Meet Eli Packouz | Instafloss, co-founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eli Packouz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eli, what principle do you value most?
When it comes to creating a consumer product, my driving principle is to create something that truly solves a problem — and that people glad to have that solution in their lives. I see too many products fail because they either didn’t solve a real problem or they added so many additional problems in executing the solution. For us, when we set out to create Instafloss, our mission was to create a device that flosses all your teeth in seconds. One of the criteria was that it has to be as or more effective than current solutions. Every time an engineering solution came up that might impact the quality of the floss, I would always remind myself and the team, “You can floss in zero seconds if you don’t care about the results — by simply not flossing.” This is partly why the R&D for Instafloss took so long, as we needed to make sure that a ten-second automated floss was as or more effective than the multiple minute manual floss. In the end, I think this is worth it, both from a moral standpoint as well as for the trajectory of the adoption. Products that don’t actually solve problems well might make a quick buck at first, but have no long-term future. In the end, if we’re going to devote years of our life towards something, I believe we should be proud of it.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
At Instafloss, we’ve created the first device that can floss all your teeth in 10 seconds — and probably do so better than you can. It started with a broken string of floss while I was late for a meeting. This led to research in which I discovered that 70% of Americans regularly skip flossing (they say it takes too long) and that the remaining 30% are almost all flossing incorrectly. As cheesy as it sounds, I just knew there had to be a better way!

I teamed up with my old college roommate from 16 years prior, the now Doctor Ralf Raud, and we managed to get regular advisory time with Dr. Ana Mascarenhas, who was the Chair of the American Dental Association Council on Scientific Affairs. This led us down a path of research and development that took five years! As they say, “We do it not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be easy.” It was not easy. Every study, re-engineering, and new study cost money we did not have. Luckily, we managed to run a successful crowdfunding campaign which funded the R&D and, after five years, we have a product we are proud of. We’ve delivered to the early adopters of our crowdfunding campaign and it is truly heartwarming to have people share with us how proud their dentists are with their charts. My favorite emails come from people with motor function disabilities who have not been able to floss themselves in years who tell us that Instafloss is a game changer for them.

This wasn’t an easy path or a short path, but it has been a very fulfilling path. We hope to continue our war on the oral health crisis as we roll out Instafloss to the general public. The fight is worth it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I grew up in Miami and spent most weekends on the beach. Nothing beats La Sandwicherie after a hot afternoon swimming.

I think they’re currently closed for renovation, but if they ever open back up, The Russian Turkish Baths are a must if you enjoy an intense sauna experience. It’s one of those “I was relaxing so hard, I need to relax after relaxing” outings.

If you want to get some friends together for BBQ and ultimate frisbee, Greynold’s Park is an excellent choice. When I was a kid, the “castle on the mountain” was the highest point in Miami I had seen. Perhaps when this whole city is underwater, that will be the last place standing. Well, you can start practicing now to be King of the Hill.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to my brother, David Packouz. When I was in college, he was at home playing guitar. He wanted to play with a drummer, but drummers are hard to come by (and drum sets are even harder to carry). We set on creating a solution: A drummer in a guitar pedal. When every musician we talked to said that they wanted one, we launched our company together, Singular Sound. We went on to create 7 more products. Here’s to you, David — Insomuch as anything has a start, your noodling at home was the start to this grand adventure!

Website: https://instafloss.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eli-packouz-390701149/