Miki Agrawal | TUSHY
MIKI AGRAWAL
Founder of TUSHY, a bidet attachment company that helps ease environmental strife and fight the global sanitation crisis.
Tell Us About Your Company, TUSHY.
TUSHY is a modern bidet brand on a mission to clean the butts of the American people, one precise stream of water at a time. TUSHY’s brand is forward thinking, artful, and fun, unlike pretty much all toilet or bidet brands in the world :-)
How Did You Come Up With The Name?
TUSHY - it’s an endearing term for butt. My girlfriend Nicole calls butts TUSHY and it inspired me to name it that.
This Isn’t Your First Rodeo. What Is Your Background? What Led You To Social Entrepreneurship?
I've always loved questioning the status quo and society's approach to things. Is there a better, more efficient, more environmentally friendly, more design considered, more artful way to do them? I've always been fascinated with the process of discovery, invention and rapid improvements and my favorite saying is "iteration is perfection". I feel a great sense of pride in having built successful companies that have tackled taboos head on, are truly changing culture and improving the lives of millions of people around the world.
What Have Been Both Your Favorite And Least-Liked Parts Of Your Entrepreneurial Journey? What Have Been Your Most Challenging And Most Exciting Moments For You And The Company?
Favorite part: changing culture and helping people experience life better and where the planet breathes easier.
Least favorite part: dealing with people who are not honest.
What Was The Fundraising Process Like For You? Tell Us What You Can About The Money You’ve Raised.
I got lucky early on with an investor who put in $400K after our first lunch together. Since then we raised a total of $2.9M from mostly angels and a couple of small family offices/funds.
Can You Tell Us About Some Of Your Numbers? How Has Growth Been Over The Past Couple Of Years? Anything Exciting That Will Be Launching Soon?
Had our first $1M day in March. Targeting to do 5X last year in revenue.
Launching our TUSHY SYSTEM that is the future of toileting.
COVID-19 Panic Buying Led To A Shortage Of Toilet Paper, Causing Stores To Restrict The Number Of Rolls Customers Could Buy. What Was Demand Like For TUSHY During That Time, And How Has COVID Affected Your Business In General?
We had our first 1 Million dollar day, a milestone for any entrepreneur.
The business took off since the toilet paper shortage and we had to 6x our production supply, which was really hard during COVID. But a great problem to have and we are grateful for it.
How Do You Think Your Industry (Or The World In General) Will Change Post-COVID?
People will care more about conservation of money, resources and health, all positive things for TUSHY.
Who Are Your Cofounders Or People Who You Work Very Closely With? How Do Their Skills Supplement Yours?
Justin Allen - First employee and I made him a co-founder after 3 years because he is indispensable. Lawyer by trade and currently COO of TUSHY.
Jason Ojalvo - CEO, joined the team in 2018. Amazon executive for 10 years. Helped build Audible.
They have opposite skillsets to me which is a good thing.
Can You Walk Us Through A Work Day? What Does A Typical Day For You Look Like From When You Wake Up Till You Go To Sleep?
Thinking about the creative for the company, brand building, meetings with leadership, meeting with creative team, meeting with marketing team, meeting with product dev team, editing/commenting on creative ads, designs etc. Thinking about new campaigns and the next vibe of TUSHY.
What Are The Top Three Most Important Skills A Modern Day Entrepreneur Needs In Order To Be Successful?
Resilience, Agility, and Creativity.
What Is An Invaluable Lesson You’ve Learned In Business?
I hired too fast when we grew too fast, then fired too slow, and then learned the tough lesson of HIRING SLOW, FIRING FAST. Managing people take the most time out of our days, so we better like them and trust them.
If You Can Have A One-Hour Meeting With Someone Famous Who Is Alive, Who Would It Be And Why?
Mark Zuckerberg, entrepreneur who has been through a lot.
What Is Your Favorite Quote?
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!” - Hunter S.Thompson
Living out of my comfort zone creates a more adventurous life.
Is There A Parable That You Often Think About? What Is It And What Lesson Does It Teach?
The parable of the three blind people and the elephant:
The parable originated in the ancient Indian subcontinent, from where it has been widely diffused. It is a story of a group of blind men who have never come across an elephant before and who learn and conceptualize what the elephant is like by touching it. Each blind man feels a different part of the elephant's body, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. They then describe the elephant based on their limited experience and their descriptions of the elephant are different from each other. In some versions, they come to suspect that the other person is dishonest and they come to blows. The moral of the parable is that humans have a tendency to claim absolute truth based on their limited, subjective experience as they ignore other people's limited, subjective experiences which may be equally true.
Who Is Your Role Model?
RBG
What Do You Do In Your Free Time?
Hang with my son HIro, hike/work out, meditate/yoga, hang with my community, travel
What are your top three favorite books?
Crucial Conversations, by Al Switzler, Joseph Grenny, and Ron McMillan
The Heart of the Buddha’s Teachings, by Thich Naht Hanh
You can Heal your Life, by Louise Hay
What Does Success Mean To You?
Living freely and helping others live more freely too.
