“Find a Way”: How One Entrepreneur Turned a Toothbrush into a US$475 Million Idea

Some entrepreneurs plan their path meticulously. Others, like John Osher, discover it one idea at a time. John is a serial entrepreneur behind a slew of consumer products, including the Spinbrush, which became the top-selling toothbrush in the U.S. in just 15 months.

After the massive success of Spinbrush, he sold the company to Procter & Gamble in 2001 for US$475 million. Known for his success in building and selling businesses to Fortune 500 companies, John shared insights into his entrepreneurial journey on the latest episode of the EO 360° podcast. Host Dave Will (EO Boston) sat down with John to trace a career defined by curiosity, adaptability, and a remarkable ability to recognize what others overlook.

“Find a way. As an entrepreneur, that is your job. You will come across issues and roadblocks that are different from others. There is no map. Your job is to find a way.”

- John Osher 

“Although I have invented products, really recognizing opportunity, if I have a skill, that would be it,” John says.

That skill took shape early. As a college student in the 1960s, John opened a tiny shop selling inexpensive earrings at premium prices. When a local five-and-dime sold similar earrings for 38 cents, John listed his for US$4.99 and they quickly sold out. “Everyone bought mine because nobody wanted a 38-cent earring,” he recalls.

That moment taught him one of the first rules of entrepreneurship: price based on value, not cost.

From there, John’s ventures multiplied: a vintage clothing shop in Harvard Square, a line of baby products, and eventually a toy company called Cap Toys, where he created icons like Stretch Armstrong and the spinning lollipop known as the Spin Pop. Each venture emerged not from long-term strategy but from paying attention to what was right in front of him.

Each success — and even the occasional failure — reinforced a truth John would later teach at Harvard Business School: entrepreneurs are not necessarily big risk-takers, but they are great risk managers.

By the time he sold Cap Toys to Hasbro in 1997, John could have retired comfortably. He tried, but it did not suit him. “I retired and took up golf,” he says. “At some point I got bad at golf. And every time I get bad at golf, something happens.”

That “something” was the Spinbrush. Inspired by his earlier spinning candy toy, John set out to create a battery powered toothbrush that could retail for US$5. It took a year of relentless trial and error before the design met his exacting standards. When the first test batch hit Meijer stores in the Midwest, it outperformed Oral-B’s top-selling manual toothbrush nearly four to one. “We realized that we had something,” he says.

Within two years, Spinbrush had become a household name and a brand so valuable that Procter & Gamble purchased it for US$475 million.

Looking back, John credits his success not to brilliance, but to perseverance. “Find a way,” he says. “As an entrepreneur, that is your job. You will come across issues and roadblocks that are different from others. There is no map. Your job is to find a way.”

Listen to the full EO 360° interview with John Osher on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.