Dollar Shave Club

In twenty thirteen, Michael Dubin spent four thousand five hundred dollars to film a video in a bathroom. Gillette had owned the razor market for decades through retail dominance and brand weight. Dubin's pitch was absurd: razors delivered monthly for one dollar. He uploaded the video to YouTube. Twelve thousand orders arrived in forty-eight hours. The video accumulated twenty-seven million views. Dubin had hacked distribution. He bypassed retail entirely. Instead of convincing stores to stock his product, he convinced individuals to subscribe. One dollar per month. Recurring revenue. Gillette sold razors as premium products. You bought them once, stored them in your bathroom, forgot about them. Dollar Shave Club sold reassurance.