How do you build a consumer product that people genuinely love, while still making the economics work?

In this episode of Riding Unicorns, James sits down with Gyve Safavi, Co-Founder & CEO of SURI, the award-winning electric toothbrush company combining design, performance and sustainability.

Before founding SURI, Gyve spent eight years at Procter & Gamble, ultimately leading brand management for the £500m Gillette Female Shave Care business across EMEA. He later worked at AKQA and WPP, including alongside Sir Martin Sorrell, before moving into startups.

The conversation explores how those experiences translated into building SURI and what it really takes to create a modern consumer hardware brand.

Gyve explains how SURI was built around three principles: exceptional design, high-performance cleaning and sustainability. He breaks down how the team used consumer research to determine pricing before launch, why gross margin needs to be engineered into the business early, and how relentless negotiation with suppliers has improved unit economics as the company has scaled.

We also explore customer acquisition, manufacturing, co-founder dynamics and how SURI is using AI internally to build a more efficient organisation.

Topics Covered

• Gyve’s journey from P&G, AKQA and WPP into entrepreneurship
• Building SURI around design, performance and sustainability
• How to price a consumer product before launch
• The four questions SURI used to identify its optimal price point
• Why gross margin can make or break a consumer startup
• Negotiating with manufacturers as volumes grow
• Reducing customer acquisition costs through better execution
• Why relationships can create an unfair advantage for startups
• Winning a month of free advertising at London’s Outernet simply by asking
• Co-founder dynamics and SURI’s early “bitching sessions”
• Why founders should listen to customers more than investors
• Learning to handle setbacks and celebrate wins
• How SURI is using AI to operate more efficiently
• Why AI could make this one of the best periods to build a consumer company

Gyve also shares his future unicorn predictions and explains why his ideal dinner would include Jony Ive, Jeff Bezos and Mick Jagger.

This is a practical conversation about building a modern consumer brand: creating a product people want, getting the economics right and building an organisation capable of scaling with it.

Building a Breakout Consumer Brand: Gyve Safavi, Co-Founder & CEO of SURI, on Product, Margins and Scaling

Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology

Building a Breakout Consumer Brand: Gyve Safavi, Co-Founder & CEO of SURI, on Product, Margins and Scaling