Founders: Michael Dubin, Mark Levine
Date launched: 2012
Funding: $73 million (Source: Dollar Shave Club)
Industry disrupted: Men's shaving products
Alberto E. Rodriguez | WireImage | Getty Images
DollarShaveClub.com founder & CEO Michael Dubin.
How's this for a company goal: Own the men's bathroom. That's the mission behind Dollar Shave Club (DSC), the online men's shaving subscription and personal-care products company launched in 2012.
Read MoreFULL LIST: 2015 DISRUPTOR 50
The company first splashed onto the market with a hilarious YouTube video starring co-founder and CEO Michael Dubin—who worked in digital marketing and brand development—explaining his company. He said the video cost $4,500 to make and went viral almost immediately, resulting in an inventory shortage within hours.
The company has fortified itself since then, thanks in part to $73 million in venture financing from Venrock, Technology Crossover Ventures and Forerunner Ventures. DSC has 1.7 million members, ships 50 million shaving cartridges a year and is close to turning a profit on $140 million in projected 2015 sales, double what it did last year.
It's now expanded beyond razors to include shave "butter," post-shave moisturizer and men's wipes (yes, similar to baby wipes) and recently launched a men's hair-styling line called Boogie's. Dubin sees even more opportunity in other areas of men's grooming and said DSC will go after these markets—those wipes notwithstanding.
"The industry's biggest player has launched a similar service ... in response to our disruption. The razor business will never be the same."
