Alex Lieberman, the presenter of the Morning Brew podcast and YouTube channel, recently interviewed Miki Agrawal, co-founder of Hello TUSHY and Thinx. Miki Agrawal, as most people are aware, has broken down taboos around the usage of the bathroom and women’s period troubles. Miki Agrawal has converted her inventive ideas into two-million-dollar enterprises as a result of her own troubles with diarrhea and bleeding into her underpants. Her line of mass-market bidet accessories is flying off the shelves all over the world. Menstruating ladies all across the world love her Thinx period underwear. Here’s what Miki Agrawal has to say about her revolutionary and inventive company model.
Alex Lieberman: Hello, and welcome to the program!
Miki Agrawal: You’re welcome, Alex!
How Shame Forms Success
Alex Lieberman: Can you tell us about a time when you were shamed?
Miki Agrawal: My sister and I are both children of immigrants. My parents arrived in this country with very little money. My father only had $5 in his pocket when he arrived. It was drilled in us from the beginning that we had to succeed. We’d be ashamed of ourselves if we didn’t. That has unquestionably been a motivating factor in my life.
Alex Lieberman: What inspired Hello TUSHY?
Miki Agrawal: Well, I acquired hyperthyroidism, which is a thyroid disorder. In my situation, I experienced a severe side effect that caused me to poop up to eight times each day. It was a disaster. Because I wiped the poop off my butt so many times each day, I developed a red, itchy butt. I had to take showers to clean the remaining poop off my butt, but it had gotten out of hand. My boyfriend conducted some research and discovered bidets, which eliminate the need to wipe the excrement off by hand. Of course, growing up with a Japanese mother, I was well aware of bidets. They were simply a luxury that I couldn’t afford. That’s when the concept for mass-market bidet attachments came to me. My Hello TUSHY bidet accessories allow anybody to have a bidet in their bathroom without the high cost of upgrading their toilet or installing a brand new bidet.
Business Borne From Plight
Alex Lieberman: What about Thinx? What was the inspiration behind this product?
Miki Agrawal: That was another one that touched near to home. At the time, I was running my “Wild” restaurant, and riding back and forth to the restaurant daily. When it came to my period, however, I discovered that I was so busy that I frequently forgot to replace my tampon. As a result, I bled through my underwear and, of course, my pants. Not only was this embarrassing, but it would ruin my pants. Thinx, the period panty, was born out of my realization that ladies needed another alternative.
The phenomenal success of Miki Agrawal’s bathroom innovations Hello TUSHY and Thinx shows that not only is the market responsive to bathroom innovation, but it is also ready for more new ideas from Miki Agrawal. We hope that she continues to innovate, inspire and bring new ideas to market.
