Wes Harrington and Anthony Acosta see the future of their industry diverting off the path it's currently on. The two own Bed DRS, a brick and mortar mattress store with two Valley locations. But they know the World Wide Web is another place they need to be.
"We're competing with "one bed fits all" online mattress stores," Harrington said. "We decided it was time to do something different, give people a choice of comfort a choice of price."
The two men are the first to sign up for Arizona's new Equity Crowdfunding program. It allows residents of Arizona to buy shares in start-up companies. Harrington and Acosta are using it to help them launch their business NewSleep.com. Unlike current established brands like Tuft & Needle and Casper, NewSleep offers five different mattresses with different feels and prices.
"We have a questionnaire online," Harrington said. "It will tell the customer two or three beds that will fit their type of body versus one bed fitting everybody."
The website is currently up and running. Harrington said the goal is to raise $600,000 and once they reach $160,000 they can start using the money for marketing purposes. All of the mattresses are made in Arizona.
"80 percent of the funds we raise will be spent here in Arizona," Harrington said. "We're trying to hire people as we go, so we'll end up bringing people online as we grow."
Mattresses are delivered to the customer's door step and come with a money back guarantee.
