An American social entrepreneur, author and activist, Miki Agrawal has proven to be an unstoppable force in a male-dominated industry. Miki Agrawal is the founder of THINX and TUSHY, two companies she started in her bedroom after graduating from Dartmouth College. THINX sells menstrual underwear designed to replace tampons while also helping women stay dry during their periods. TUSHY is a company that sells disposable toilet seats with inner leak guards- something you cannot live without when you have kids! Her most recent project? A new company called Icon Co. will offer a much-needed alternative to the rude stall door etiquette at public restrooms.
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Growing up, Miki Agrawal was raised in the rural Pacific Northwest, where she was always at the food bank. At 16, she dropped out of high school and scored a job as a waitress at a fancy restaurant in New York City as a way to pay for her sister’s cancer treatments. The money was great, but she hated the lifestyle, so she decided to find something else that was fulfilling. She returned to college and earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Dartmouth College and then an MBA from Harvard University.
Trust your gut, eliminate toxic situations, and surround yourself with positive, hardworking, inspiring people, which will inevitably make you want to elevate yourself as well.
— . (@twinmiki) September 23, 2022
During her MBA studies, Miki Agrawal pitched her first business idea to a friend while they were watching TV. However, instead of simply looking at the television, she thought the idea through, seeing if there was any way that it could be a reality and laughed at herself when she saw the ridiculousness of what she had come up with. She then researched and found that other companies were already making these products. However, they were discrete and costly. She decided to create something cheaper and better.
THINX is a brand of menstrual underwear that is designed to replace tampons. Although she was initially rejected for trademarking the name as “a lot of people have covered ‘tampon’ in other ways,” Agrawal’s idea prevailed, and she sold the company to privately owned MEC in 2015 for $1.1 million. THINX has expanded its reach from the couch to inclusion in 30 states and over 30 countries. Her latest venture, TUSHY, which stands for Tampons with Upscale Hygienic Options, is a disposable toilet seat with elasticized leak guards for kids.
Learn more about Miki Agrawal: https://medium.com/@mikiagrawal