(Newswire.net — December 19, 2019) — Earlier this year, SmileDirectClub announced a game-changing partnership with HP. Announced in May, the direct-to-consumer orthodontic appliance startup and the technology giant have joined forces to take SDC’s mission – making great smiles accessible to more people than ever before – to the next level.
Powered by 49 of HP’s Jet Fusion 3D printing systems, SmileDirectClub can now produce over 50,000 unique mouth molds a day and orthodontic appliances by working around the clock – 24 hours a day, seven days a week – with the ability to make as many as 20 million orthodontic devices in 2020.
To make things even better, this massive growth brings down costs, helps make SmileDirectClub a more sustainable operation, and creates a superior appliance. Every 3D printed mouth mold is thermoformed and custom-made for the patient using BPA free plastic, prescribed by state licensed dentists & orthodontists, and shipped directly to consumers in order to do away with the traditional, high-cost business model of orthodontic treatment. The companies can also now repurpose used and unused materials from molds and appliances by melting them down, reclaiming the plastics, and turning them back into new pellets, which can then be used to make injection molds for future patients. With the help of HP’s data intelligence systems, there are more reasons than ever before to choose SmileDirectClub over the competition.
As such, it simply made sense for SmileDirectClub co-founder Alex Fenkell to speak at HP’s Senior Leaders Meeting in Miami. For a small group of 325 attendees, Fenkell participated in an intimate fireside chat with host Christoph Schell, followed by an audience Q&A.
The conversation began as Fenkell told the story of how SmileDirectClub got started. He explained how he and co-founder Jordan Katzman met at summer camp in Michigan when they were both 13 years old, wearing metal braces, and absolutely miserable about it. Merely a few years later, they launched their first business together – a car detailing business – but were always in search of innovative ways to cut out inefficiencies.
Fenkell and Katzman then remembered how miserable they were in braces and recognized the enormous opportunity for someone who would be able to connect licensed dentists and orthodontists with millions of people to provide remote care, and tested their hypothesis through extensive research with medical practitioners.
During the early days, the duo was responsible for everything, including customer service calls, packing kits, and shipping orders. Though they initially wondered if there would be interest, they were ecstatic to see their first sales come through – and five years and 750,000 successful smiles later, he and Katzman are still every bit as excited.
Next, Fenkell was asked about what disruption means to him as an entrepreneur and founder. He explained that by disrupting an industry that hasn’t seen challenges or innovation in decades inevitably leads to pushback, but that with a team with experience disrupting the insurance industry, they were prepared. As he expanded on this, he dug deep at the why behind his work at SmileDirectClub: “It’s easy to devote myself to the business when I see the transformation in our customers and hear what a straighter smile means to them. It’s a tangible, transformative event, it’s so humbling, and it keeps us going. And we’re just getting started.”
From there, the conversation turned to challenges Fenkell and Katzman faced along the way and how they overcame them. Though Fenkell was quick to joke that they needed a 3D printer that could quickly print enough arches, and found the technology they needed through HP, he quickly got to the heart of the challenges facing his company. He talked about how SmileDirectClub’s business model is challenging an entrenched industry that hasn’t been challenged very often and why the company’s harshest critics stand to benefit by continuing to limit access to care, keep orthodontic treatments expensive, and out of reach for many.
To combat this, Fenkell is focusing efforts on educating the public and the dental community as to the safety and efficacy of remote clear aligner therapy, and building trust with partners, dentists and orthodontists, and patients for years to come.
Fenkell was also asked about how to create a great company culture and maintain both vision and focus along his journey of building a transformative company. He put it simply enough when he said that their truth is to be “inspired by WHY.” By believing that better is better, and that there is no finish line, there’s always the potential to improve every aspect of the business, and every success story inspires the team to keep doing great work.
Naturally, this led to talking about how SmileDirectClub created a digital end-to-end experience for their customers. More than anything else, Fenkell focused on the importance of trust in an era where there’s such intense competition from providers all over the world and reviews written everywhere.
For HP’s senior leaders, he broke down his three keys to building brand equity and trust.
First, he showed how this is built into the brand’s positioning by providing simple information, straightforward pricing, and making support available 24/7.
He also discussed how to think in a customer-centric mindset, and to “be the customer.” He said that everything SmileDirectClub has built starts with customer experience, and that leadership spends time each day listening to customer service calls, watching videos from SmileShops, and talking about what can be done to further refine and improve how customers transform their smiles.
Furthermore, he explained that the company is hard at work promoting the network of doctors, dentists, and orthodontists that power their teledentistry services. He wants prospective customers to know that SmileDirectClub has a Chief Clinical Officer and dental advisory board who oversee and advise licensed dentist and orthodontist to approve and monitor cases, and that this number is growing as they expand.
The conversation then led back to the partnership between SmileDirectClub and HP, and what the future of 3D printing and other new technologies might look like. Fenkell explained that HP has been a great, supportive, and collaborative partner, and that the company has helped them to deliver custom appliances on a massive level, as well as to continue evolving and innovating for years to come.
In his final words for HP’s senior leaders, he reiterated the importance of collaboration in nurturing relationships. He explained that “each team gets better, faster, and smarter when they push the envelope and challenge each other,” and emphasized the importance of thinking like a customer to best serve customers. He encouraged leaders to develop a deep understanding of their business’s day to day operations to understand how to pivot when needed, to challenge assumptions, and to even disrupt yourself every day in every meeting if there’s an opportunity to be more efficient and improve product quality.
In the years to come, Fenkell looks forward to continuing to build SmileDirectClub – and continuing to transform his industry through the company’s thriving partnership with HP.
Click here to learn more about SmileDirectClub and co-founder Alex Fenkell.