SpinBrush Creator Flipped Conventional Design on Its Head

John Osher's unconventional approach to product design led to the creation of the SpinBrush, an electric toothbrush that became a massive success in the late 1990s. Unlike his competitors, who started designing from a premium price point of around $79 and then worked their way down, Osher and his team began with a target price of just 80 cents for the manual equivalent, roughly the cost of a plain manual toothbrush.

This counterintuitive approach led to a fundamental shift in how they designed the product. They started from scratch, considering every aspect of the toothbrush, including the motor, gearing, housing, packaging, and even the aisle it would sit in, with the goal of making the product appeal to the numerous shopper rather than just the affluent one.

The SpinBrush's success was staggering, with Procter & Gamble paying a whopping $475 million for the business. This acquisition eclipsed many dot-com era exits and is all the more remarkable considering it involved no coding at all.

Osher's background as a career product entrepreneur played a significant role in his approach to design. He had built and sold a toy company before turning to oral care, and he applied the lessons he learned from his experiences to create the SpinBrush.