How Knix underwear founder Joanna Griffiths knew it was time to sell

Selling a majority stake in Knix wasn’t something I was intending to do, but right after I closed a $50-million series B financing, I found a partner that had the same long-term vision for Knix as I did. It felt like being asked to prom by my dream date.
I closed the financing on a Friday in March 2021—the money hit the bank at 4 p.m.—and was induced on the Monday. On Tuesday, when I was still in hospital after having twin daughters, I got an offer from Essity. And I knew deep down that I wasn’t interested in running a public company. I’ve built Knix by being authentic, transparent and open, and I just didn’t see a world in which I could continue to do that if I was running a public company. I also wasn’t interested in building a brand that changed hands a bunch of times, going from private equity firm to private equity firm. I’ve seen that happen, and often you can lose the heart and soul of the business.
When Essity reached out, we were still in and out of lockdown in Ontario. It had been a long journey with COVID-19, so from a risk perspective, it felt like a good moment to stabilize the business and have a partner that was really in it for the long run.
My existing investor base had mixed opinions. Some of them agreed that this was the right path. But it was the height of the IPO boom for direct-to-consumer companies, and people were getting outlandish valuations. So, other investors felt like I was walking away from what could be a bigger opportunity. But I’ve been very selective in who I choose to put around the table—folks who were thinking about what was best for the longevity of the brand beyond strictly financial outcomes.
Unlike our series B financing, I negotiated the Essity transaction on my own—I didn’t use investment bankers or external help. The biggest lesson for me, and one I wish more entrepreneurs knew, is that you can find a great partner and sell the majority of your business, and still find a way to be involved. I’m still in the driver’s seat. I’m still working with my team. We have a lot of autonomy.
The other lesson is that everything takes a long time. It took almost a year and a half to close the deal—from March 2021 to September 2022. My lawyer would constantly give me reality checks. He’d be like, “Joanna, how close to completion do you think this deal is?” And I’d say, “I think we’re 90% of the way there.” And he’d say, “We are at like the 10% mark right now. There’s still so much more to go.” It’s important to be patient. Find a way to continue to focus on the business while focusing on something that’s also a big weight on your shoulders.
The day I announced the acquisition—July 8, 2022—was the day of the Rogers outage. I did a press conference at 3 a.m. ET, so 9 a.m. in Stockholm, where Essity is based. I went back to bed and woke up at 9 to share the news with my team. I posted the announcement on social media, and then it felt like the entire world went silent, because I had a Rogers cellphone, internet, everything. I was like, Does no one care about this? This is a pretty big deal.
It was one of the biggest blessings, insofar as I wasn’t distracted by the hoopla of everyone else’s excitement. I was alone with my thoughts, having made the biggest decision in my life. I laid on my bed, turned off all the lights and exhaled for the first time in a decade. It was a moment of intense release, like, Wow, we did it. We have a partner and a home for this company. And that’s something I don’t think I would’ve been able to experience if not for that Rogers outage.
Interview by Alex Mlynek
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