Joy Mangano

This entrepreneur has made $4B+ in total product sales.

In the late 1980s, Joy Mangano was a newly divorced mom of three.

She was waitressing by day and selling handmade wreaths at flea markets.

But she was mostly sick of mopping her floors and soaking her hands.

So she invented a better way: the Miracle Mop, a self-wringing mop made of 300 feet of continuous cotton loop.

She scraped together her savings.

Asked friends and family to invest.

Built 1,000 units in her dad’s auto body shop.

She called it Arma Products.

Later renamed it Ingenious Designs.

She took it to QVC.

In less than 30 minutes, she sold 18,000 units.

By 2000, the Miracle Mop was doing $10M a year.

Over the next two decades, she launched hit after hit…
- Huggable Hangers: slim, non-slip velvet hangers (Oprah-endorsed, 1B+ sold)
- Forever Fragrant: scent sticks, spheres, candles (180,000 sold in a single day)
- My Little Steamer, Shades Readers, Clothes It All luggage, and ceramic nonstick cookware.

She holds 71 patent families, 126 published patents, and built a reputation as the #1 seller in HSN history, driving over $150M in sales per year.

In 1999, Joy sold her company to USA Networks (then HSN’s parent company) and became an executive.

She led sourcing and product development, creating lines for Serena Williams, Iman, and even Keith Urban’s guitar collection.

And then came pivot #2.

In 2020, she launched CleanBoss.

A line of non-toxic, plant-powered disinfectants, laundry sheets, and household cleaners.

All designed to kill germs faster without harsh chemicals.

She once lost her sense of smell while cleaning with chemical sprays.

And after watching her daughter sanitize her baby’s highchair, she knew there had to be a better way.

She built CleanBoss as a family business. Again.

And this time, brought in a new partner: Pitbull.

They launched together in 2023.

And it worked.

Today, CleanBoss is stocked in over 3,600 retail locations, including Walmart, Lowe’s, and Kroger.

It’s grown 250% in 3 years.

And now, Joy’s story is on stage.

"JOY: The Musical" premiered Off-Broadway in 2025.

It’s based on her memoir “Inventing Joy” and the Oscar-nominated 2015 film “Joy” starring Jennifer Lawrence.