Today we’d like to introduce you to Isaac Scharf and Ari Berman.
Isaac and Ari, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today? It was the end of 2012 and I recently sold a business which I operated with a business partner. I wasn’t sure what was next for me… I was trading stocks during the day while trying to figure out my next move. I first started a home health care referral agency but after a couple of weeks I knew it was not for me and I shut it down. Growing up I was always fascinated by e-commerce (especially eBay) I loved the fact that anyone can sell anything to anyone, anywhere 24/7/365 from the comfort of their own home or office. That’s when I began my next venture, selling things online. When I first started I would sell anything I can get my hands on, I would go to government auctions, buy $100K + worth of goods on my credit card (some government auctions let credit card charges and no buyer fees) and I would build listings on eBay and Amazon until all the goods were sold. This was extremely lucrative, however, I felt that every time I would pick up new goods from the auction I would start from square one with having to take pictures, write copy, build the listing, find my customer etc…. That’s when I decided it was time to build actual value and find a product which I can build content, pictures, listings for yet keep selling over and over. So I approached some friends of mine that were in manufacturing and asked them if they have any overstock or closeout items I could try selling (figured I’d get a good deal) and thankfully enough my friends at Allied Feather & Down offered me product which happened to be pillows and that’s when it all began to change. Within a few weeks I sold all the overstock items they offered me, so I started building multiple listings and approaching other online marketplaces where I can sell Pillows. In 2015 things started to really take off and when I went to visit one of my customers in Chicago I walked into the boardroom and my buyer introduced me to everyone as “Hey guys this is Isaac, the Pillow Guy” (We sold a crap ton of pillows) although we started to sell all bedding products Pillows were our #1. That’s how the name “Pillow Guy” came to be.
Let’s fast forward to mid-2016, I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with the name/brand “Pillow Guy” in my mind I thought maybe I’ll build a website where we sell just pillows, a ton of pillows from all over the world, not a good idea to compete with every other site selling pillows so I scaped that. Then something happened to me that got me thinking, I moved into a new place, bought great furniture, rugs, accessories etc… then it was time to buy my bedding and I wanted nice comfortable bedding but when I went to the store not only was it confusing but anything that was top quality and felt nice was a fortune. Then I went online (Keep in mind I was already in the bedding business selling my product everywhere) and it was even more confusing where everyone is trying to sell you on Thread count and BS. There was no place to go to buy nice luxury bedding, simply at an affordable price (and NOT florals or prints please) I wanted nice Masculine, simple Luxury bedding and I couldn’t find it. That’s when I knew exactly what Pillow Guy would become. A Luxury Bedding Brand geared towards Men which is classy, comfortable and affordable. I gathered 100’s of data points which we had already from all the bedding we’ve sold over the past 5 years and we used it to create the most comfortable, sustainable, beautiful, luxurious bedding with the Man in mind. We created our simple “Sleep Science Questionnaire” just answer three personal sleeping preference questions and BOOM you get the perfect bedding bundle.
All we need to know is whether
1) You sleep on your Stomach, Side, or Back?
2) Do you like your sheets Cool & Crisp like you’ll find in a 5-star hotel or Soft & Smooth like the softest smoothest sheets you’ve ever felt?
3) Do you prefer our 100% RDS Certified White Goose Down or our Vegan-Friendly cool gel fiber down alternative option (for the pillows and comforter)? We took the data points of all sleep types and after many hours of engineering and testing we came up with the perfect density options for a stomach, side or back sleeper. Then we sourced the highest quality fabrics to use for our sheets and duvet sets; Cool & Crisp we use a 400 Thread Count long staple single ply 100% Cotton Percale, the coolest and crispiest sheets you’ll ever sleep on. Soft & Smooth we sourced the finest 600TC 100% Micro-TENCEL OH BOY WHAT A FABRIC (This is what I personally sleep on and it changed my life, for real) Then we went into the fills… and again we got the best! We are using 100% Certified RDS Down, for the Pillows we chose a White Goose Down 650Fill Power (Again comes in Stomach, side or back sleeper options) and for the comforter, we are using an even finer 700Fill Power White Goose Down. And our Vegan-Friendly option we are using a fine cooling Gel poly fiber which acts and feels just like Down. I’m a Stomach Sleeper, like my sheets Soft & Smooth and prefer 100% RDS Certified White Goose Down.
What kind of Pillow Guy are you?
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My entire life I’ve been entrepreneurial and although it’s never a smooth road it’s always the one that I would choose!
Please tell us about Pillow Guy. Our sustainability story is something I am very proud of. Not only have we sourced fabrics and fills which are sustainable but even our packaging we’ve made sure to cut down on as much as possible by roll packing our pillows and comforters and using a fabric bag for our sheets. We know how important the environment is not only for us but for our future generations of Pillow Guys. On a sales note what sets us apart is that we are not trying to sell our customers on bogus marketing tactics like “Thread Count” or crappy “foam pillows” We really break it down by the personal sleep preference of the customer and that’s how people should buy their bedding.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently? At this point, We are so happy where things are I really don’t think I would do things any differently.
Pricing:
- We run weekly special on our website so check back weekly on pillowguy.com
- Save up to 20% when you purchase a bundle vs buying separates
- Free Shipping
- 30 Day Free Sleep Guarantee
- Free Return Shipping
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pillowguy.com
- Phone: 844.Pillow.Guy
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/pillowguy
- Facebook: facebook.com/beddingforallmankind
- Twitter: twitter.com/pillowguy1
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
