Thinx CEO speaks about entrepreneurship
Featured Events | Mar 27, 2014 | Claire Curry
By Farzana Ali (GSB ’15)
On March 12, Miki Agrawal became the first invited speaker to pass around lingerie at an on-campus talk. So why the display of undergarments?
Agrawal is the founder of THINX, undergarments, a product that does social good in addition to offering a new type of feminine product to women. The purchase of one pair of THINX funds seven feminine products for a woman who needs them around the globe.
Her new undergarment line is one of several ventures Agrawal has been successful at. Students were eager to hear how this Amazon best-selling author and organic-pizza business-partner with Zappos founder Tony Hseih became a successful serial entrepreneur. In her talk, she stressed having the tactfulness and tenacity to ask for resources:
- Get people to believe in you: your energy, your excitement and your capabilities, rather than facts and figures. “If someone emailed me every day asking for an internship, I’d probably give them a chance. No one has.”
- In order to ask for something: jab, jab, hook. In an email give a compliment. Give a service. Then, ask. (Once Agrawal traded favors by fundraising for a startup, and in turn, she was invited on Jimmy Fallon where she set the world record for most Wookie punches.)
- When someone says “No”, get creative. “If you don’t have calloused hands, it’s hard to develop thick skin,” she said.
Ms. Agrawal also encouraged students to create events that leverage their skills and preferences when seeking venture funding or feedback.
Recognized as one of Forbes 2013 “Millennials on a Mission,” Ms. Agrawal has been a semi-professional soccer player, an investment banker and a TV personality. Having fast-tracked from associate producer to producer under firms that worked for pop sensations from Justin Timberlake to Beyonce, Miki Agrawal is an exciting example of “girls who run the world.”