Jennifer Sieg meets with the co-founders of sustainable electric toothbrush company SURI to see how they’ve created a rapid-growing start-up out of some castor oil and corn starch.
I’ve never heard anybody – except for maybe my dentist – talk about brushing their teeth with enthusiasm.
The co-founders of sustainable electric toothbrush company SURI, however, are somehow making me question how much I actually ‘enjoy’ my everyday mouth cleaning routine.
Mark Rushmore and Gyve Safavi, two former Procter & Gamble employees, set out on a mission to change the way the oral hygiene industry works with the debut of SURI in 2022.
Now, just two years later, they tell me their sustainable and innovative efforts are working – SURI toothbrush users actually tell them that they enjoy (yes, enjoy) brushing their teeth.
“We get a lot of fan mail,” the two friends-turned-business partners laugh.
How SURI toothbrushes
Have you ever thought about how many toothbrushes you’ve thrown away in your lifetime?
Personally, a number has never once crossed my mind, but now that I know some 23bn plastic toothbrushes are thrown away globally each year, I’m starting to question it.
“That’s enough to circle the planet 12 times,” Safavi says.
“In our data, we found a lot of people throw them in the recycling bin but sorters will just throw them in the trash because they aren’t recyclable,” he adds.
Of course, there’s been other eco-friendly oral hygiene efforts surfacing over the years, but the two are quick to brush off the thought of sticking anything made out of bamboo in their mouth.
Instead, they aimed for something new, using cornstarch (for the heads) and castor oil (for the bristles) to their advantage.
The batteries, they add, are made out of “highly recyclable” aluminium, allowing the team to dissect and re-use the material after paying for their users to send them back when they’re done – however long down the road that may be.
“We’re definitely not perfect, but what we want to try and do is look at every single element of our business from top to bottom and see if there is a way we can make it better,” Rushmore says.
“There’s only two big companies who have a 75 per cent market share, so we felt like – when we researched it – it was ripe for disruption for someone to come along with a more sustainable, more enjoyable, more design-led approach,” he adds.
Build, test, rinse, repeat
I’ve come to find that the two are known for finishing each other’s sentences – something common amongst many ambitious co-founders – especially when they’re asked how their product works.
Rushmore and Safavi take each other by surprise, however, when I ask them what it was that created the spark needed to turn their idea into a business.
“Gyve [Safavi] is probably the most stubborn person I’ve ever met,” Rushmore laughs.
“Like, the man would try and persuade you that the sun is like green and not yellow and sometimes that’s wrong, but sometimes incredibly right.”
His point becomes clear once he explains how many rejections the two received while building their first product.
“Like 24 factories, I think, told us that it was impossible to make a head with cornstarch and castor oil bristles, and I’ll be honest, after about 22 of them I said to Gyve maybe it’s just not possible,” Rushmore adds.
“He was like ‘nah, it is’… and finally we found one.”
Not taking no for an answer seemed to work in their favour, because once they sent a toothbrush to Apple product design “guru” Jony Ive and received a “smiley face” approval back, they knew their brand would be well-placed for success.
I remember getting that email at like 11 pm at night, I couldn’t sleep the rest of night.
Gyve Safavi
The reviews started to flood in thereafter, Rushmore adds, signalling that customer happiness is the backbone of their brand’s rapid-growing future.
In 2023, SURI sales reached over £10m, and it’s a trajectory the pair plans to continue, with the global electric toothbrush market on track to hitting a valuation of nearly £35bn by 2031.
“Can you imagine telling your friends about how much you enjoy a toothbrush? lt just kind of seems crazy, but quite early on, we started receiving these five star reviews,” Rushmore says.
“I think to a certain extent, as long as your customer is really happy with the product and they’re willing to share it with friends, then you should have a thriving business.”
CV
Name: Gyve Safavi
Company: SURI
Founded: 2022
Staff: 17
Title: Co-Founder & CEO
Age: 40
Born: New York City
Lives: London
Studied: Economics & Music Technology
Talents: Avid Skier
Motto: Strive to live a life of learning + loving
Most known for: Fast learner / gadget nerd
First ambition: Be a scientific inventor
Favourite book: Secret Life of Plants
Best piece of advice: Always look on the bright side of life.
CV
Name: Mark Rushmore
Company: SURI
Founded: 2022
Staff: 17
Title: Co-Founder & CCO
Age: 38
Born: Brunei
Lives: South London
Studied: History
Talents: Cycled from Canada to Mexico
Motto: Be kind
Most known for: Making the world’s best toothbrush?
First ambition: Set up my own business
Favourite book: The E-Myth
Best piece of advice: Minimise your downside, maximise your upside.