As the founder and driving force behind several major companies, Miki Agrawal has been at the forefront of many industry-wide and disruptive efforts. Most well known for her work with TUSHY, the innovative bidet brand made popular during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Miki Agrawal has developed a wide and expansive portfolio that has constantly sought to push the limit in unique and fascinating sectors.
More than just another entrepreneur and social disrupt-her, Miki Agrawal has filled the shoes of a true thought leader for other innovators and entrepreneurs looking to follow in her footsteps.
Already labeled a “Young Global Leader” and one of the “Fast Company’s Most Creative People”, it’s the perfect time to navigate what makes Agrawal exactly how those accolades have defined her.
Building a Better Bidet: Innovation and Disruption
For readers who have not heard of Miki Agrawal, the odds are pretty good that they are familiar with the content that she creates and develops. The founder of America’s top bidet, TUSHY, as well as a best-selling author of books like “Do Cool Sh*t” and “Disrupt-Her”, Miki Agrawal has spread her wings and soared over a variety of different sectors, creating disruption and innovation along the way.
One of the simplest ways to approach an innovative and entrepreneurial outlet is by embracing something familiar before turning it completely on its head. For Agrawal, this meant taking a long look at her past where she was in a culturally diverse household, as she is half Japanese and half Indian.
Unfortunately, struggling with her own stomach issues, Agrawal would find herself turning to bidets as a solution to many of her health concerns. In 2014, her intense hyperthyroid condition had a dramatic impact on her bathroom habits and her overall health. Agrawal’s condition would cause her to create her very own best-in-class and modernized bidet, making it relevant and affordable for the American market.
Having seen the way bidets were actively used in her mixed-culture household, Agrawal knew that they would find a footing within the American marketplace and she wasn’t wrong.
Success as a Thought Leader
Finding success as a thought leader is often about taking concepts that are old and reforming them to make them new again. For Miki Agrawal, this meant addressing issues that were up close and personal to her own health and lifestyle. While the TUSHY bidet has since become a best-in-class bidet option for American shoppers, it isn’t the only success that Agrawal found in the field of thought leadership and she arrived at that point by questioning everything.
The founder of TUSHY has spoken extensively in interviews regarding her techniques for pushing the envelope forward in special areas where she knew that she could succeed. Her path to success, according to Agrawal, was in the act of questioning everything.
Miki Agrawal said in an interview, “Questioning the way things are done has been ingrained in me since I was a kid. The questioning philosophy showed up in my entrepreneurial career as I looked to enter categories that have been “set for a long time” with little to no innovation.”
In doing so, Agrawal was able to target areas like period-proof underwear and modernized bidets for American audiences, both products that offer daily functionality for countless people around the world. Agrawal said of this Eureka moment, “That was a big ‘ah-ha’ moment for me because I knew that I could harness creativity and innovation and disrupt tired old categories.”
Expanding on the idea of taking risks and pushing toward innovation within her industry, Miki Agrawal fully understands the importance of creating a layer of support around her at all times. Agrawal suggests that each individual has a unique area of talent where their genius can truly light up. Agrawal says, “That’s the reason why one of the first things I did with TUSHY was hired my CFO and CEO – who perfectly balanced out my creativity with their understanding of the technical.”
On the way to becoming a true thought leader within the industry, Agrawal has made it exorbitantly clear that she has to focus on retaining her creative spark. With TUSHY in particular, Agrawal has some ideas. Agrawal said, “We’re going to continue talking to customers with accessible, relatable language and using humor to break down barriers.”
Developing as an Entrepreneur
One of the most important ways that Miki Agrawal learned to develop as an entrepreneur is by embracing her willingness to fail. Agrawal has always considered failure part and parcel of the learning experience and that it is ultimately necessary to make a fool of ourselves sometimes.
A unique experience where this mindset was put into play was when Agrawal tried out for the NY Magic, a professional soccer team. Agrawal said, “I snuck out of my job twice a week, got to Brooklyn for the tryouts, and would go and try out against over a hundred Division 1 soccer players.”
Agrawal went on to say, “I felt like an imposter as a banker and also as a wannabe player, but I went for it anyway.”
In developing as an entrepreneur, Miki Agrawal eventually learned that she would have to be kind to herself while also giving herself the space she needed to fail. Agrawal states, “I’m human and there are going to be times when I am tempted to take on more than I can handle, but those moments of recalibration are so important to reset.”
Marketing With Miki Agrawal
More than anything else that Miki Agrawal has done, she has displayed exceptional talents and acumen for creating marketing campaigns. To find continued success in this area of her life, Miki understands that it is necessary to work with relatable language. Miki suggests that customers and potential clients don’t want to feel like they are being marketed to, so it is of the utmost importance to create copy that reads like a friend rather than a salesman.
In addition to her work creating relatable language to drive her marketing campaigns, Miki suggests that visual design, font, spacing, and even the overall layout of marketing imagery can have a profound impact on success. Miki goes on to say, “My challenge to my team is to ask for every design that they make, is it fridge-worthy? Is this piece of art so beautiful that someone would want to put it on their fridge?”
In addition to her marketing techniques themselves, Miki Agrawal is a firm believer in adopting industry-wide technology to remain competitive. Agrawal utilizes tools like Figma, Monday, and Slack to maintain constant and effective communication among her team.
About Miki Agrawal
Miki Agrawal is a social entrepreneur, best-selling author, and noted executive with a Bachelor of Science in Business and Communications from Cornell University. Shortly after departing from University, Agrawal found her way to New York City’s prestigious Deutsche Bank, where she would end up being profoundly affected by the events of 9/11.
After departing from her role as a banking analyst, Miki Agrawal would establish a successful farm-to-table gluten-free eatery known as WILD in 2005. The company continues to thrive to this day with multiple locations around the world. Agrawal said, “People don’t tend to think of pizza as healthy food, but it has all the major food groups that your body needs to function.”
Following her success in dining, Miki Agrawal would explore several entrepreneurial outreach programs including the TUSHY bidet start-up company. When she is not working with the products that have made her name a household one, Miki Agrawal is working on a variety of projects including some of her best-selling works, “Disrupt-Her: A Manifesto for the Modern Woman” and “Do Cool Sh*t”.
Miki Agrawal says of her journey thus far as to whether she would make any changes, “Each bump in the road is a learning opportunity and has helped me grow and reach the point I’m at today.”