NSU Alumni Spotlight: NSU Alumnus Launches Oral Care Subscription Business

Great ideas can be born under the most mundane circumstances. NSU alumnus Alexander Lafortune got the idea for his new business while a student at the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship. Alone in his dorm room one evening, Lafortune accidentally knocked his toothbrush into the toilet. Frustrated by the inconvenience, he wondered why replacing or buying a new toothbrush was not as easy as ordering a pizza.

In October 2018, Lafortune launched Fortune X, a monthly oral care subscription service www.fortunexbox.com based in South Florida. The company’s goal is to help customers improve their oral hygiene and save time by having products regularly shipped to them.

“Dentists recommend that everyone replace their toothbrush every three to four months,” said Lafortune, whose company sells a variety of toothbrushes, replacement bristle heads, toothpaste, and whitening products. “People tend to forget or they don’t have time to buy a new toothbrush. Fortune X wants to take away those worries and create a new lifestyle…College students are a huge market for us. We understand that most college students do not have cars or time.”

Lafortune graduated in 2018 with a B.A. in Business Administration and a minor in Human Resources Management from NSU’s Huizenga College.

“I’ve aspired to become an entrepreneur since I was in high school,” he said. “Through my four years at NSU, my business degree helped prepare me in numerous ways. The business program had outstanding professors who were professionals in their fields. All had one goal in common: To make sure they prepared us to become the best when we entered the real world. The encouragement they gave me as a student motivated me to pursue my business.”