What Toilet Paper and Bidets Have to Teach Association Leaders

It was a Bidet to Remember…

From the earliest panic around the coronavirus, toilet paper seemed to take center stage.

Some people stockpiled it.

There were many individuals who publicly damned the people who stockpiled it, calling them “hoarders” or worse.

Several shining examples of entrepreneurial effort taken too far even began selling individual rolls at outrageously high prices on eBay and elsewhere.

On social media, people began measuring their preparedness in how many toilet paper rolls they still had and exercise influencers posted videos using toilet paper rolls as props.

But not everyone was worried.

There are some companies that discovered their solution was exactly what was needed as the pandemic forced everyone inside. One might forgive the founders of those companies for appreciating a new boost to their bottom line while the world was in chaos.

In fact, one could be especially understanding if the founder of a bidet company, who had faced ridicule and doubting Thomases for challenging the status quo, was quietly laughing all the way to the bank.

Everybody Poops

Founded by Miki Agrawal in 2015, Tushy (along with several of Miki’s other companies) has been a successful venture already. But the coronavirus and toilet paper shortages this year have equaled gains beyond the company’s wildest expectations.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Tushy saw its growth double year-over-year. CEO Jason Ojalvo says that’s partly been a result of having customers who evangelize on their behalf. Fast-forward to around March 9, when sales really started to double beyond the norm; a few days later, Tushy was having days where it brought in $500,000 in sales. [source: TechCrunch April 6, 2020]

Almost exactly one year ago, I visited Miki in her home in New York and interviewed her about her book, Disrupt-Her. During that interview, we talked about innovation, challenging the status quo, and – yes – naturally that led us to talk about poop.

Here is a clip from that interview featuring Miki talking about why bidets just make more sense. (By the way, I never imagined this was a clip I’d be featuring for Association Chat that would have actual relevance to current events, but here we are.)

In case you want to avoid watching the clip (it’s under 5 minutes), I’ll cut to the question you might be asking yourself right now.

“How did KiKi tie bidets to something topical for association leaders?”

Easy. “We’ve always done it that way” thinking. It’s time to be open to new ideas.

It was the case then and it is certainly the case now.

And if you recently installed your first bidet, you are literally feeling what I’m saying here.


Want to listen to the entire interview with Miki Agrawal? We covered it all and I even brought in my daughter to ask her some questions! (Watch it now)


KiKi L’Italien is a senior consultant with Tecker International, community leader for Association Chat, and currently “sheltering in place” with her husband, daughter, and pet poodle in Alexandria, Virginia. Incidentally, she recently convinced her husband to install their first bidet.

Get daily Association Chat updates

Get the latest news, videos, podcasts, and more in your inbox every morning.