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

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2026-01-05
- Length: 52m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-01-05-dollar-shave-club-michael-dubin-from-zero-to-a-billion-dollar-exit-in-five-years

## Summary

Michael Dubin, founder of Dollar Shave Club, explains how he leveraged his background in video marketing and improv comedy to disrupt the razor market dominated by Gillette. After meeting Mark Levine, who had 250,000 razors in a warehouse, Dubin launched a subscription service and created a viral launch video that secured $1 million in seed funding from Science Throughout. The company handled DIY fulfillment, sourcing razors from South Korea, and eventually expanded into men's grooming products like OneWife Charlie's. Five years after launch, Dollar Shave Club was acquired by Unilever for $1 billion.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-01-05-dollar-shave-club-michael-dubin-from-zero-to-a-billion-dollar-exit-in-five-years#t=0) Introduction: Michael Dubin and Dollar Shave Club
- [4:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-01-05-dollar-shave-club-michael-dubin-from-zero-to-a-billion-dollar-exit-in-five-years#t=276) Dubin's Early Life and Career at NBC
- [14:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-01-05-dollar-shave-club-michael-dubin-from-zero-to-a-billion-dollar-exit-in-five-years#t=846) Moving to LA and Meeting Mark Levine
- [19:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-01-05-dollar-shave-club-michael-dubin-from-zero-to-a-billion-dollar-exit-in-five-years#t=1164) Acquiring the Razors and Launching the MVP
- [26:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-01-05-dollar-shave-club-michael-dubin-from-zero-to-a-billion-dollar-exit-in-five-years#t=1596) Creating the Viral Launch Video
- [33:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-01-05-dollar-shave-club-michael-dubin-from-zero-to-a-billion-dollar-exit-in-five-years#t=2012) DIY Fulfillment and Scaling Operations
- [38:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-01-05-dollar-shave-club-michael-dubin-from-zero-to-a-billion-dollar-exit-in-five-years#t=2309) Competition, Legal Challenges, and Expansion
- [44:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-01-05-dollar-shave-club-michael-dubin-from-zero-to-a-billion-dollar-exit-in-five-years#t=2659) The $1 Billion Acquisition by Unilever

## Topics

- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Dollar Shave Club (company)
- Unilever (company)
- Gillette (company)
- Science Throughout (company)
- Mark Levine (other)
- OneWife Charlie's (product)
- Lucia (other)

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- [Founder Fundraising Journey: Craig Dubitsky, Happy Products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-04-18-founder-fundraising-journey-craig-dubitsky-happy-products) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
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## Citing this page

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