So as a pre-teen grappling with anxiety and depression, I turned to magazines for information and validation. What began as a quest to find a product that would calm my swirling thoughts became first a side hustle and then, in 2022, a full-time business. For nearly four years, on nights and weekends while I held full-time jobs, I worked to develop the product I wanted. I had to use savings to buy back, ship, and store more than 10,000 units of Hugimals inventory that had already been made while I decided what to do next. The company saw about $1.4 million in sales in our first full year and we're on track to grow.

---

Persons: Sam, Sloth, Darby, Bear, Charlie, didn't, I'd, We'd, Khidekel, we've, Hugimals, Parents.com, I'm Organizations: Cosmopolitan, Women's, Emory, QVC Locations: Columbus , Ohio, Russia, Canada, France, Sweden, Denmark