Marina Khidekel

When should you take things off your plate? Successful outsourcing is all in the timing.

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When I got the idea for Hugimals-substantially weighted and huggable plushies designed to relieve stress through deep touch pressure-I believed in the product and vision. But when it came to launching a company, my background gave me pause. I was a journalist and editor, not a consumer product expert. So, despite the years of work I had done on product research and prototype refinement, I decided to license the Hugimals concept to another company rather than launch it myself.

This company would handle manufacturing, online sales, and retail distribution; I would receive a standard commission. But the company was slow to communicate, and its enthusiasm for Hugimals soon waned. I quickly realized why: It was being acquired by a business that didn't sell physical products, effectively ending our partnership.