MARINA KHIDEKEL

Some people think that the key to success lies within their daily routines. Do you agree with this, and if so, what is your daily routine?

No, I actually don’t agree with a lot of the popular tropes about success, including this one. If a routine works for you, great! But this way of thinking can also be harmful if it makes you feel bad about yourself for not sticking with a strict routine. Of course you should carve out time to do the things that help you personally thrive, but I don’t believe the key is in doing the same things every single day. My days running Hugimals World often don’t look the same.

Looking back at your teenage years, did you have any entrepreneurial interests?

I come from an immigrant family (my parents came to the US from Russia when I was two) so even though I saw entrepreneurship around me, there was also this push to get a “good” job so you wouldn’t worry about stability. As a teen, I dreamed of becoming a magazine editor. I felt like I didn’t belong, and I couldn’t really ask my mom, who barely spoke English, for advice navigating midwestern middle school social norms, so I read and learned a lot from magazines (which were all monthly printed publications at the time, so different from the online ones now!). I dreamed of being on the other side of those mastheads and deciding what stories got printed, and helping others the way I felt magazines helped me. So I moved straight to NYC from Ohio after college and did exactly that for many years before founding my own company, Hugimals World, last year.

Is there a specific time of day when you feel most productive?

I’m a night owl, so I’m most productive in the late afternoons and evenings. We hear from so many success “experts” that you have to wake up at 5am if you want to be successful. That is absolutely not true, and is also not inclusive of people with a different chronotype.

Do you think there is one character trait/skill that is important to have in order to become a successful entrepreneur in today’s world?

Definitely tenacity, but also creativity, curiosity, self awareness, and the ability to realize when something’s not working and pivot.

Has being a woman in the business world affected you positively or negatively, and how so?

Even though I’ve had a long career in media — first as an editor at Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and Women’s Health, and then the chief content officer at Arianna Huffington’s Thrive — my entrepreneurial journey with Hugimals World has just begun, so I’m sure I’ll see this question play out more in the years to come. That said, I’ve been in several founder accelerator groups, and I was struck by the confidence of all the guys, regardless of whether their startup ideas were good (and often they weren’t). I would have liked to see all the women entrepreneurs have that same level of confidence. Women entrepreneurs have been traditionally underfunded and underestimated, and there’s a lot of fight happening now to change that, so I hope with that comes more confidence for our ideas and businesses.

What is one major goal that you wish to achieve by 2030?

I hope to still be helping ease the world’s stress and anxiety with physical products like Hugimals, and beyond.

Who is your biggest influence, and why?

Too hard to choose just one, but I’ve been really inspired by my former boss, Arianna Huffington, the founder and CEO of Thrive Global. She has always been several strides ahead of the zeitgeist when it comes to improving our well-being and relieving stress through things like sleep, unplugging, finding purpose and meaning, and building stronger connections with yourself and others. And she is a master brand-builder.

If you could pick one female entrepreneur, who would you say is your biggest inspiration?

I’m inspired by entrepreneurs who were told no over and over again but knew they had a winning idea and kept pushing forward. And also those who learned about entrepreneurship as they went, rather than going to school for it. Sara Blakely is a great example of both things.

What has been the most formative advice you have received and why?

“Ask people you don’t know.” This applies to a lot of things, but especially to launching a business. Many founders with a new idea will ask their family and friends if it’s a good one, and of COURSE they’ll say yes! They love you! But their opinions are biased. You have to not only believe in your idea, but have evidence that others want and need it as well. For Hugimals, I did a pilot program in children’s hospitals to test the efficacy of our weighted stuffed animals in a setting where people were stressed and where I knew I’d learn a lot. The feedback from hospital staffers about how much comfort and sensory support Hugimals were able to bring to patients and families going through a really difficult time was so incredible, I left my full time job to launch Hugimals full time. Without that objective feedback, I don’t know if I would have taken the plunge. But that told me Hugimals worked the way I intended them too!

What has been the most impressive/memorable question anyone has ever asked you?

I’m most impressed when people ask followup questions. I see so many interviews where a subject is asked a question and the answer is leading somewhere really interesting, but the interviewer stops there and doesn’t ask any followup questions. So much is missed with we don’t get curious and keep digging deeper when we hit on something interesting.

If you have siblings, are they also entrepreneurs?

I have an older brother. No, he isn’t an entrepreneur!

Do you think the drive to become an entrepreneur is born with or is learned?

It’s a combo. You need to be born with a level of tenacity and curiosity. But your environment, interests, experiences and skills also play a big role.

CONTACT INFORMATION & SOCIAL MEDIA
Founder of Hugimals World
website: https://www.hugimalsworld.com/
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/hugimals
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hugimals
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marina-khidekel/