5 Lessons From Pandemic-Proof Businesses

While most businesses have suffered through this crisis, some became hugely popular. Here’s what they’ve done to capitalize, and the lessons they hold for any entrepreneur.

- Frances Dodds, Stephanie Schomer, And Jessica Thomas

MIKI AGRAWAL, founder and CCO/ Tushy

1/ Keep the conversation going.

THERE WEREN’T MANY good things about the Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020, but to Miki Agrawal, there was one upside: Americans were embracing the bidet. Agrawal is the founder of Tushy, a bidet attachment company launched in 2014. Last year, the company did just under $10 million in sales…but this year, it’s on track to do five times that. “We sold out by the second weekend of March,” she says. “We had our first million-dollar day.”

But the spike in demand, coupled with production facilities in Asia, led to some lengthy delivery delays. “Our customers had to wait five weeks, and that sucked,” Agrawal says. Her strategy? “We were just extremely transparent.” Tushy explained and apologized for the delays, and also took the opportunity to share the benefits of bidets—and that toilet paper can cause hemorrhoids, UTIs, and anal fissures. That kept customers eager for their purchase to arrive. “We’ve been educating and educating, because it’s a real behavioral shift,” Agrawal says. “Finally, people took the leap.”

LESLIE VOORHEES MEANS, cofounder and CEO/ Anomalie

2/ Build trust with big gestures.