Advertisement
Canada markets open in 1 hour 40 minutes
  • S&P/TSX

    21,837.18
    -12.02 (-0.06%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,149.42
    +32.33 (+0.63%)
     
  • DOW

    38,790.43
    +75.63 (+0.20%)
     
  • CAD/USD

    0.7374
    -0.0015 (-0.20%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    82.79
    +0.07 (+0.08%)
     
  • Bitcoin CAD

    85,613.88
    -6,959.76 (-7.52%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,158.10
    -6.20 (-0.29%)
     
  • RUSSELL 2000

    2,024.74
    -14.58 (-0.72%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.3400
    0.0000 (0.00%)
     
  • NASDAQ futures

    18,113.50
    -118.00 (-0.65%)
     
  • VOLATILITY

    14.85
    +0.52 (+3.63%)
     
  • FTSE

    7,700.15
    -22.40 (-0.29%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,003.60
    +263.20 (+0.66%)
     
  • CAD/EUR

    0.6790
    -0.0002 (-0.03%)
     

Startup that will personalize your mattress raises $9.65M in funding

Helix Sleep raises $7.4 million to sell made-to-order mattresses online

Some beds are too hard, some beds are too soft, but some are just right, and a New York-based startup is promising to personally design you a mattress in this Goldilocks comfort zone.

Helix Sleep Inc. offers customers the ability to customize their mattress by filling out a two-to-three minute online questionnaire that will tailor it to their body type and sleeping preference. And, they’ll also ship it directly to your doorstep in a little over a week.

However, its most remarkable aspect may be that for an additional $100, it offers couples a “dual comfort” mattress (in queen, king and California king sizes) that is split down the middle with each side custom-made based on the results for the respective partners.

ADVERTISEMENT

Or, it offers a “blended” option that creates a “happy medium” across the mattresses.

The mattresses range from $800 for a twin to $1,550 for a custom California king. They also come with a 10-year warranty and a 100-night sleep trial. If customers are waking up with kinks in their neck or can’t stop tossing and turning, Helix will have it picked up and provide a full refund at any point during the period.

On Monday, Helix co-founder, Adam Tishman, told TechCrunch that the startup had raised $9.65 million in Series A funding.

The influx of cash comes from backers Double J Capital, Simon Venture Group, Western Technology Investments, Great Oaks VC, as well as seed investors Jonathan Klein, co-founder of Getty Images, and Jess Itzler, co-founder of Marquis Jet.

Double J Capital’s Jordan Hitch, who will now join Helix as a board member, told TechCrunch that he expects the new funding will be used for hiring, sales, marketing and to beef up manufacturing.

The company currently employs 20 full-time workers in its Manhattan office and showroom.

New competitors have been jumping into the mattress industry, with startups such as Casper, Leesa, Boll & Branch, Parachute Home and Brooklinen attracting funding.

But Helix has tried to set itself apart with its proprietary algorithm that Tishman told TechCrunch is based on research in biomechanics and sleep ergonomics. The end goal of their designs is to ensure spinal alignment during sleep.

The company’s mattresses use a blend of latex, high-grade foam and packed micro-coils, as opposed to traditional innerspring designs.

Despite seemingly having this leg up on competitors, Hitch stressed the need to focus on the customers

“They do have a proprietary algorithm to develop their mattresses, but the important will be maintaining high levels of customers service as they grow,” he told TechCrunch.

“Barriers to entry are low in this industry – the hardest part is to be consistent.”

Are mattresses important?

While Helix’s technology may sound appealing to the more than 67 per cent of Canadians who wish they could get better quality sleep, it important to note that there a lack of scientific evidence on how mattresses factor into the equation.

In fact, according to Vice, much of the research on the subject is funded by mattress companies themselves, which can lead to shaky results.

However, a 2011 study may back Helix’s customized approach.

The research, which was funded by the Sleep to Live Institute, asked 128 healthy people with no sleep disorders to spend a month each with seven unidentified mattresses.

The participants were then surveyed about their pain and energy levels the next day, as well as the number of times they woke up during the night.

Additionally, an actigraph tracked their movement: tossing and turning indicated a worse sleep, while sleeping like a log did not.

In the end, the researchers found that there was no single best bed, with each mattress garnering top position from at least 12 per cent of participants and none receiving more than 16 per cent.

However, that preference made a difference, with participants saying they moved and woke up less during the night, as well as felt better rested and less pain while using their favourite bed.