Caption: Hustle & Hope CEO Ashley Sutton won the Mensa competition with a smarter greeting card concept, and is now exploring additional licensing opportunities with American Mensa.
TLL Staff
Greeting card company Hustle & Hope turned out to be the SMART CHOICE, winning a pitch competition staged by American Mensa.
The prodigious brain trust at American Mensa—whose members by definition must score in the top 2% of IQ tests—have chosen Hustle & Hope as the inaugural winner of the SMART CHOICE Think Tank competition, which was held at Licensing Expo 2025.
“We were really impressed by the caliber of ideas we saw during this competition,” said John McGill, Director of Strategic Partnerships for American Mensa. “Hustle & Hope stands out for its originality and clear vision. It’s exactly the kind of smart, forward-thinking brand we’re excited to work with.”
As the winner, Hustle & Hope will receive a two-year Mensa license, which includes the right to use the SMART CHOICE seal, signifying excellence, thoughtfulness, and credibility.
American Mensa and Hustle & Hope are also exploring the development of a dedicated line of “Mensa Smart Cards” that would combine uplifting messages with practical, intelligence-driven resources.
Mensa says that, by bridging emotional connection with practical guidance, Hustle & Hope represents a modern, intelligent product that reflects Mensa’s values of purposeful innovation.
The competition, hosted at the American Mensa booth, gave brands the opportunity to pitch their most “intelligent” products and services.
The Mensa judges said “Hustle & Hope impressed the judges with its unique 2-in-1 motivational greeting cards, each featuring a QR code linking to free digital guides and resources; for example, a graduation card that connects recipients to career and job search advice.”
Hustle & Hope was founded by CEO Ashley Sutton, a former corporate marketing executive turned entrepreneur. The company’s mission is “to go beyond the paper, and make thoughtful gifting more impactful.”
Drawing on her experience developing toys at Mattel and crafting hit marketing campaigns for children’s TV shows like Peppa Pig and PJ Masks, Sutton created Hustle & Hope to create a product with purpose that can actually help and inspire card recipients. Hustle & Hope cards have been sold at World Market, buybuy Baby, HomeGoods (US), TJX stores (Canada), and over 45 independent retailers across the US.
American Mensa was introduced to Hustle & Hope through the Licensing International Accelerator Program at Licensing Expo, which aims to bridge the gap between underrepresented, diverse entrepreneurs around the globe, and the resources they need to build profitable, high-growth companies within the licensing industry.
“Being selected as the winner of the SMART CHOICE Think Tank is a meaningful recognition of the work we’ve put into building something truly thoughtful and impactful,” Sutton said. “Partnering with American Mensa allows us to align our brand with a legacy of intelligence and credibility, and we’re looking forward to using the SMART CHOICE seal to highlight the value and intention behind what we’ve created.”
Judges evaluated entrants on a number of criteria, including innovation, impact, relevance, and originality, as well as how and where they would leverage the SMART CHOICE seal in their product marketing.
Maura Regan, President of Licensing International, said the Mensa competition is exactly the type of program the organization’s Accelerator Program is all about.
“Licensing International’s Accelerator Program was the first of its kind in the brand licensing industry, and it was created to connect underrepresented entrepreneurs with the resources they need to build profitable, high-growth companies,” Regan said. “Seeing Hustle & Hope continue to expand and secure a deal like this is exactly the kind of success story we envisioned.”
American Mensa is an organization open to anyone who scores in the top 2 percent on an accepted standardized intelligence test. Mensa has about 50,000 members in the United States and more than 140,000 members globally.
American Mensa is also actively involved in the brand licensing industry, and focuses on licensing opportunities that elevate and celebrate intelligence-driven innovation. For more information about American Mensa, visit americanmensa.org or call (817) 607-0060.