It all started with a competition for new ideas.
As a freshman mechanical engineering major at Loyola Marymount University, 2015 OVS grad Masaki Takamatsu took home the top prize at a school-sponsored “new idea” pitch competition, working with a fellow student to create a prototype skateboard brake.
That was his first step into the entrepreneurial world and served to connect him to the director of entrepreneurship at LMU. Fast forward a few years and Takamatsu is racing down the entrepreneurial road.
He has taken two entrepreneur classes while pursuing his degree in mechanical engineering and has added experience in e-commerce and Amazon to his repertoire, creating a product – a card holder that sticks to your phone — that has sold on Amazon since 2016. He has also played around with what’s called Dropshipping with the e-commerce platform Shopify.
But recently, Takamatsu has shifted his entrepreneurial focus to the big leagues.
Last October, his entrepreneur professor at LMU approached him with a proposition: could he help establish a Korean toothbrush company here in the US? Takamatsu quickly reprioritized his other projects and climbed onboard as co-founder of the company, which has dedicated itself to building a better toothbrush.
“[We] thought it would be great learning experience,” Takamatsu said, “and we really saw the potential for this company so we just jumped on it.”
With his help, the company, Bristl Science, on March 26 launched a Kickstarter campaign that within hours reached its fundraising goal of $10,000. Since then, the campaign has more than doubled that goal, drawing more than 250 backers so far. The Kickstarter campaign is still active, with the company continuing to accept pre-orders (click here for more information).
Takamatsu’s hard work can be seen in the Bristl Science website, the e-commerce channels, distribution channels, the Facebook marketing, and the Kickstarter page.
Takamatsu’s goals for the launch are not only to sell toothbrushes but to create awareness of the Bristl Science toothbrush, which touts the use of sonic vibration and clinically validated light therapy to heal gums, kill bacteria and whiten teeth.
“We want people to know about this company and our products and also to get credibility,” Takamatsu said. “We want more people to be involved.”
Looking toward the future of the company, Takamatsu would like to use his engineering background to become more involved in product design, and possibly even work in product management.
In the long term, Takamatsu and Bristl Science also hope to educate younger generations about the benefits of oral health care.
To that end, Bristl Science has partnered with the nonprofit America’s ToothFairy, with the company donating a percentage of its sales to provide dental care to underserved children around the country.
“We’re trying to be as socially responsible as possible,” Takamatsu said. “That’s one the biggest missions that we have.”