USER FRIENDLY Hello’s product line includes toothpaste varieties such
as charcoal whitening fluoride free and organic apple flavor for kids.
HE RAN CARPETING AND TRUCKING
BUSINESSES AND A RESTAURANT
WHILE IN COLLEGE.
“I’ve been an entrepreneur my
whole life. As a little kid I’d have a
lemonade stand and also run a car-
wash. Because why not?” Dubitsky
says. While studying at the University
of Rochester, he created several busi-
nesses, including a custom-carpeting
group for dorm rooms, a student
trucking company to transport
belongings across campus, and a
restaurant open seven nights a week.
“My mother encouraged me with
the notion that it took courage to be
creative,” says Dubitsky. “I try to cre-
ate things that people will fall in love
with, that will elevate the everyday
and fill these gaps in everyday life.”
HE HAS NO FEAR OF FAILURE.
“If you don’t try, you’ve already
failed. What’s the worst thing that’s
going to happen from trying? At
least you get to learn a lot,” he says.
“We’re only here for so long, so why
not take a risk and try to learn along
the way? I wake up every day really
excited and energized, knowing that
there might be bad news, or there
might be good news, but either way,
it’s exciting to know you’re building
something.”
Another sentiment he follows is
“People don’t know what they want
until you show it to them,” a quote
popularized by Steve Jobs, who
inspired him.
HE GOT THE IDEA FOR A TOOTH-
PASTE COMPANY WHILE VISITING
A STORE.
One day while walking down the
oral-care aisle of a store, Dubitsky
found himself puzzled by the bright,
glistening displays for toothpastes
and mouthwashes. Some struck him
as horrifying.
“I saw all these pictures of extract-
ed teeth. I’m a hyper-visual person,
and I thought, ‘That’s really messed
up. The last thing I want to see is an
extracted tooth, even if it’s a highly
stylized one.’” But what troubled him
more were the ingredients in popular
products, including the petroleum-
based sugar substitute saccharin,
which studies previously linked to
cancer (the National Cancer Institute
now says there’s no clear evidence of
this). He was also disturbed by the
alcohol in mouthwash, which leaves
the mouth dry.
“Everything about the position-
ing of these companies seemed to be
about fear and shame,” he says. “If
you don’t use this stuff, then the den-
tist is going to drill and bill you, and
your interviews will also go poorly.
Oh, and you also won’t get kissed
on your date. It’s all fear monger-
ing.” He wanted to create a product
that eliminated all the negativity sur-
rounding oral care, and the first word
that came to mind that connoted
friendliness was “hello.”
HE SAYS IT’S GOOD TO SHOW THAT
YOU’RE AMBITIOUS.
One thing Dubitsky has never
done is fill out a job application.
The only way that’s been possible
for him is he’s never worked at
a job he didn’t create.
“I worked for some of these larger
companies, but I’d go do the work
and ask if they’d ever thought of this
particular idea before, and do the
backup work supporting that idea,”
says Dubistky. “I thought, ‘Worst
case, they’ll think I’m ambitious and
best case, they’ll say “Well, we don’t
know how to do that, you should
come help us do just that.”’”
He says that if you find yourself
in a situation where you can impress
someone with what makes your
thinking special, you should take that
opportunity. “Passion and enthusiasm
are wildly contagious,” he says, “so if
you find something that you love and
you can exhibit that level of enthusi-
asm and joy, you’re going to win.”
HIS FRIENDS PERSUADED HIM TO
MOVE TO MONTCLAIR.
A little over eight years ago,
Dubitsky had lunch with a close
friend that turned from pre-planned
business talk to a plea for him and
his family to move to the town. “For
two-and-a-half hours he regaled
me with how I needed to move to
Montclair, and a few months later
someone else told me the same
thing,” says Dubitsky. “They said
moving here would change my life,
and I think they were right.”
It wasn’t long before his wife and
two kids joined him in a move to
Montclair; soon after they relocated,
Dubitsky launched Hello Products
at 363 Bloomfield Avenue.
HE SEES MONTCLAIR AS A GREAT
WORK ALTERNATIVE TO NEW YORK
CITY.
“The community at large is
nonjudgmental, funky, creative —
it’s a magical spot,” Dubitsky says.
“I opened the office here for Hello
because I got such a good vibe in
Montclair. There was no need to
go to New York City every day.”
Dubitsky says people fall in love
with the “exposed-brick and duct-
work offices” of New York and tend
to think there’s less talent outside
the city. He says this isn’t the case.
“There’s no shortage of talent out
here,” he says. “Hello just seemed
like a really great opportunity to
build something locally. Working
here gives me more time to see my
family and avoid the nonsense of
crossing a body of water to get to
a bustling, expensive city.” ■
MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE HOLIDAY 2019
17