"Starting your own company is hard, exhausting and sometimes feels overwhelming" with Dr. Wendy Lafever Jordanov

Dr. Wendy Lafever Jordanov is an entrepreneur with a unique background and a company that creates innovative comfort and wellness products. She earned a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Research with a focus on human growth and development. As a professor, she and her students conducted numerous research projects related to emotional, psychological, and physical health. In 2016, Wendy co-founded huggaroo.com with her partner and CTO, Marty Jordanov, M.D.

Can you tell our readers about your background? 

Before becoming an entrepreneur, I explored a variety of jobs and careers. I taught English as a Second Language in Sofia, Bulgaria for two years; lived and worked in Vienna, Austria; taught courses on life skills through East Tennessee State University for women struggling in our welfare system; worked as a human resources recruiter and then as an admissions counselor for the University of Tennessee, Memphis. I went to school at night to earn my doctorate from the University of Memphis and supported myself through school as a graduate assistant. I was a university professor for 7 years at the University of Cincinnati, Blue Ash, and Tennessee State University and then, right after I earned tenure, I quit to become a stay-at-home mom for eight beautiful years. 

What inspired you to start your business?

The inspiration to start Huggaroo came from a personal need for myself and my son. I struggle with migraines that are debilitating and can last for days. To alleviate my pain and misery, we created several different microwavable heating pads and cooling wraps. Our hot headache wrap delivers deep heat to the temples, scalp, and facial sinuses. Our cooling migraine wrap contains special gel packs, which remain flexible even when frozen and delivers soothing cold to the temples, eyes, and scalp. Our microwavable neck wraps comfort sore necks and tense shoulders.

Sometimes I can even avoid an oncoming migraine if I use a heating or cooling pad early enough. Otherwise, they are just a great comfort to help ease my suffering. I wanted to share this comfort and pain relief with others who suffer from migraine, stress, anxiety, and sore muscles. We developed our fist weighted blanket to help my son, who had trouble falling asleep at night. The result was nothing short of magical – for the first time, he could relax and fall asleep. This not only helped him; it helped all of us. We designed a better-quality blanket than was available at the time by sourcing softer covers that were machine washable, creating higher quality inner quilts, and adjusting the weight to better suit a young child. 

Where is your business based?

Huggaroo is based in Nashville, Tennessee.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took? 

Huggaroo started with an idea to design and create products that are so comfortable and cozy that they wow people. At first, I wanted to wait until I had read enough and knew all of the angles before we launched. But after months of research, we realized that we would never know enough. We needed to just jump in and learn as we go. Once we had our first designs completed, we made samples and revisions and more revisions. We worked hard to turn our product designs into beautiful, luxurious, and useful items. We decided on a company name and logo, trademarked it, incorporated in Tennessee, and created a website. We built a team to manufacture these products and we work hard every day to make sure our customers are happy. 

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

Innovative product designs, happy customers, and word of mouth have been the most effective ways for us to raise awareness about Huggaroo. Getting invited to the 2019 Oscar’s and Emmy’s Gifting Suites hosted by GBK Productions and participating as a sponsor for the 12th Annual George Lopez Celebrity Golf Tournament really helped Huggaroo gain national press including mentions in Forbes, Inc, the Daily Beast, Bustle and Women’s Health. In December 2019, Huggaroo products were featured on the Today Show. Our publicist (Orca Communications Unlimited) further helped us spread the word about Huggaroo by reaching out to local and national publications. Soon after we launched, Huggaroo products began receiving critical acclaim by independent reviewers and that too has been incredibly valuable. For example, the original Huggaroo neck and shoulder wrap was named Best of the Best and The Top Choice by the Chicago Tribune in October of 2019 in an article entitled “The Best Microwavable Heating Pads”. The same product was also called The Best of the Best by the independent review site BestReviews.com in late 2019 and again in May of 2020. 

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them? 

One of the biggest challenges we have faced is seeing the immense need out there. People are suffering and struggling. Stress, anxiety, insomnia, and pain are wearing people down. We are meeting this challenge by providing Huggaroo weighted neck and shoulder wraps, eye masks, and blankets to help soothe and relax. Children sometimes struggle with bedtime: wired and full of nervous energy just when parents are exhausted and ready for sleep. We’ve found that we can meet this challenge with our Huggaroo weighted lap pads and the Huggaroo Pouch (a stretchy compression bedsheet), that can help children release pent up energy, unwind, fall asleep, and stay asleep through the night. 

As we serve our community and reach out to people across our country, we are seeing more and more needs. We are trying to do our best to overcome these challenges and help our community. We have donated hundreds of Huggaroos to more than 20 non-profits across the US.

Children in the foster care system often feel alone, scared, and sometimes forgotten. We have committed to giving a percentage of our profits each year to a special organization, One Simple Wish, a non-profit organization that grants wishes to children in foster care across the country. Wishes for things others might take for granted: a new pair of shoes, a first baby doll, a bicycle helmet, groceries, a swimsuit. The founder, Danielle Gletow, was nominated as a top 10 CNN Hero in 2013. We love being able to give to this great cause. We encourage you to please reach out and make a wish come true, too. You’ll be so glad you did.

How do you stay focused?

I try really hard not to be reactionary and get lost in the day to day frustrations or minutia. Instead, I am constantly trying to focus on the big picture and our original goal of sharing wellness and comfort products with people who are stressed, anxious, tired, and hurting. Focusing on the “why” really helps. 

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

We differentiate ourselves from our competitors by being innovative and creating unique, high-quality products. We’ve discovered that to stay ahead of your competitors, we constantly have to create something new, different, better. We also strive to provide the best customer service possible; our customers really appreciate that and often comment on how delighted and surprised they are to receive help from actual human beings who care. Marty and I love designing new products and our creativity and attention to detail help us create products that soothe and comfort our family, friends, and customers.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

This year, we started offering free 2-day or next-day shipping with a new fulfillment partner (Deliverr). By strategically distributing our products to multiple warehouses throughout the United States and integrating with our store, Deliverr made 2 Day and Next Day delivery possible for us. Americans are stressed and in pain and want relief and comfort as quickly as possible. Now with 2-day free shipping, we can get a Huggaroo in their hands faster. We have seen a significant increase in our conversions and sales volume since we transitioned to fulfillment with Deliverr. If you would like to learn more, you can read this case study about Huggaroo, recently published by Deliverr.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs? 

Starting your own company is hard, exhausting and sometimes feels overwhelming. Be kind to yourself, be okay with making mistakes because I promise that mistakes will happen, persevere, get back up, be willing to pivot, be flexible, keep your original dreams and goals in sight, and build a team you can trust.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why? 

My favorite app is Dropbox. It is a great way to organize and save important documents. 

My favorite blog is MigraineStrong.com. In the middle of each migraine I experience, I feel lonely and miserable. I wonder how long it will last (a day, a week a month?) and I suffer. This kind of pain can be very isolating and discouraging. Migraine Strong is a community that offers support for people suffering from migraines. It was created by a group of five strong, kind, motivated women struggling with migraines and offers great tips, suggestions, support, and encouragement. This site and the support group reminded me that I am not alone. 

My favorite book is Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. I studied Dr. Dweck’s work while in graduate school twenty years ago and love her focus on growth mindset, the belief that abilities can grow, improve, and develop instead of being fixed. My husband and I use this daily with Huggaroo and we try to instill this perspective in our children to help them as they face life’s challenges and continue to develop into hard-working, resourceful, confident, successful young men. 

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why? 

Google Analytics is wonderful because it provides invaluable insights into the workings of our website and our customer base. 

Who is your business role model? Why?

I’ve always admired inventors and innovators. Individuals who think outside of the box, take risks, dream up something new, pursue it relentlessly, and eventually transform our world for the better. People like Nicola Tesla, a Serbian immigrant whose AC current invention powered the Chicago Columbian Exposition in 1893 and is now enjoyed by billions of people all around the world. Or people like Bill Gates, Michael Dell, or Ralph Lauren, who built lasting legacies and some of the most recognized and successful companies ever from the ground up with their creativity, genius, tenacity, and hard work. I also admire people like Danielle Gletow who founded One Simple Wish or Sal Khan who left a lucrative career on Wall Street to found Khan Academy – these incredible individuals’ courage to start something new has touched so many lives and made the world a better place to live in for so many. I find their stories inspirational. That’s what we want Huggaroo to be about too – we aspire to create amazing products that make a difference. We want to bring a little comfort to our customers, make the world a slightly better place to live in for a few people every single day.

How do you balance work and life?

It’s a daily struggle. I actually have to set multiple alarms to remind me to take regular work breaks during the day. At night, I try to block off hours just for family time with no electronics.

What’s your favorite way to decompress? 

I love to snuggle with my husband and sons and watch a movie or read together to relax and decompress.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

Over the next six months, we are releasing our two newest Huggaroos in the US and launching more of our products in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. We are growing on Macy’s and have just signed with TheGrommet.com. We are excited to be participating as a sponsor for the George Lopez Celebrity Golf Tournament in the fall, which raises money for kidney disease awareness and supports summer camp for children with kidney disease. 

How can our readers connect with you?

Feel free to contact me at wendy@huggaroo.com