Toronto, Canada · Est. 2013 · Founded by Alex Ikonn & UJ Ramdas (now run by Alex & Mimi Ikonn)
Alex Ikonn and his wife Mimi built and sold a wildly successful hair extensions business -- then found themselves wealthy, restless, and wondering what the point was. The Five Minute Journal was their answer: a five-minute daily gratitude practice rooted in positive psychology, designed in 2013 to be the simplest possible tool for living a better life. Over 4 million people now use it. Emma Watson. Tim Ferriss. Add it to a registry and actually use it.
Alex Ikonn and Mimi Ikonn built Luxy Hair into one of the internet's most successful DTC businesses -- 250,000 customers in 165 countries -- and sold it exactly when they wanted to. Then something unexpected happened: nothing felt different. The financial freedom they had worked toward didn't bring the meaning they had assumed it would. They found themselves looking for something smaller, simpler, and more honest.
Alex and his co-founder UJ Ramdas launched The Five Minute Journal in 2013 under the Intelligent Change name, built around a single insight from positive psychology: that gratitude, practiced consistently, measurably shifts how we experience our lives. The journal takes five minutes a day -- three things you're grateful for each morning, a reflection each evening -- structured, science-backed, and designed for people who have always wanted a practice but never stuck to one. When UJ moved on, Alex and Mimi took over completely. Tim Ferriss received a copy as a gift, talked about it in Tools of Titans, on his podcast, and to anyone who would listen. Four million people now use it worldwide. The journals are printed on FSC-certified recycled paper and bound in natural cotton or linen.
On a registry, Intelligent Change is the gift for the couple who wants to start their marriage the way they mean to go on -- present, grateful, and paying attention to what matters.
