How I Built This with Guy Raz

Dollar Shave Club: Michael Dubin, From Zero to a Billion Dollar Exit in Five Years (December 2018)

January 5, 2026

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  • Michael Dubin's success with Dollar Shave Club was built on combining his background in video production and improv comedy to create a disruptive, humorous marketing narrative against an entrenched incumbent like Gillette. 
  • The initial concept for Dollar Shave Club was sparked by a chance meeting with an importer, Mark Levine, who needed to offload 250,000 razors sitting in a warehouse, leading Dubin to trust his gut about a market frustration. 
  • The viral launch video, released simultaneously with the announcement of seed funding, was crucial for attracting initial investors and caused the website to crash immediately due to overwhelming demand, forcing the company to take pre-orders for inventory they didn't yet have. 

Segments

Early Career and Improv Training
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(00:08:06)
  • Key Takeaway: Michael Dubin’s early career at NBC provided exposure to video production, while eight years of improv classes cultivated skills essential for his later marketing success.
  • Summary: Dubin started as a page in the NBC PAGE program, which offered assignments in departments like Saturday Night Live, leading him to a career in media and writing at MSNBC. He later transitioned into marketing and advertising roles at Time Inc. and Sports Illustrated, building microsites for major brands. Concurrently, he trained in improv comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade for nearly eight years, viewing it as both a passion and a way to blow off steam.
Meeting and Founding Idea
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(00:16:16)
  • Key Takeaway: The Dollar Shave Club concept was spontaneously generated at a holiday party when Michael Dubin was presented with a warehouse full of 250,000 razors and thousands of cake slicers by family friend Mark Levine.
  • Summary: Dubin met Mark Levine, an importer, at a party who needed to unload inventory, including razors and ‘Piece of Cake’ slicers. Dubin immediately recognized the opportunity in shaving due to his prior frustration with overpriced, inconveniently locked-up razors in stores. He secured access to the razors by paying $700 to prevent them from being discarded and immediately conceived of an online subscription model to eliminate the need for store visits.
Viral Launch and Initial Funding
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(00:24:26)
  • Key Takeaway: The initial beta website tested pricing and engagement, but the company’s traction was driven by a low-budget, humorous launch video that secured initial seed funding from investors who were convinced by its creativity.
  • Summary: Dollar Shave Club launched an MVP website in early 2011 to test pricing, initially using street hustle like attending mom blog conferences for outreach, securing their first stranger validation order from Imran Charnania. The company raised $1 million in seed capital after showing investors the planned launch video, which was co-written with Lucia (creator of Broad City), who contributed the memorable line, ‘Are blades any good? No, they’re fucking great.’ The video was strategically released on March 6, 2012, before the noise of South by Southwest, causing the site to crash immediately upon launch.
Fulfillment Chaos and Product Expansion
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(00:36:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Early fulfillment involved DIY logistics, driving bags of printed labels to a third-party warehouse that handled diverse, unrelated products, while the initial twin razor was a loss leader to drive subscription adoption.
  • Summary: After the video launch sold out the initial inventory, the company chose to keep taking pre-orders, relying on customer trust in the proposition. Fulfillment was chaotic, involving printing thousands of labels at the office and transporting them in trash bags to a general warehouse that packaged everything from windshield washer pellets to vodka crates. The initial twin razor was sold at a loss ($1 plus shipping) to establish the subscription base, while higher-tier razors were profitable, and the company expanded into men’s grooming with ‘One Wipe Charlie’s’ butt wipes.
Competition and Acquisition by Unilever
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(00:38:11)
  • Key Takeaway: Despite facing patent infringement lawsuits from Gillette and the entry of competitors like Harry’s Razors, Dollar Shave Club continued to grow its market share, leading to its $1 billion acquisition by Unilever in 2016.
  • Summary: Raising subsequent funding rounds remained challenging because smart money questioned how Dollar Shave Club could compete against giants like Gillette. The presence of competition, including Gillette copying the subscription model and filing a patent lawsuit, was viewed as validating and forced the company to define itself more specifically. The acquisition by Unilever occurred after an executive dinner where Unilever identified men’s grooming as a strategic priority, acknowledging the progress made in just five years.