She Had 18 Million Followers. A Cause She Cared About Turned That Into a Business

About this episode

Lexi Hensler discusses how her personal battle with anxiety inspired her to create Hugz, a successful weighted stuffed animal brand.

A content creator with 18 million followers turned her battle with anxiety into Hugz, a weighted stuffed animal brand that sold out its initial run within 24 hours of launch—with zero paid ads. Founder Lexi Hensler shares how crippling panic attacks in high school led her to discover weighted blankets, and why she set out to create something more portable, accessible, and affordable—donating 10% of every purchase to mental health charities along the way.

People in this episode

Guest: Lexi Hensler

Topics covered

• mental health
• entrepreneurship
• content creation
• product development
• social media

Keywords

• anxiety
• weighted stuffed animals
• Hugz
• mental health
• entrepreneurship
• social media influence
• panic attacks

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hugz, mental health charities

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