Miki Agrawal

The Maker Of Period Underwear Has Big Plans For Your Toilet

... infections and even lesions. (That's certainly one argument for shelling out $69 or more for a Tushy bidet.). Agrawal officially launched Tushy in 2015, and claims that in the first year of business, it saw around one and a half times as much in revenue as Thinx. More recently, in January of last year, Agrawal hired Monica Pereira to serve as Tushy's CEO and CMO. These days, Agrawal takes more of a backseat role. "Millennials are more thoughtful than previous generations about what we're doing for our planet," the entrepreneur says of her success thus far. Still, it's worth noting that Agrawal initially said she was hoping to raise $1 million in seed funding. That Tushy was only able to secure $500,000 suggests that would-be investors were skeptical of the product-or the business more generally. "We became profitable in December so wanted to close it at this ...

Leadership Shake-ups At Uber, Thinx, Classpass Prompt Unease

... surrounding the occurrences and the media's interpretation. Who left: Jeff Jones, Uber’s president of ride sharing. Jones' departure comes after just six months, when he left a position heading marketing at Target, and comes soon on the heels of CEO Travis Kalanick's decision to hire a COO to help with leadership. The official messages: Kalanick to staff: "[Jones] made an important impact on the company…After we announced our intention to hire a COO, Jeff came to the tough decision that he doesn’t see his future at Uber. It is unfortunate that this was announced through the press but I thought it was important to send all of you an email before providing comment publicly."   Jones to Recode : "It is now clear, however, that the beliefs and approach to leadership that have guided my career are inconsistent with what I saw and experienced at Uber, and I can no longer continue as president of the ride sharing business.". The media ...

The Best In Business Reading

... just the way it is. Ultimately the article explores some new approaches to fighting these problems (I've gone on too long, so you'll have to read the piece to see them). All I'll say is they were strikingly simple and practical and they made me think they're well worth a try. The Travails of an Idealistic Start-up. If you're looking for an unexpected companion piece to the Atlantic article, read "Thinx Promised A Feminist Utopia to Everyone But Its Employees" in Racked. Thinx is a start-up selling underwear for women. It has attracted attention for what some view as provocative advertising that touts the underwear's purported ability to prevent the leakage of blood or urine. And like more than one start-up, the company has viewed itself as much more than a business; it's a mission. The core of the article is captured here. behind the scenes, many current and former employees paint a picture of dysfunction and hypocrisy, with clashes between [co-founder Miki]  Agrawal and key members of her team, employment policies that seem to fly in the face of the company’s women-first ...

The 5 Most Shocking Allegations Brought Against Former Thinx Ceo Miki Agrawal

... meetings via video-conference while in bed, apparently unclothed … At least once, she supposedly Face Timed into a meeting from the toilet.". The complaint states that it was Agrawal's "generally aggressive and retaliatory demeanor, position of authority, and style of management" that prevented Leibow from voicing her concerns more forcefully at the time. Other former employees who spoke to Malone for the story describe an environment in which dissent was discouraged and retaliation common. Here are five of the most shocking allegations against Agrawal. Inappropriate touching. Leibow says that soon after she began working at the company Agrawal developed an "obsession" with her breasts and would "help herself.". "I didn't say anything to her at the time," she tells the magazine. "If you've ever been touched without your consent, you know it's jarring.". The CEO also reportedly pressured Leibow to expose her nipple piercings in the office, and talked about the incident onstage at an industry ...

Thinx Miki Agrawal Employee Complaints Feminist Excuse

... feminism movement which truly is eliminating shame in the period space.". Agrawal defended herself against criticism that she didn’t offer employees adequate pay and benefits, talking about the big bonuses she paid out and the elaborate retreat she hosted. She also admitted that THINX lacked the organizational structure to handle the demands of her growing company, and that she doesn't have the right disposition or management style to serve as CEO. "I'm not the best suited for the operational CEO duties, nor was it my passion to do so," she wrote. (Agrawal did not directly respond to the accusations put forth by Tyler Ford — although her admission that she did not "call references because I needed butts in the seats fast" might explain a lack of consistency and faithfulness to the brand's messaging.). It's true: HR and leadership issues are almost always par for the course with startups, especially ones that grow fast. Hopefully the help of new leadership will respond in a concrete way to employee concerns. This original story ran on ...

Women Suck At Being Bosses Just As Much As Men

... argument is seductive—each individual woman gets to overcome the emotional harm of the situation with a bigger salary and the knowledge that deep down, her talent and drive were stronger than sleazebags. But when everyone makes that decision and encourages other women to make it, too, the result is an industry that systematizes sexual harassment. It creates an industry where a man who gets results will always be more important than the women he discriminates against, and a woman in a position of power will measure other women's worth by how well they can sweep it under the rug. Scott admits that a workplace can only succeed at implementing Radical Candor when they have a "No Assholes" hiring rule; her belief is that mutual respect between employees will pay a financial dividend. But recently I've read about two companies that were successful ...

The Woman Behind Period Underwear Wants To Make Bidets A Thing

... poop and represents the serial entrepreneur's latest endeavor: Tushy, a high-tech bidet attachment. Agrawal's pitch to consumers is that Tushy is a more sustainable, healthier, luxury toilet experience. Or, in her words, it is "a way to clean your butt that doesn't cut down trees, that doesn't give you all these issues and ailments, that gives you an upgraded experience.". According to Scientific American , Americans use 36.5 billion rolls of toilet paper every year, which amounts to 15 million trees. Moreover, the process of making the rolls requires nearly 500 billion gallons of water. Bidets, on the other hand, use about an eighth of a gallon of water per use (compared to the four gallons the average U. S. toilet uses per flush). Toilet paper is also distinctly unhygienic, Agrawal argues. "You're smearing poop ...

High Times' New Apparel Collection Makes Anti-trump Statment; Quicksilver's New Name

... Miki Agrawal. Agrawal stepped down from her position as CEO last week, and the board of directors is currently seeking her replacement. However, she will retain the "SHE-E-O" title. Quicksilver Gets a New Name After Exiting Bankruptcy [ California Apparel News ]. Quicksilver Inc., the So Cal surf and skate brand which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015, has officially changed its corporate name to Boardriders Inc. The brands under the company's umbrella — including Quicksilver, Roxy and DC Shoes — will all retain their names. The change comes as part of the turnaround process spearheaded by Oaktree Capital Management, which now owns a majority stake in the business. The first Boardriders store will open in Malibu this fall. Additionally, Boardriders is venturing into a partnership with Accor Hotels on their new concept, Jo & Joe's, which is geared toward the millennial traveler. Active Beauty Is the Next Big Thing [ Business of ...

Happy Spring! Mariah Carey Is Making A Christmas Movie

... 21, 2017. @oscaron weighing in after Roy Thomas, creator of the Marvel comic “Iron Fist” (the basis for Netflix’s new series of the same name), said he has “so little patience” for the critique that his comic and the series are whitewashing. “Iron Fist” is the superhero story of a rich white man trained in martial arts. Annnnd here's the creator of Marvel's Iron Fist on the whitewashing controversy __link__/boyyb Ngd 9 X. — Kassy Cho (@kassyapple) March 21, 2017. Tomi Lahren’s week off from The Blaze raises eyebrows. Tomi is a huge asset to our side. I don't like that she's pro-choice but I'm not going to be a baby about it. Grow up, conservatives. __link__/8 S 0 mmwdfb Y. @Gavin_Mc Innes, a media conservative, tweeting about the news that Tomi Lahren’s nightly online show on The Blaze will not be in production this week. On Friday, Lahren said on “The View” that while she is a Republican, her belief in limited government leads her to be pro-choice. Why are people all excited about Tomi Lahren now? Just because she's pro-choice doesn't mean she stopped being racist. Former Thinx CEO is the latest startup CEO to cause HR trouble. Getty Images. anyone noticing a trend in what ...

Thinx Promised A Feminist Utopia To Everyone But Its Employees

... sanitary pads to local girls and women who otherwise may not have access to menstrual supplies, adding to a list of accolades that includes being named 2017′s Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, Tribeca Film Festival’s Disruptive Innovation Award, Crain’s 40 Under 40 list, and Ad Age’s Creativity 50 for the aforementioned subway campaign. Of course, publicity is an essential part of the job for almost every startup founder, and Agrawal is impressively good at it, just as, sources say, she had a knack for inspiring employees to tap into their most creative selves — the more outrageous the idea, the better. But they also say her pursuit of personal fame often took priority over the work they were doing at the company and the wellbeing of her team, while the disconnect between her ...