Hardware Podcasts

Advice Line with Michael Dubin of Dollar Shave Club

How I Built This · 9 Oct 2025 · 53m

What this episode covers

Michael Dubin, founder of Dollar Shave Club, advises three early-stage founders on marketing, hiring, and scaling. He helps Benita Casbo of Kasbo’s Middle Eastern Kitchen launch her Syrian cheese with guerrilla marketing ideas, Brandon Davis of Parrs Mobile Mini Golf retain employees through equity and culture, and Bria Fleming of Incidental Wildland scale her custom firefighter uniforms by raising capital and finding manufacturing partners.

Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Dollar Shave Club, Unilever, Kasbo’s Middle Eastern Kitchen, Parrs Mobile Mini Golf, Incidental Wildland, Safewoods, Liquid Death, Gillette, U.S. Bank
Tools
Clavio
Materials
Nomex

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 50m

    From Hand Sanitizer to Tomato Sauce - How Sauz Went From 10 Doors to 3,500 in a Year

    Troy Bonde, co-founder and CEO of Sauz, explains how he and co-founder Winston used proceeds from a pandemic-era hand sanitizer dispenser business to bootstrap the tomato sauce brand, launching at Erewhon in July 2023. Bonde details how rigorous in-store demo data and unique flavors like hot honey and summer lemon marinara drove rapid expansion from 10 to 3,500 doors, including Whole Foods and Target, within 12 months. He discusses the strategic decision to raise institutional capital from Coefficient Capital to fund growth in a low-margin category, the challenges of fundraising with compelling but early-stage data, and the importance of hiring an ops lead early to manage unit economics and scaling.

    Crowdfunding & preordersPricing, margins & unit economics
    9 chapters

  • Built 2 Scale · 20m

    Tool of the Week Segment | Episode 31

    Hosts Matt Perrott and Scott Wilcox discuss strategies for founders, starting with a recommendation of David Senra's 'Founders' podcast, which distills biographies of figures like Elon Musk and James Dyson. They emphasize the importance of curating one's content diet to avoid doom-scrolling and the necessity of knowing oneself before hiring. The conversation concludes with advice on clarifying vision in writing and prioritizing three foundational roles: Product (CTO), Brand (CMO), and Distribution (Head of Sales).

    Leadership, teams & cultureHiring & workforce
    6 chapters

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 1h 00m

    Founder Fundraising Journey: Craig Dubitsky, Happy Products

    Craig Dubitsky, Co-Founder and CEO of Happy Products, discusses his journey building brands like eos, hello, and Method, and his current venture, Happy, which partners with NAMI. He explains that Happy is in the 'Happy business' with coffee as the delivery system, and details how NAMI holds equity on the cap table from day zero. Dubitsky shares fundraising strategies, emphasizing the importance of an advisory board, identifying manufacturers, and managing expectations that projects will cost more and take longer than anticipated. He also reflects on the acquisition of hello by Colgate, framing it as an 'entrance' rather than an exit, and highlights the critical role of product-market fit, repeat sales, and cross-channel distribution.

    Fundraising & investorsIndustrial & consumer product design
    6 chapters

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 51m

    #79 First Hire Series: Behind the scenes on hiring with Sweet Nothings

    Jake Kneller, CEO and co-founder of Sweet Nothings, and Lucy King, VP of Marketing, discuss the company's hiring trajectory from a two-person garage operation to a 13-person scaling team. They detail the strategic decisions behind their first hires, including Gavin Myers for retail expertise and Lucy for marketing, emphasizing the importance of hiring for a 'no job too small' attitude over pedigree. The episode covers their remote culture, goal-setting frameworks, and the reality of managing early-stage growth with products like Spoonable Smoothie Cups and Nut Butter Bites.

    Hiring & workforceLeadership, teams & culture
    9 chapters

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 42m

    #223 - Startup CPG Innovation Sections at UNFI Selling Shows ft. Jubilee’s and Loopini Pizza

    Ashley Waldman of Jubilee’s and Damiano Messineo of Loopini Pizza discuss their success at the Startup CPG Innovation Sections at UNFI Selling Shows, where they secured major distribution deals. Waldman explains how her strategic focus on specific DCs and high-ROI stores led to opening 85+ doors, while Messineo details how the show facilitated an immediate Wegmans account and entry into the UNFI Up Next program. Both founders emphasize the importance of authentic founder presence, rigorous pitch preparation, and leveraging the community for feedback and support to achieve rapid scaling and product-market fit in the CPG space.

    Retail, wholesale & distributionCrowdfunding & preorders
    8 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by How I Built This. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.