John Osher's first business succeeded by selling 19-cent earrings for $4.99, establishing high perceived value. A competitor sold the same item for 39 cents and failed. This shows that pricing should reflect what the market will bear, not just your cost of goods.
When a canceled Toys R Us order threatened to bankrupt him, John Osher felt "entrepreneurial terror." He overcame it by forcing himself out of bed after three days, writing a plan, and directly appealing to the retailer for a second chance, which he received.
To overcome skepticism about a $5 electric toothbrush, John Osher borrowed the "Try Me" button concept from the toy industry. This allowed customers to feel the motor's power in-store, instantly building credibility and driving sales in a category unfamiliar with interactive packaging.
When Spinbrush's first units proved defective (with 400,000 in the warehouse), John Osher scrapped the entire inventory. He knew that for a consumable product, a bad first experience would be fatal, choosing long-term brand integrity over short-term financial recovery.
Instead of asking P&G to acquire Spinbrush, John Osher proposed licensing the Crest name. This "ruse" gave him access to key decision-makers. When P&G agreed to the license, he strategically declined, prompting them to suggest the acquisition he wanted all along.
John Osher didn't try to make a cheaper version of the $80 electric toothbrush. Instead, he positioned the $5 Spinbrush as a superior alternative to the $3 manual toothbrush. This re-framing of the competitive landscape created an entirely new market category.
John Osher produced a $5 electric toothbrush because his previous venture, spinning lollipops, made him a massive buyer of small motors and batteries. This scale allowed him to pay pennies on the dollar for components, a supply chain advantage competitors couldn't replicate.
John Osher defined being "rich" within the context of his life at the time. The $6,000 earned from his first business made him wealthy as a student, funding his next adventure. This mindset of achieving small-scale financial freedom early and often provides confidence for bigger goals.
Osher's team realized users didn't want to learn a new way to brush. Their solution was a hybrid head with an oscillating top part and fixed lower bristles. This let people brush normally while getting electric benefits, creating a major user advantage and a strong, defensible patent.