The Remarkable Story of Hush Blankets: From Tiny Startup to $48M Empire

Key Points of the Video

1. The Beginning: Aaron Spivak and Leor started an online business selling weighted blankets while working full-time jobs. They had initial success but then hit a major sales slump in the summer months.

2. The Breakthrough: Rather than giving up, they reached out to all their customers to understand why sales dropped. This led them to create a new "cooling" weighted blanket product that could be used year-round.

3. The Kickstarter: They leveraged platforms like Kickstarter and Dragon's Den to help grow the business rapidly, reaching $48 million in revenue in 4 years.

4. The Power of Storytelling: Throughout the journey, they focused on building a strong customer community by being transparent, vulnerable, and authentically telling their entrepreneurial story.

2 Insightful Ideas

• The importance of actively engaging with customers to understand their needs and pain points
• The value of adaptability and willingness to pivot a business model based on customer feedback

1 Actionable Advice

Entrepreneurs should prioritize building a genuine connection with their customers through transparent storytelling, as this can be a key driver of long-term success.

From $4,000 to $48 Million in 4 Years: The Inspiring Story of Hush Blankets

Aaron Spivak and Leor were just two guys working full-time jobs in Toronto when they decided to start an online business selling weighted blankets. Little did they know that their scrappy startup would turn into a $48 million empire in just four short years.

It all began in 2018 when Aaron, an entrepreneur at heart, had the idea to sell weighted blankets online. He brought the concept to his friend Leor, who was well-versed in the digital world. Together, they put up a simple pre-order website and started running ads on Google.

To their surprise, the business took off quickly. "We were doing 30k a month, 60k a month, 90k a month, with a little bit of beginner's luck," Aaron recalls. But the good times wouldn't last.

As the hot summer months hit Toronto, their sales plummeted to almost zero. "Our best day of the month, we maybe had two sales," Aaron says. Facing a mountain of unsold inventory and dwindling finances, Leor even suggested shutting the business down.

But Aaron and Leor weren't ready to give up so easily. They realized they needed to get to the root of the problem - why were customers no longer buying their blankets? So they decided to reach out to every single one of their customers.

The feedback was unanimous: the blankets were amazing, but they were just too hot to use in the summer. This revelation led Aaron and Leor to develop an innovative "cooling" weighted blanket that could be used year-round. It was a game-changer.

With a revamped product and renewed focus, the two entrepreneurs set out to supercharge their growth. They turned to platforms like Kickstarter and Dragon's Den to raise capital and expose their brand to massive new audiences. Within a year, they had generated over $1 million in Kickstarter funding and negotiated a deal on national TV.

But the secret to their success wasn't just great products and smart marketing. It was their deep connection with their customers. "Customers care more about the people behind a brand than they do about the product itself," Aaron realized.

Throughout their journey, Aaron and Leor were transparent, vulnerable, and told their story authentically. They built a passionate community of loyal fans who felt invested in the brand's success. This community would later show up in droves to support the company's first pop-up store.

From $4,000 to $48 million in just four years, Aaron and Leor's story is a testament to the power of customer-centricity, adaptability, and storytelling in building a successful business. Their relentless determination in the face of adversity is truly inspiring.