The Dollar Shave Club is the eighth startup on My Top Ten List of E-commerce Startups in LA. The Dollar Shave Club is the first, and one of the only, men’s e-commerce sites to be featured on my list.

Dollar Shave Club offers a monthly subscription service for men’s razors. The company offers three types of razors: The Executive ($9/month), The 4x ($6/month), and The Humble Twin ($1/month).

The company was started out of the founders’ frustration of paying too much for razors and the hassle that resulted from forgetting to pick up razors when at the grocery store. It was also founded at the perfect time as the subscription model had been gaining steam across all e-commerce categories. The Dollar Shave Club doesn’t manufacture or design its own razor blades, it instead  buys them in bulk from “white-label” manufacturers. At this point, the main reason to use Dollar Shave Club is for its value and convenience, but I imagine they are building a much bigger brand around men’s personal care supplies.

The Dollar Shave Club has done a fantastic job marketing its service. The company is best known for the viral video they released at their launch. The video has since received 5.8Mil views on YouTube and has been recognized as a benchmark for viral marketing. Check out the video below:

The company was launched out of the Science incubator in Los Angeles. The founding team consists of Michael Dubin, ex-Sports Illustrated – Digital Marketing Director, and Mark Levine.

Dollar Shave Club has raised ~$1Mil from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Andreessen Horowitz, Forerunner Ventures, Shasta Ventures, Felicis Ventures, and a few angels.

Key Points:

  • Location: Santa Monica, CA
  • Founded: January 2011
  • Launched: March 2012
  • Initial Venture Funding: March 2012
  • Total Amt Raised: ~$1Mil
  • Current Investors: Kleiner, Andreessen Horowitz, Forerunner, Shasta, and others