Business of Hype: Miki Agrawal
Business of HYPE is a weekly series brought to you by HYPEBEAST Radio and hosted by jeffstaple. It’s a show about creatives, brand-builders and entrepreneurs and the realities behind the dreams they’ve built. On the season 4 finale, Jeff sits down with social disruptor, entrepreneur and author Miki Agrawal.
A serial entrepreneur, Miki Agrawal has had an immense career having founded three companies: Wild, a gluten-free farm-to-table pizza restaurant, Thinx, a period-proof underwear company, and her latest venture, Tushy, a modern bidet that clips to your toilet.
Though many of her companies requiring a “reprogramming” of people, Miki says she enjoys challenging the status quo. She started Wild in 2005, a time when gluten-free wasn’t the norm, and details the process it took to raise $250k at just 25-years-old. After months of failed funding, she advises us on her best practices — be yourself and have a bit of naivety.
“I realized I wasn’t my sparkly true self. When you’re a light, when you’re super good at something, people are attracted to you.”
Since then, Miki alongside her twin sister, started Thinx. Disrupting the billion dollar feminine hygiene industry, the company grew to over $150 million valuation. Her newest company, Tushy, was birthed from her desire to normalize the bidet in America. Being half Japanese and half Indian, Miki informs us that the bidet is not only common in Asia, but the most effective method for cleaning.
While her businesses touch upon “taboo” topics, they create conversations for people to break social stigmas. So tune in to hear how the “She-E-O” broke into the business and how she plans to revolutionize how we think.
This episode features references to the following:
2:10 – Do Cool Sh*t
2:18 - Disrupt-Her
3:08 – Wild
3:57 – Thinx
4:35 – Tushy
6:02 - The benefits of a bidet
9:37 – How Tushy works
10:14 – Challenging stigmas
11:19 – Tushy return policy
11:55 – Shifting culture
14:40 – Starting Wild
16:00 – Funding for Wild
20:50 – How she raised $250k
31:06 – Idea for Thinx
33:34 – Kickstarter for Thinx
33:58 – Indiegogo for Thinx
35:53 - $150 million valuation
37:42 – Idea for Tushy
37:54 – Bidets in Japan
41:12 – Toto bidet
42:03 – Fundraising for Tushy
43:00 – SNL
44:25 – Advice