Local Razor Biz Launches With Funny Video

When was the last time you stopped by a pharmacy to pick up a pack of razors and did a double-take at the checkout counter? Someone has been getting filthy rich off selling tiny pieces of disposable metal for $19.99, and unless your name is Gillette, it's probably not you.

Here to help you shave some money off your monthly grooming budget: Dollar Shave Club, a Santa Monica-based startup that will ship five razors to your home each month for a whopping $3.

How does Dollar Shave Club undercut the big-boys like Gillette and Schick by such a large margin? Like a growing number of "disruptive" startups, by taking out the middleman: The company's razors come directly from manufacturers in China and Korea. Plus, the razors are sold with less capital because Dollar Shave Club doesn't have a storefront and operates exclusively online. Companies like Warby Parker, which sells eyeglasses and sunglasses for $95, have proven the model can work.

Michael Dubin, who co-founded Dollar Shave Club with Mark Levine in April 2011, officially launched on Tuesday with a hilarious viral video. (Dubin, the star of the video, has some comedic experience, having previously trained with the sketch comedy group Upright Citizens Brigade in New York.) Already, the ad (above) has generated 5,000 sign-ups for the service since it went live on Tuesday, according to Dubin.

— Nate C. Hindman, Huffington Post

Read a Q&A with Michael Dubin on the Huffington Post.