09
Michael Dubin
You Can’t Just Switch it Off
Michael Dubin went from being rejected from every business school he applied to and being laid off from Sports Illustrated to revolutionizing how razors are sold in America with Dollar Shave Club.
Beyond operational ingenuity and opportunity spotting, Mike made use of his talents in sketch comedy and improvisation to create a video in 2012 that lit the internet on fire and birthed a generation of “direct-to-consumer” businesses. Four years later, Dollar Shave Club counted over 3M subscribers and secured a $1B sale to Unilever.
Has fame and fortune changed him? Not really.
In this interview, we’ll talk about the cultural undercurrents that enabled Dollar Shave Club and provide a peek behind the curtain of how multinational corporations approach acquisitions and divestitures. We’ll also drink a lot of MUD\WTR as Mike talks about his latest creative endeavors in screenwriting, his pause practice with Vedic meditation, and the sentimental bowl in which I serve mike a homemade peach and fennel salad.
Finally, if you’re interested in joining our Friday morning Santa Monica swim club “The Starfish,“ send me a DM on Twitter or Instagram @swhnorton.
Listen : Spotify | Apple | YouTube
Show Index
00:00 Meet Michael Dubin: The Man Behind Dollar Shave Club02:39 Improv Fun: The Question Game
04:22 The Dollar Shave Club Journey
13:09 The Role of Humor in Branding
21:12 Meditation and Mental Reset
30:01 Dollar Shave Club's Journey with Unilever
32:55 Advice for Entrepreneurs
35:17 Writing a Screenplay: A New Challenge
38:11 Hot Takes
Show Notes
- Dollar Shave Club Video
- Michael Dubin on How I Built This with Guy Raz
- Career advice from Barack Obama
- LTV/CAC Explaination
- Dan Deacon - Drinking out of cups (Not my chair, not my problem) [Explicit]
- Vedic Meditation
- SNAG: Sensitive New Age Guy
Peace, Love, and Advertising
The Unprofessional Professional
Idea Virus Patient Zero
Chasing Liquid Gold
Making MSCHF
Internet Funnyman
Building a Digital Hearth
No Mud, No Lotus
You Can’t Just Switch It Off
Purpose & Play
Creative Courage and Talking Stuffed Animals
Silencing the Discursive Mind
Striking Internet Gold
Givers Are Getters
Hosting a Rave for the Intellect
The Hunt for Big Ideas
Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal
Not investment advice. Read important disclosures.