incubator Science. The company just scored its first $1 million in funding from heavyweight VCs including Andreesen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins. We wouldn’t be surprised to learn that much of that cash was handed over after a viewing of this video.”

The beauty of Shave Club CEO/Founder Michael Dubin’s pitch is that he pretends to not take himself or his business too seriously. He may be a tightly wound, micro-manager but comes off with confidence that his idea, while not the cure to cancer, is a big step in simplifying one’s life.

My response to Durbin’s pitch was to sign up, and upgrade. I’m now a $6 a month guy. If the majority of members upgrade as I did Dollar Shave Club could be generating quite a few dollars.

It will be interesting to watch what comes next for Durbin. Does the model work for other personal hygiene products? If so Proctor & Gamble better be paying close attention.