‘It was a bit of a shock’: Aussie comes up with multi-million dollar idea in the middle of lockdown

In the midst of lockdown, when most of us were binge-watching television in our trackies, one Aussie came up with a multimillion-dollar idea.

In the midst of lockdown, when most of us were binge-watching television in our track pants, Aussie woman Mia Plecic came up with a multimillion-dollar idea.

Ms Plecic, 33, lives in Melbourne, and during one of the longer lockdowns of the pandemic, she developed her hero product, The Slick Stick, which now retails for $25.

The tool, which looks just like a pink tube of mascara, was created to help smooth hairstyles and prevent flyaways, offering all-day hold without leaving hair greasy, stiff or heavy.

Ms Plecic came up with the idea because her own stray hairs were driving her nuts, and making her hairstyle always look messy.

“At the start I didn’t even tell anyone because I didn’t think it’d take off,” the entrepreneur from Geelong told news.com.au.

The Slick Stick is marketed as a “magic wand for your hair”, allowing you to “effortlessly create sleek ponytails, buns, or touch-ups anytime” and has garnered a cult following.

From there, Ms Plecic’s brand, Slick Hair Company was born.

The business founder came up with the idea in the middle of lockdown. Picture: Supplied

The products by Slick are designed to smooth your hair. Picture: Supplied

MORE: Australia’s fastest growing salaries

Starting a business wasn’t the scary part; she’d already run two successful businesses – Bondi Smile, a teeth whitening company, and Downtown Pressed Juice Co, which she sold.

Though for some reason, she wasn’t sure if people would like the hair product, so to test the waters, she started mentioning it to her friends and social media followers, while not sharing that it was hers.

The business founder wanted to elicit a genuine reaction from people and didn’t want them to merely be polite.

“I was posting like it was for someone else because I wanted to get feedback and people loved it,” she said.

She launched the business in December 2020 during lockdown and originally invested just $500, selling out of her first batch in just days.

“I was so nervous ordering that much stock, I bought like 500 units of stock, and I hand labelled everything,” she said.

“It sold out in a couple of days! It was a bit of a shock,” she said.

She launched the business in 2020 and has never looked back. Picture: Supplied

She invested $500 upfront and was shocked when it sold out quickly. Picture: Supplied

Ms Plecic said she once posted about her product on TikTok, went to sleep, and when she woke up she’d made $40,000 from her simple hair product selling out.

“It was crazy,” she said.

Ms Plecic made $1 million in the first six months of the business, and she puts that down to being first to market.

“It was revolutionary and I was smart enough to trade mark the term ‘sleek hair’ in the beginning and now we are doing 8-figures,” she explained.

The business was also approached by Coles just seven months after its launch and is now in stores nationwide.

The 33-year-old can still remember the “amazing” feeling of heading into her local supermarket and seeing her product on the shelf.

“I remember exactly what I was wearing and I was just feeling this rush and just pride and excitement,” she said.

“I was just so happy!”

The first time she saw her product in stores she broke down in tears. Picture: Supplied

She can still remember how excited she was to see it on shelves. Picture: Supplied

MORE: How to improve work-life balance

Ms Plecic said it was so “emotional” to the point she was in tears, calling it a huge moment.

Slick Hair is now stocked in over 5,000 retail stores worldwide, including Woolworths, Priceline, Sephora, and Urban Outfitters.

The Aussie business owner said the success of the brand has been incredibly “fast-paced” and it is hard to believe she’s now six years in.

The Slick Hair range has now expanded to include the Slick Stick, Wax Stick, Smoothing Brush, Anti-Flyaway Gel, Dream Cream, as well as clips, rollers and other hair care accessories.

She said seeing her products in stores is always emotional. Picture: Supplied

The business continues to go from strength to strength, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t challenging moments.

Currently, she’s a new mum, juggling business meetings with a toddler, which is no easy task.

“Every day is like running on a mouse wheel,” she said.

“Being a solo owner means that as the business grows there’s a lot of risk and stress and a lot of big decisions I have to make.”

Ms Plecic admitted that it is both a “scary and lonely journey”, but what keeps her motivated is that she loves the products and what she’s built.