From the archive: This episode was originally recorded and published in 2018. Our interviews on Entrepreneurs On Fire are meant to be evergreen, and we do our best to confirm that all offers and URL’s in these archive episodes are still relevant.
Miki Agrawal is a social entrepreneur who uses disruptive innovation to challenge the status quo and change culture. She is the founder of several acclaimed social enterprises: Wild, Thinx, Icon & Tushy and she is also the author the best-selling book Do Cool Shit. Her next book is Disrupt Her and will hit bookshelves in January 2019. Her innovative message has been featured in major media including the New York Times, ABC, CNN, NBC, and Miki was named in “Fast Company’s Most Creative People” and in INC’s most impressive women entrepreneurs.
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Guest Resources
Your Big Idea: Successful Entrepreneurs have One Big Idea. Follow JLD’s FREE training & you’ll discover Your Big Idea in less than an hour!
HelloTushy – Check out Miki’s website!
Disrupt-Her – Miki’s book, Disrupt-Her: A Manifesto for the Modern Woman.
3 Value Bombs
1) What we need to be doing is disrupting the status quo.
2) So many people are trying to think about what the customer wants to hear versus what you really feel deeply within you that you want to say.
3) Have fun! If you’re not having fun with your product, nobody’s going to have fun with your product.
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Show Notes
**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.
Today’s Audio MASTERCLASS: How to Create a Disruptive Physical Product with Miki Agrawal
[02:39] – Miki shares something about herself that most people don’t know.
- She believes that when you write a book, it can’t be something that’s inauthentic. It has to really come out of YOU.
[04:47] – Miki discusses an overview of what it looks like to create a disruptive product.
- Look at taboo categories and create products around things that people don’t like talking about.
- The goal here is to make something that seems scary not so scary.
[06:40] – How did Miki come up with her idea in the first place?
- It always starts with you.
- Miki got her inspiration from… poop!
- Toilet paper not only kills 15 million trees per year, but it also causes a bunch of things if you’re not cleaning yourself properly. It can cause hemorrhages, urinary tract infections, etc.
- “Can I take this thing that people have been doing since the 1800’s – which is wiping our butts with dry paper – and change it?”
- The three questions to ask yourself when starting a disruptive business…
- First question is, “What sucks in your world?”
- Second, “Do a lot of people have to deal with this?”
- Last, “Can I be passionate about this issue in my community for a really long time?”
[12:09] – What are the next steps for create a disruptive product?
- You start by putting a mood board together.
- Go to art museums. Go outside and look at the world you live in. You’ll start getting an idea of the vibe you want to create, and then you start putting it down on a piece of paper and take it to a product designer.
[14:34] – Miki talks about something she has done to really be disruptive in terms of the branding of her physical products – plus, some recommendations she has for you!
- When it comes to branding, everything needs to feel like art.
[17:13] – What is the proudest branding achievement that Miki has had so far?
- They were able to come up with a subway campaign using a grapefruit. It was arresting enough and intriguing enough and sexy enough that it has become the talk of the town!
- The simplicity created an artful experience that people talked about – to the point that this campaign went viral internationally.
[19:20] – How does you market a disruptive product?
- Miki’s marketing is geared towards digital right now. It’s really about finding the right audiences to target with the right messaging that feels authentic.
- “So many people are trying to think about what the customer wants to hear versus what YOU really feel deeply within you that you want to say. You can feel the difference whether someone’s saying the right words, versus feeling through what you want to say authentically.”
- Inbound marketing strategy: when you create enough interesting weird things that people will write about you.
- We want to find things that tickle people.
- Experiential marketing is the coolest form of marketing! If we create experiences every step of the way, that’s the most important thing.
[27:38] – Miki talks about public relations as a disruptive product.
- Visit Miki’s website!
- Just take risks. Take chances. Do things that people would be like, “No way! Don’t do that!”
[33:34] – You need to have a great community around a disruptive product. If you don’t have that, your concept is just not going to roll. So, how did Miki grow and create this great disruptive community around her products?
- It starts with authenticity.
- When we create, we always think, “Does it feel like I’m texting my best friends?” Because if it doesn’t, then it’s not authentic enough.
- Consistency builds community.
[37:20] – The reason why Fire Nation should care about Miki’s book :)
- It’s meant to be read by everybody who’s interested in disruption in their lives.
- A disruptor is someone who’s brave enough to question social norms that confine him/her and bold enough to blaze her own path forward.
[38:38] – Where is the best place for Fire Nation to get Miki’s book, Disrupt Her?
- Amazon! Disrupt-Her – Disrupt-Her: A Manifesto for the Modern Woman.
Killer Resources!
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