How I Built This with Guy Raz

Episode: Dollar Shave Club – Michael Dubin, From Zero to a Billion Dollar Exit in Five Years
Original Recording: December 2018 / Podcast Release: January 5, 2026
Guest: Michael Dubin, Founder of Dollar Shave Club

Episode Overview

In this episode, Guy Raz interviews Michael Dubin, founder of Dollar Shave Club, the disruptor that revolutionized the men's razor market and sold to Unilever for $1 billion five years after its founding. Dubin shares the origins of his entrepreneurial journey, how improv comedy and a fateful holiday party led to a viral launch video, lessons on scaling a direct-to-consumer brand, handling competition and lawsuits, and the realities of startup life. Their conversation unpacks both the practical and psychological aspects of building a high-growth consumer business against massive incumbents.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Early Life and Foundations

• Family Environment & Guilt-Driven Productivity

  • Michael grew up outside Philadelphia, the child of a lawyer and a teacher. His mother encouraged productivity even on snow days, making him and his sister solve math problems before having fun.
    • Quote: “There's, like, a little bit of guilt that we have whenever we have fun somewhere.” – Michael (05:37)

• Academic Path

  • Struggled as a student, likely undiagnosed ADD, but loved history and media.
  • Flunked Political Science 100 twice, pivoted to become a history major at Emory University.

• Early Career Moves

  • Joined the NBC Page Program, relished the exposure to the TV world; compared the experience to “Kenneth” from 30 Rock.
  • Moved into journalism and media, eventually found day-to-day storytelling in the news cycle unsatisfying and was drawn toward marketing.

• Developing Marketing Chops

  • Learned on the job by building “microsites” for major brands.
  • Emphasized problem-solving and visual thinking:
    • Quote: “UX UI is a maze or a puzzle. That's what great architects do... it's enormously satisfying when you can watch masses of people follow your lead.” (10:52)

2. The Improv Years and Accidental Preparation

• Improv Comedy’s Lasting Influence

  • Took improv and sketch classes at Upright Citizens Brigade for nearly eight years in NYC; never anticipated it would help in business.
  • Regularly watched breakout talents like Donald Glover; found comedy inherently challenging and rewarding.
    • Quote: “Comedy is one of the hardest things to do, period. There's a setup, and then there's the equal sign, right? It's A plus B plus C equals ha, ha, ha. And that takes magic.” (13:16)
  • Improv as a pressure release: “You could go to the gym, or you can go just completely blow your mind and do some improv.” (14:23)

• Stalled Startup and Life Pivot

  • Tried to launch a social network for travelers—unsuccessful.
  • Broad range of interests—balancing day job, improv, and startup attempts.

3. Serendipity and the Birth of Dollar Shave Club

• Move to L.A.—Chaos and Opportunity

  • Relocated to Los Angeles after being laid off in NYC, with no job or clear plan, following a girlfriend.

• The Catalyst: Mark Levine’s Warehouse

  • At a holiday party, connected with family friend Mark Levine, who had excess inventory: 250K razors and thousands of novelty cake slicers.
    • Lighthearted tangent on why he didn’t choose "Dollar Cake Club."
  • Dubin immediately sensed a business opportunity—motivated by personal frustration at the razor-buying process: “The razor fortress is always locked… it's the only product that's like that in the store.” (18:50)
  • Trust in his gut that the retail experience was widely disliked and could be improved.

• Securing the Inventory

  • Story of going to a warehouse in Rancho Cucamonga, paying $700 to prevent razors from being trashed, and testing them himself:
    • Quote: “I look at them, and I say, these look like razors that I would use. I take them home, I shave with it. And I knew that we had something.” (20:26)

• Foundational Philosophy

  • The name “Dollar Shave Club” chosen for crystal-clear function and appeal:
    • Quote: “If you were to pluck somebody off the street … what does a company called Dollar Shave Club do? You should probably be able to figure that one out.” (22:17)

• On the Delusion of Disrupting Giants

  • Family and friends were skeptical about his attempt to crack a market dominated by Gillette:
    • Quote: “For a nobody to come in with, you know, his Rancho Cucamongo razors ... I would never have said it that that's what I was going to try to do.” (23:00)

4. Launching: Scrappy Startups and Viral Breakthrough

• Building the MVP

  • Used savings and Mark Levine’s investment to launch a minimal beta site for Dollar Shave Club.
  • Relied on direct hustle: Groupon deals, mom blog conferences, self-run SEM.

• Early Wins and Validation

  • The thrill of the first sale to a stranger, Imran Charnania of Houston, TX, was significant:
    • Quote: “That first thrill of that first sale is like, all the encouragement that you need as an entrepreneur to be like, yes, somebody gets it.” (26:03)

• The Legendary Video (March 6, 2012) [26:55 – 33:31]

  • Dubin’s improv background and video experience merged serendipitously into the famous launch ad.

  • Worked with Lucia Aniello (later of Broad City fame) to write and direct.

    • The iconic line “Are our blades any good? No, they’re fucking great.” contributed by Lucia Aniello. (27:35)

  • Released video and announced funding together, timing for pre-SXSW media lull.

  • Site Crash and Instant Demand (32:14)

    • Overnight, sold out initial inventory after the video went viral—website crashed under demand.
    • Pragmatic response: continued to take orders transparently despite delays, realizing they had solved an authentic problem for many.

• Bootstrapping Fulfillment

  • Fulfillment was DIY—printing labels in-office, stuffing trash bags full, and physically dropping them off at a chaotic warehouse used by other businesses.
    • Quote: “We put them in these big trash bags and we drive them down to the warehouse ... and hope that in the middle of the night nobody comes by and steals the big bag of rolled labels.” (37:43)

5. Scaling Up: Challenges, Competition, and Expansion

• Tough Fundraising Despite Momentum

  • Raising capital was never easy, even post-viral launch:
    • “Raising money has never been easy for us... the smart money asks the smart questions. And they asked all the questions that they should.” (38:26)

• Competitive Response

  • New entrants like Harry’s emerged, and Big Razor responded with their own subscription offerings.
  • Dubin’s take: Competition is validating and forces focus.
    • Quote: “The presence of competition pushes you to define yourself more specifically ... makes you work harder. I think it's a wonderful thing.” (39:22)

• Transition from Virality to Paid Marketing

  • The viral effect fades—DSC moved to paid advertising and shot their first TV ads in 2013.
  • Expansion beyond razors, with memorable launches like One Wipe Charlies (“butt wipes for men”), with the same comedic tone.

• Mounting Threats from Incumbents

  • Gillette and others copied the subscription model; the pressure was real.

  • Gillette sued Dollar Shave Club for patent infringement as they lost market share.

    • Quote: “If you don't take competitive threats seriously, that's foolish. So we absolutely took it seriously.” (42:03)

  • Lawsuits were intimidating but expected:

    • Quote: “That's a playbook that big incumbent competitors can do, you know, to make you look unattractive to capital, to make you look unattractive to potential acquirers.” (42:45)

6. Breakthrough and Aftermath: The Unilever Acquisition

• Growth by 2015–2016

  • By mid-2010s, Dollar Shave Club had approximately 3 million subscribers and controlled most of the online razor subscription market.

• Financials & Transparency

  • Dodged questions about profitability post-acquisition due to being owned by Unilever.

• Path to the Billion-Dollar Exit

  • Not actively looking to sell; initial contact with Unilever was a conversation about shared strategic interests in men’s grooming.

  • Acquisition unfolded organically through dialogue rather than aggressive sales effort, closing at $1 billion in 2016.

  • Reflecting on the Journey:

    • Quote: “It is mind boggling. It was a huge moment... but I knew that all the hard work was really yet to come. The acquisition in and of itself is a nice moment and an acknowledgment ... but there was still so much to do.” (45:32)

• Life After Acquisition

  • Dubin remained CEO for several years post-acquisition, reporting to Unilever.

7. Advice for Entrepreneurs

• On Crisis and Survival

  • Near-death experiences are frequent in startups; outcomes are rarely as catastrophic (or as glorious) as feared.
    • Quote: “It's never as bad as you think. It's also not as great as you hope... it helps you get a little bit less scared because starting a business is scary.” (46:34)

• Luck vs. Hard Work

  • Luck is essential—those who deny it are lying.
  • Hard work often puts you in a position to capitalize on luck.
    • Quote: “Luck plays a role in everything, and ... sometimes good luck is a manifestation of hard work, and sometimes luck is just luck.” (47:46)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (With Timestamps)

• “There's, like, a little bit of guilt that we have whenever we have fun somewhere.” — Michael Dubin (05:37)
• “Comedy is one of the hardest things to do, period. There's a setup, and then there's the equal sign, right? It's A + B + C = ha, ha, ha. And that takes magic.” — Michael Dubin (13:16)
• “If you were to pluck somebody off the street and say, what does a company called Dollar Shave Club do? You should probably be able to figure that one out.” — Michael Dubin (22:17)
• “You never build anything like that and think it's going to go viral. Anybody that tells you that they can build you a viral video—don’t believe them.” — Michael Dubin (32:25)
• “The presence of competition pushes you to define yourself more ... makes you work a little bit harder. I think it’s a wonderful thing.” — Michael Dubin (39:22)
• “It's never as bad as you think. It's also not as great as you hope it will be either ... It helps you, I think, get a little bit less scared because starting a business is scary.” — Michael Dubin (46:34)
• “Luck plays a role in everything, and I think that you continue to get lucky throughout your career.” — Michael Dubin (47:46)

Major Segments & Timestamps

• Intro and Origins: 02:27–08:01
• Comedy & Improv Years: 11:29–15:06
• Holiday Party & Warehouse Razors: 16:24–21:18
• Developing the Concept & Name: 21:18–23:49
• Beta Launch & Hustle: 24:55–26:33
• The Viral Video Story: 26:33–33:31
• Bootstrapping Fulfillment: 33:31–37:43
• Fundraising & Competition: 38:26–40:32
• Expansion (One Wipe Charlies): 40:32–42:31
• Competition, Lawsuits, & Market Share: 42:31–44:06
• Unilever Acquisition: 44:16–45:32
• Advice & Reflections: 46:16–47:46

Summary for New Listeners

This episode offers a master-class in seizing opportunity, blending unlikely skills, and outmaneuvering giants in a saturated market. Michael Dubin’s journey from improv stages to a billion-dollar exit demystifies the myth of overnight success, charting how humor, persistence, and hustle can fundamentally shift an entire industry. Whether you’re a founder, a marketer, or just curious about the ingredients of breakout consumer brands, this episode delivers actionable wisdom, hard-won lessons, and plenty of laughs—right from the source.