Geek of the Week: Simon Enever, CEO of Quip

Eric Silver

February 28, 2019

Most people struggle with the ‘boring task’ of having to clean their teeth every day and they would gladly consider a more interesting way of keeping up with the task, if granted the opportunity.

Simon Enever, the founder and CEO of quip, seeks to change this narrative. Alongside his friend, Bill May, Enever founded his company which helps to design and deliver new oral healthcare products in ways that would interest the users and also enhance the correct way and time for dental care.

Simon, who is originally a product designer, first discovered the problem when he was in his dentist office for his regular dental checkup. He discovered that there was a lot of things people were not doing right in their oral hygiene, all because it seemed to be a tedious process, hence Quip.

Quip produces a battery operated toothbrush that uses vibrations (sonic) to clean the teeth. The product has been pre-programmed to last 2 minutes, which is the prescribed standard time for cleaning. It also solves the problem of individuals not adhering to the recommended practice of changing their toothbrushes every 3 months. Users can subscribe for a particular fee and get sent new brush heads in a specified time (3 months) to ensure that they do change their toothbrushes.

According to Simon Enver, “we wanted to make a toothbrush that was accessible, desirable, and wanted by the 80% of people that have never upgraded their toothbrush to an electric one. By taking out all the features that really didn’t make a big difference and focusing on the ones that really did, we could make something much more simple, affordable, and hopefully enjoyable to use.”

Founded in 2015, the New York based startup initially struggled to get enough capital for the business. However, of recent, the company has succeeded in making a name for themselves in the business space thereby attracting institutional investors, including Sherpa Capital and Brainchild Holdings. More than $62 million has been raised from a venture capital and its investors.

A recent launch called the ‘all black’ toothbrush was created. Proceeds from these sales has been directed as donations to the ADA foundation in order to support disadvantaged families.

According to the 31 year old CEO, “reading stories on social media about how the product we created has made brushing enjoyable, for the first time, for so many, makes it all worthwhile!”