Gyve Safavi is an entrepreneur, corporate executive, and business strategist best known as the co-founder and chief executive officer of SURI, a design-led oral care company built around sustainability, performance, and long-term product use. His journey shows how experience inside major global companies can prepare a startup founder to challenge an established market.
Instead of launching another disposable personal-care product, Safavi and co-founder Mark Rushmore set out to redesign the electric toothbrush. They wanted to create something attractive, effective, durable, and easy to use. That combination of customer insight and business innovation helped SURI become a fast-growing international brand.
Who Is Gyve Safavi?
Gyve Safavi is a British-based business creator with experience in brand management, marketing strategy, and commercial development. He grew up in New York and studied at McGill University before building a corporate career at Procter & Gamble, WPP and AKQA.
His career reflects the mindset of an innovator who studies familiar consumer habits and asks why the products supporting them have not improved. That entrepreneurial mindset became central when he examined oral care, a category filled with plastic, disposable parts and products that were often difficult to repair or recycle.
Corporate Experience at Procter & Gamble
Safavi spent eight years at Procter & Gamble, where he learned how large consumer brands are developed and managed. One of his later responsibilities involved leading brand management for Gillette’s female shaving business across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Lessons in Brand Strategy
His time at P&G taught him how customers make purchasing decisions, how products are positioned and how business growth depends on consistent execution. Safavi later held strategic roles at WPP and AKQA, strengthening his experience in partnerships, advertising, digital branding, and corporate leadership.
These positions helped him develop the skills of a strategist rather than simply a marketing specialist. By the time he became a business owner, he understood how creativity, customer research, market positioning and commercial operations must work together.
Founding SURI with Mark Rushmore
Safavi and Mark Rushmore, another former P&G professional, developed SURI after recognizing the waste created by conventional oral-care products. The company name, “Sustainable Rituals,” reflects its plan to improve everyday personal-care habits.
The founders began developing the idea during the COVID-19 period. They researched consumer complaints, explored new materials, and approached manufacturers with an unusual proposal: build a slim electric toothbrush that used less petroleum-based plastic and could be repaired instead of immediately replaced.
Taking a Risk in Hardware
Launching a hardware business involved serious risk. Safavi and Rushmore were not electrical engineers or manufacturing specialists, and many manufacturers rejected their concept. Rather than abandoning the plan, they continued refining it until they found a production partner willing to develop prototypes.
Their persistence demonstrates the importance of risk management in business. A successful startup founder must recognize genuine risks without allowing temporary rejection to end a promising idea.
Turning Research into Product Design
Customer feedback influenced several important product features. Users wanted a quieter motor, longer battery life, a cleaner charging setup, and fewer unnecessary digital functions.
SURI responded with a slim aluminum handle, plant-based brush heads, castor-oil bristles, sonic cleaning technology, and a magnetic wall mount. The toothbrush was also designed so the company could repair key components rather than treat the entire device as disposable.
Product Innovation and Sustainability in Business
Under Safavi’s leadership, SURI treated sustainability as part of product quality rather than a separate marketing slogan. The aluminum body was selected for durability and recyclability, while the brush heads use cornstarch-based material and castor oil bristles. Customers in supported markets can also return used heads through a recycling program.
This approach shows how a corporate entrepreneur can combine commercial success with environmental purpose. SURI remains a profit-oriented business, but its business development strategy focuses on reducing waste, extending product lifespans, and encouraging more responsible consumer habits.
Safavi’s strategy also recognizes that sustainability cannot replace performance. Consumers still expect an electric toothbrush to clean effectively, feel comfortable, and fit easily into their daily routine. SURI therefore competes through design, functionality, and environmental responsibility.
Expanding Beyond the Toothbrush
SURI later expanded into refillable toothpaste. Its Restore Gel system uses a reusable dispenser and replaceable cartridges made with a plant-based material designed for home composting.
This development suggests that Safavi’s vision is broader than a single successful toothbrush. He is building a broader oral-care platform based on thoughtful design, improved materials, and sustainable daily rituals.
From Startup Founder to Market Challenger
SURI launched its first toothbrush commercially in 2022 and quickly gained attention. Its early production runs sold out, showing that customers were willing to pay for a premium, sustainability-focused alternative.
The company later raised investment to expand its inventory, recruit staff, improve its marketing, and enter major retail channels. This transition required more than creative branding. It demanded operational discipline, supply chain planning, and a clear business strategy.
Scaling from Online Sales to Major Retail
Safavi initially helped build SURI through a direct-to-consumer model. This allowed the company to explain its mission clearly, control the customer experience and collect useful feedback.
The brand later entered physical retail, including Boots in the United Kingdom and Target in the United States. This market expansion placed SURI beside established oral-care brands and transformed it from a niche startup into a serious market participant.
Reported sales increased from approximately £1.7 million in 2022 to more than £23 million in 2024. This rapid growth reflects strong customer demand, effective positioning and disciplined commercial execution. It also shows Safavi’s ability to transfer corporate knowledge to the faster, less predictable environment of a startup.
Gyve Safavi’s Leadership Style
Safavi’s leadership combines detailed research with ambitious action. He may be described as a visionary, but his decisions remain grounded in product performance, customer behavior, and operational reality.
SURI’s growth shows that a disruptor does not always need to add more technology. Sometimes meaningful innovation comes from removing unnecessary features and improving the elements that customers value most.
Safavi also represents a modern corporate leader who views business sustainability as a source of innovation rather than a barrier to commercial success. However, future growth will depend on maintaining product quality, supporting repairs, proving environmental claims, and managing international expansion responsibly.
Conclusion
Gyve Safavi’s career demonstrates how corporate experience can support meaningful entrepreneurship. By combining brand strategy, consumer research, product design, and sustainability, he and Mark Rushmore transformed an ordinary hygiene product into a growing international brand.
Safavi’s move from corporate executive to startup founder highlights the value of calculated risk, persistent problem-solving and clear market positioning. As SURI continues its business development and global expansion, his greatest challenge will be preserving the company’s original purpose while achieving sustainable commercial growth.
(FAQs)
What Is Gyve Safavi Known For?
Gyve Safavi is known as the co-founder and CEO of SURI, a sustainable oral-care company recognized for its aluminum electric toothbrush and plant-based brush heads.
When Did Gyve Safavi Found SURI?
Safavi co-founded SURI with Mark Rushmore. The company commercially launched its first sustainable electric toothbrush in 2022.
Where Did Gyve Safavi Work Before SURI?
Before becoming a startup founder, Safavi worked at Procter & Gamble and later held strategic leadership roles connected with WPP and AKQA.
What Makes SURI Different?
SURI combines sonic cleaning technology with an aluminum body, plant-based brush heads, recycling support, and a company-managed repair process.
Has SURI Expanded Beyond Electric Toothbrushes?
Yes. SURI expanded its range by launching a refillable gel toothpaste system featuring a reusable dispenser and plant-based refill packaging.
