This Founder’s Shower Idea Became a Viral Sensation

After selling his first company, Ryan Babenzien set out to find his next venture and create the ideal direct-to-consumer company.

And like many good ideas, this one hit him in the shower. “After using a lot of lotion one winter here in New York, I thought, Maybe there’s something in the water that’s causing my legs to just be more dry than they used to be,” Ryan says.

He did some research, and found that the water in the US is filled with chlorine and other substances that aren’t good for hair and skin. That’s how the idea for Jolie, a company that makes filtered showerheads, was born. In 2023—its second year in business—the company made more than $28 million in revenue. Ahead, Ryan shares his strategies to create and market a viral product.

Creating a framework for the ideal ecommerce company

Ryan used the lessons he learned from his first company, a sneaker brand he eventually sold to Steve Madden, as he started his next project. He says the fashion industry has a lot of challenges with sizing, so he wanted his next brand to involve a one-size-fits-all product.

Ryan also wanted to sell something that people use habitually (every day, if possible) because he says it’s difficult to change consumer behavior.

The final element of his framework was finding a product that played into his customers’ vanity. “Vanity drives so much of our consumption and consideration of purchasing,” Ryan says.

He found that a filtered showerhead fit the bill for all three requirements—if he marketed it as a beauty product, instead of a plumbing device.

A Jolie showerhead with eucalyptus hung from it — Ryan found through market research that there was a huge market for showerheads—and there were few other recognizable brands in the space. *Jolie*

Designing a more recognizable showerhead

Jolie worked on making its showerhead not only functional, but aesthetically pleasing. Ryan and his team aimed to create a visually striking product that would be immediately recognizable. “If you go to your friend’s house and you go into the restroom, we wanted a design that was striking enough where you would say, ‘Oh, you have a Jolie,’” Ryan says. He compared it to how the Nest thermostat revolutionized the design of an otherwise mundane home fixture.

A Jolie showerhead next to its packaging and a wrench — Jolie’s packaging is designed to be more premium and sleek than other showerhead branding.

Operating lean with business tech

What sets Jolie apart is its highly efficient operational model. Unlike many startups that amass large teams, Jolie managed to reach eight-figures in revenue with just three full-time employees.

Ryan attributes this success to the technology available to ecommerce businesses today. “Ten years ago, you needed 20 people to start something, because all the stuff didn’t exist,” Ryan says. “And then along came Shopify and they just leveled the playing field.”

Capitalizing on user-generated content

Instead of relying heavily on paid advertising, Jolie leveraged user-generated content and collaborations with creators. This strategy involved seeding products with creators who could authentically share their experiences. Because of this, the user-generated content generated brand awareness through word-of-mouth marketing.

Ryan says the challenge was building out the system to do this at scale. “When most people think about user-generated content, they’re probably thinking 10 or 20 pieces a month. We’re getting 600 to 700 pieces a month,” Ryan says.

To learn more about Jolie’s smart marketing strategy, listen to the full interview on the Shopify Masters podcast.Source