It’s easy to think that changing the world needs to be a massive, moon launch style project. While noble, that can also be overwhelming. Patrick Triato of Goodwell has been pursuing a more bite-sized approach to changing the world–reinventing the tooth brush that we use every day.
The typical electric toothbrush comes packed in lots of packaging and, at it’s heart, has a lithium-ion battery that will eventually fail and into landfill. Millions of batteries that will take generations to disappear. Many people dump their toothbrushes in less than a year.
And that prospect bugged Patrick Triato. So he started to work on inventing a mechanical toothbrush that would do just as good a job as a common electric toothbrush but without a battery based on toxic chemicals. You can read more about Patrick’s journey in this interesting article from Thrive Global.
“If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” Einstein via Triato
Eventually Patrick identified a spring as the best choice to power his new version of the toothbrush. That was several years ago. I first saw the Goodwell prototype several years ago and, while I was impressed with the concept, I needed more convincing that Goodwell could succeed in building a strong consumer brand and gaining share in a tough category. Fortunately, Patrick kept working the problem and brought on a solid partner with manufacturing expertise, Charlie McArthur.
HMTA invested in Goodwell’s seed round in the spring of 2021 and expects to continue to support the company as it moves from prototypes to full production. The ambitious Be Brush has been featured in a wide variety of media including Fast Company.