When Justine Tiu and Adrian Zhang launched their crochet-kit business, The Woobles, in 2020, their product resonated with a newly homebound population that wanted to craft, and wanted it to be easy. Their audience was anyone who suddenly found themselves with free time, for whom learning to crochet a tiny penguin, fox, or bunny provided joy and distraction amid uncertainty.
Tiu, 34, had a background as an education UX designer, and she perfected their kits by watching real people use them to learn to crochet, quickly adjusting the product to remove barriers to entry. She ensured each kit was prestarted to get the hardest part of the crochet experience out of the way, replaced regular yarn with a custom one that doesn't fray, and created step-by-step online tutorials that customers could unlock after a purchase.
This wasn't what the husband-and-wife team expected to do with their careers. Tiu and Zhang, 35, who previously worked as a director on Wall Street, found themselves restless around 2016 and began rejecting the archetype of success they grew up with: get good grades, get into a good school, get a high-paying job, the end. "We did exactly that and still weren't satisfied," Zhang says. Tiu, meanwhile, started crocheting to get her mind off work.
Esta historia es de la edición September 2024 de Inc..
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición September 2024 de Inc..
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
2025 FEMALE FOUNDERS 500
THE PANDEMIC DROVE WOMEN OUT OF THE WORKFORCE THEN SPURRED AN ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPLOSION.
HOW TO SELL YOUR BUSINESS IN 2025
If you've been waiting to sell your business, this could be the year to get the deal done. Analysts expect mergers and acquisitions to pick up, especially given the Trump administration's promise of deregulation. So if you're considering selling now, here's what you need to know.
Marina Khidekel You can tap creative funding sources for your startup, but as these founders learned, it's hard work.
Raising capital can feel like a rite of passage for startup founders—a signal that your company is on the map.
UP IN THE AIR
HOW JSX FOUNDER ALEX WILCOX BROUGHT THE PRIVATE JET EXPERIENCE TO THE MASSES WHILE NAVIGATING STRAIGHT INTO A CLOUD OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS. AND WHY HIS RADICAL NEW WAY TO FLY COULD BE IN FOR A BUMPY RIDE.
She's Done With Al. Now Lucy Guo Is Making a Big Bet on People
Inside the Scale AI co-founder's plans to help influencers get paid, like, never-have-to-get-a-real-job kind of money.
Tory Burch Is Better Than Ever.but Don't Call It a Comeback
The fashion veteran's business is hitting its stride— and she says, at 58, she finally feels like a real designer.
ZONE OF CONCERN
Forever chemicals, or PFAS, are as pervasive as they are insidious, afflicting businesses ranging from hotels to breweries to coffee roasters. In taking on this huge problem, entrepreneur Dean Wiltse has found his calling—and an opportunity.
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
HE DESIGNED THE INTERNET AS WE KNOW IT TODAY. SO WHY ISN'T HE IN THE PANTHEON OF SILICON VALLEY FOUNDERS?
SET AND ACHIEVE BIG GOALS
In her latest book, Big Goals: The Science of Setting Them, Achieving Them, and Creating Your Best Life, Caroline Adams Miller shares a methodology for psychology-backed goal setting.
10 WAYS TO GET BETTER AT SALES
Today's customers are overloaded and overwhelmed by too much information, so making any decision is a challenge.
