5 ms·

Bevel - A Better Shaving System

9 points by aterris 13y ago

vpontis 13y ago
Who is this "we" that the website and the video reference? It might be nice if they more precisely defined their target customer. I got into safety razor shaving in high school. It feels pretty nice, looks classy, and is a lot cheaper than Mach5 or whatever they are selling now. Now I just use an electric shaver because it's so much faster.
- rcavezza 13y ago
  My assumption is their target market is the African American community. It looks like a razor specifically designed for the face of an African American man.
  - jpessa 13y ago
    wow, you're ignorant. it's a safety razor.
    - AjithAntony 13y ago
      Yes, but the language of the ad pretty clearly targets black people. Maybe the razor itself isn't particularly innovative, but perhaps the rest of the "system" offers some benefits. There already exist many "black" shaving products that claim to help reduce razor bumps and ingrown hairs.
  - benjohnson 13y ago
    That's a very good target Market. Some people with African genetics tend to develop a lot of scar tisses from otherwise miner nicks. http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/skin/Pages/Keloidscarring.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/skin/Pages/Keloidscarring.aspx
- jaimelg 13y ago
  This line would certainly work for anyone. But "we" is referring to those prone to getting razor bumps and irritation in general from other shaving tools & products. This issue disproportionately plagues folks with coarse/curly hair and consequently 80% of black men.
- eappleby 13y ago
  In the video for Walker and Company (owner of Bevel), it says that the company's mission is to make health and beauty simple for people of color. http://walkerandcompany.com/ http://walkerandcompany.com/
drakaal 13y ago
I thought there were rules against spam? This is a pretty version of the safety razor. Yes, they work well. Yes, they cause fewer ingrown hairs. No, they don't last as long as multi-blades. No, they don't work on as scruffy a beard. No, this isn't the only place that sells them you can get any number of these at Walgreen's.
- aterris 13y ago
  I thought this might be interesting and relevant to HN as the first product of a new startup with the goal of expanding into a full fledged CPG company out of SV. I also thought the launch, marketing and focus on men and women of color were interesting. Maybe I should have posted this link instead which provides some extra context http://allthingsd.com/20131218/tristan-walkers-next-act-building-a-proctor-gamble-for-people-of-color/ http://allthingsd.com/20131218/tristan-walkers-next-act-buil...
- AjithAntony 13y ago
  > No, they don't work on as scruffy a beard I really like safety razors for scruffy beards. The only more effective alternative would be a straight razor. > you can get any number of these at Walgreen's. FWIW, Not sure this is actually true. I'm pretty sure no mass market retailer sells safety razors anymore in store. It's been that way for many years. In fact, the last time I checked, none of my local walgreens, CVS, or walmarts, even sell DE blades in store. That could change if this becomes popular again.
  - drakaal 13y ago
    You'd be wrong. http://www.walgreens.com/search/results.jsp?Ntt=safety+razor http://www.walgreens.com/search/results.jsp?Ntt=safety+razor
    - nobodysfool 13y ago
      All out of stock, all not sold in stores. He's right.
- 13y ago
jareau 13y ago
This is a huge problem for me. Excited to see how this works!
c0g 13y ago
It's a safety razor? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_razor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_razor
- JimmaDaRustla 13y ago
  I was thinking the same - no real information on the site, but I did notice that the guy flipped the razor when performing a second pass? Probably just the video showing it is double sided just like a safety razor.
  - c0g 13y ago
    Yeah, I normally do two swipes then rinse to get rid of my manly beard deposits.
freehunter 13y ago
Needing an email address or watching a video before you get information about why this is better? Pass.
- mahmoudhossam 13y ago
  Not that the video is much help anyways.
- andreessensucks 13y ago
  Better shaving system? Tristan isn't offering anything new with Bevel or his umbrella co., egomaniacally named Walker Brands. I cannot believe that this guy got $2.4M in funding without proving the concept first. In fact, he barely had a deck when he was fundraising. So ridic. He plays the race card and is mostly fluff. He has no prior experience as a founder, no ecommerce experience, no consumer especially personal care/grooming experience. It's fucked up that someone like him got funding only because of his social connections and because he plays the race card - there are definitely other more qualified founders getting dissed who have better business models, proof of concept, relevant experience, etc.
  - 1dundundun 13y ago
    LoL your post is funny... Naming a company with your last name automatically makes you an egomaniac now? How is this any different from the thousands of other companies and charities named after founders? I never hear any of them criticized for their names. What race card is he playing by looking to provide solutions to a group under served by an industry? Black men do have some unique hair/skincare/health challenges. Seems like a good vertical... but I can also understand why vc's may not see that upfront. That can be solved with execution. No experience? Killed it at Foursquare, didn't he? That's gotta count for something. Plus, plenty of first time founders come right out of undergrad, sometimes not even finishing. You usually don't hear the "no experience" thing in those cases though. The "he used his social connections" thing is pretty hilarious being that the majority of founders make and use relationships to increase chances of getting funded or getting introduced to vc's and angels. Since when is this considered a bad thing? There's always going to be a better idea and a more qualified guy doing xyz around the corner. What else is new?
goatforce5 13y ago
$60 for a starter kit for the safety razor, brush and some cosmetics. $30/month thereafter for... I dunno. More cosmetics and some spare blades, I guess. $60 for the starter kit doesn't sound insane, to be fair... For what it's worth, I got a perfectly good safety razor and some blades shipped from Hong Kong via eBay for $10-$12. Works like a charm.
- infecto 13y ago
  $30/month is insanity. You can get high quality creams for much less.
jpessa 13y ago
nothing new here. i've been applying shaving soap with a badger hair brush and using a safety razor for years. i guess startups are at the point where reintroducing "old" technology is the new thing? this market is FLOODED with competition, good luck.
1dundundun 13y ago
$60 for a high quality kit seems good. $30/monthly? I don't know if I shave enough to justify that personally. I just remember having like 5 unopened cases of Proactiv back in the day... as the postman delivered the next shipment lol. Btw, Tristan Walker (guy behind this venture) was one of Foursquare's 1st employees. Nice guy and smart as hell. The launch campaign he's rolling out seems to be well executed. Wish them the best...
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
andreessensucks 13y ago
Better shaving system? Tristan isn't offering anything new with Bevel or his umbrella co., egomaniacally named Walker Brands. I cannot believe that this guy got $2.4M in funding without proving the concept first. In fact, he barely had a deck when he was fundraising. So ridic. He plays the race card and is mostly fluff. He has no prior experience as a founder, no ecommerce experience, no consumer especially personal care/grooming experience. It's fucked up that someone like him got funding only because of his social connections and because he plays the race card - there are definitely other more qualified founders getting dissed who have better business models, proof of concept, relevant experience, etc.

9 points by aterris 13y ago

Who is this "we" that the website and the video reference? It might be nice if they more precisely defined their target customer. I got into safety razor shaving in high school. It feels pretty nice, looks classy, and is a lot cheaper than Mach5 or whatever they are selling now. Now I just use an electric shaver because it's so much faster.

rcavezza 13y ago
My assumption is their target market is the African American community. It looks like a razor specifically designed for the face of an African American man.
- jpessa 13y ago
  wow, you're ignorant. it's a safety razor.
  - AjithAntony 13y ago
    Yes, but the language of the ad pretty clearly targets black people. Maybe the razor itself isn't particularly innovative, but perhaps the rest of the "system" offers some benefits. There already exist many "black" shaving products that claim to help reduce razor bumps and ingrown hairs.
- benjohnson 13y ago
  That's a very good target Market. Some people with African genetics tend to develop a lot of scar tisses from otherwise miner nicks. http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/skin/Pages/Keloidscarring.aspx http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/skin/Pages/Keloidscarring.aspx
jaimelg 13y ago
This line would certainly work for anyone. But "we" is referring to those prone to getting razor bumps and irritation in general from other shaving tools & products. This issue disproportionately plagues folks with coarse/curly hair and consequently 80% of black men.
eappleby 13y ago
In the video for Walker and Company (owner of Bevel), it says that the company's mission is to make health and beauty simple for people of color. http://walkerandcompany.com/ http://walkerandcompany.com/

drakaal 13y ago

I thought there were rules against spam? This is a pretty version of the safety razor. Yes, they work well. Yes, they cause fewer ingrown hairs. No, they don't last as long as multi-blades. No, they don't work on as scruffy a beard. No, this isn't the only place that sells them you can get any number of these at Walgreen's.

aterris 13y ago
I thought this might be interesting and relevant to HN as the first product of a new startup with the goal of expanding into a full fledged CPG company out of SV. I also thought the launch, marketing and focus on men and women of color were interesting. Maybe I should have posted this link instead which provides some extra context http://allthingsd.com/20131218/tristan-walkers-next-act-building-a-proctor-gamble-for-people-of-color/ http://allthingsd.com/20131218/tristan-walkers-next-act-buil...
AjithAntony 13y ago
> No, they don't work on as scruffy a beard I really like safety razors for scruffy beards. The only more effective alternative would be a straight razor. > you can get any number of these at Walgreen's. FWIW, Not sure this is actually true. I'm pretty sure no mass market retailer sells safety razors anymore in store. It's been that way for many years. In fact, the last time I checked, none of my local walgreens, CVS, or walmarts, even sell DE blades in store. That could change if this becomes popular again.
- drakaal 13y ago
  You'd be wrong. http://www.walgreens.com/search/results.jsp?Ntt=safety+razor http://www.walgreens.com/search/results.jsp?Ntt=safety+razor
  - nobodysfool 13y ago
    All out of stock, all not sold in stores. He's right.
13y ago

jareau 13y ago

This is a huge problem for me. Excited to see how this works!

c0g 13y ago

It's a safety razor? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_razor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_razor

JimmaDaRustla 13y ago
I was thinking the same - no real information on the site, but I did notice that the guy flipped the razor when performing a second pass? Probably just the video showing it is double sided just like a safety razor.
- c0g 13y ago
  Yeah, I normally do two swipes then rinse to get rid of my manly beard deposits.

freehunter 13y ago

Needing an email address or watching a video before you get information about why this is better? Pass.

mahmoudhossam 13y ago
Not that the video is much help anyways.
andreessensucks 13y ago
Better shaving system? Tristan isn't offering anything new with Bevel or his umbrella co., egomaniacally named Walker Brands. I cannot believe that this guy got $2.4M in funding without proving the concept first. In fact, he barely had a deck when he was fundraising. So ridic. He plays the race card and is mostly fluff. He has no prior experience as a founder, no ecommerce experience, no consumer especially personal care/grooming experience. It's fucked up that someone like him got funding only because of his social connections and because he plays the race card - there are definitely other more qualified founders getting dissed who have better business models, proof of concept, relevant experience, etc.
- 1dundundun 13y ago
  LoL your post is funny... Naming a company with your last name automatically makes you an egomaniac now? How is this any different from the thousands of other companies and charities named after founders? I never hear any of them criticized for their names. What race card is he playing by looking to provide solutions to a group under served by an industry? Black men do have some unique hair/skincare/health challenges. Seems like a good vertical... but I can also understand why vc's may not see that upfront. That can be solved with execution. No experience? Killed it at Foursquare, didn't he? That's gotta count for something. Plus, plenty of first time founders come right out of undergrad, sometimes not even finishing. You usually don't hear the "no experience" thing in those cases though. The "he used his social connections" thing is pretty hilarious being that the majority of founders make and use relationships to increase chances of getting funded or getting introduced to vc's and angels. Since when is this considered a bad thing? There's always going to be a better idea and a more qualified guy doing xyz around the corner. What else is new?

goatforce5 13y ago

$60 for a starter kit for the safety razor, brush and some cosmetics. $30/month thereafter for... I dunno. More cosmetics and some spare blades, I guess. $60 for the starter kit doesn't sound insane, to be fair... For what it's worth, I got a perfectly good safety razor and some blades shipped from Hong Kong via eBay for $10-$12. Works like a charm.

infecto 13y ago
$30/month is insanity. You can get high quality creams for much less.

jpessa 13y ago

nothing new here. i've been applying shaving soap with a badger hair brush and using a safety razor for years. i guess startups are at the point where reintroducing "old" technology is the new thing? this market is FLOODED with competition, good luck.

1dundundun 13y ago

$60 for a high quality kit seems good. $30/monthly? I don't know if I shave enough to justify that personally. I just remember having like 5 unopened cases of Proactiv back in the day... as the postman delivered the next shipment lol. Btw, Tristan Walker (guy behind this venture) was one of Foursquare's 1st employees. Nice guy and smart as hell. The launch campaign he's rolling out seems to be well executed. Wish them the best...

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

andreessensucks 13y ago

Better shaving system? Tristan isn't offering anything new with Bevel or his umbrella co., egomaniacally named Walker Brands. I cannot believe that this guy got $2.4M in funding without proving the concept first. In fact, he barely had a deck when he was fundraising. So ridic. He plays the race card and is mostly fluff. He has no prior experience as a founder, no ecommerce experience, no consumer especially personal care/grooming experience. It's fucked up that someone like him got funding only because of his social connections and because he plays the race card - there are definitely other more qualified founders getting dissed who have better business models, proof of concept, relevant experience, etc.