“There has to be a better way.”
How It All Started
That was the thought that came to mind whenever I saw my favorite sweater ruined. As I took off the sweater from the hanger, I noticed that it had shoulder bumps on each end. I was flustered, searching Google for options on how to remove the shoulder bumps. I tried everything—from putting hot water on each end and drying it to ironing out the shoulder. None of it worked.
(Side note: I would like to put extra emphasis on the fact this was my favorite sweater. It had a retro style, and I felt like it expressed me well. It came from Urban Outfitters and it was $40, which at the time, as a broke 18-year-old college student, was basically a million dollars.)
Still flustered, I was curious to see if anyone had gone through the same thing. I began asking more of my friends and people on campus if they had similar issues with a verbal survey and I found a common narrative: the traditional hanger design sucked. People had issues with their hangers and it had a negative impact on their clothing. To top this, no one had an ideal solution to resolving these common issues. The current design gave way to stretching, slippage, shoulder bumps, and wrinkling.
I knew this was a problem worth solving when I saw how frequently these outdated hangers were leading to a negative social impact on people. Inspired by the need for better hangers, when I had the opportunity to participate in an entrepreneurial program that enabled me to develop a new idea in its early stages, I created Hangio.
I knew that people cared about their clothes and wanted them to be properly taken care of. With this, I set out to create a hanger that would actually work—a hanger that would revolutionize the way people stored clothes in closets. I tried out different options and eventually landed on a bendable hanger design. This is what really gave birth to Hangio.
As a college student, I had a plethora of opportunities that I could take advantage of to build the business. I participated in pitch competitions and entrepreneurial programs across the U.S. Thankfully, I had the opportunity to participate in accelerators that helped me form the business, raise money, and be guided by incredible industry mentors. I used this time to conduct more user research to deeply understand the problem I was solving. This was one of my favorite parts of my journey because I got to learn pain points and brainstorm creative ways to solve my customer’s problems.
How I Rebuilt it and Launched my Product
With this information in hand, I went back to work on the product and refined my revolutionary hangers with the insight I received from my user research interviews. I went through many prototypes. I tried different materials, colors, shapes, and sizes! We launched on June 1st, 2020.
With launching a new product during the pandemic, came many unknowns. “Can this work? Will people purchase?” However, thankfully our traction was positive. We sold out our first batch in three days! From there we continued selling our products and expanding our brand awareness. We then got featured on Fast Company and Mashable at the end of July!
As a founder that has been working on this for three years, it has been surreal to see the reception of the product and the support people have offered after only a few months after launch.
Challenges Faced and How I Overcame Them
However, the journey has definitely not been easy! Despite this, it has been a worthwhile one. I have had many lows, unexpected turns, and a few points when it was incredibly challenging to move forward. Despite that, launching Hangio has been one of the most transformative experiences of my life.
One of my biggest struggles has been the knowledge gap and managing my time. I had never brought a brand new product to market before, so there were so many things I had to learn in product development and marketing. To overcome this, I surrounded myself with mentors, books, and seminars that helped close this gap more and more.
Secondly, the biggest thing I had to learn was to set boundaries on time and deeply understand what mattered. As a full-time student and business owner, I am oftentimes pulled in many directions at once. The biggest thing I have learned is that there will always be competing priorities but to push the needle, you have to focus on what is most important. For me, that was creating a practical and beautifully designed product that my customers would love and building a strong community around me to enable that process.
Who is Hangio Now
We have evolved and changed so much. But if you ask me now, “who is Hangio?” I can confidently tell you that: Hangio is a closet organization startup innovating the everyday closet experience for the purpose of bringing more happiness to people everywhere.
At Hangio, I’m very proud of what we’re building and our values as a startup. Values that include being all-around authentic and intentional about our customer experiences and maintaining the conviction in our belief that your clothes (and by extent your closet) deserve to be respected because you as a human being deserve to be respected. We’re staying true to our vision with our first product, the Hangio Hanger. I’m excited about our product because of the amazing benefits, like a peace of mind, that it brings to everyday closets. This Hangio Hanger holds true to our one word: respect. Respect for your closet; respect for your clothes; respect for you.
That, above all else, is what we hope to continue championing as a startup and as individuals.
WRITTEN BY
Ayo Aigbe