Leesa Raises $9M To Disrupt Mattress Industry
Lead Investor TitleCard Capital Brings Platform With Major Celebrities To Support the Online Luxury Mattress Venture
Funding To Support Rapid U.S. Sales Growth, Expansion into the U.K., and Product Research & Development
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (July 7, 2015) — Leesa, an online luxury mattress company that is disrupting a traditional brick-and-mortar industry with an extremely comfortable, direct-ship mattress and an industry-leading social impact program, today announced the close of a Series A funding, raising $9 million at a post-money valuation of $45 million. Leesa will use the Series A funds to continue its rapid growth, predominantly through increased marketing in the U.S. and an international expansion, starting with its U.K. launch later this month. A larger Series B round at a significantly higher valuation is also planned to fund ambitious plans to open up new sales channels, launch new products and extend the brand into related businesses.
“Leesa is at the busy intersection of an industry ripe for disruption, a fabulous groundbreaking product, and an extraordinary team of direct-to-consumer, online marketers, social media experts, designers, developers and operators,” says Leesa co-founder and chief executive officer, David Wolfe. “It’s amazing to think that after just 6 months, we’re on track to achieve $30 million in sales in our first year and will help more than 10,000 people sleep better.”
The Series A funding was led by TitleCard Capital, a private equity firm that combines entrepreneurial investment expertise with the influential marketing power of celebrity investors from the fields of sport, entertainment and business.
“While we were not out aggressively raising funds for Leesa, our introduction to TitleCard Capital was compelling and it fundamentally aligned with our growth strategies through social media,” commented Wolfe. “With TitleCard Capital’s management team and high profile influencers, we saw the opportunity for a shared vision.”
“With individuals like David and 20-year mattress industry pro Jamie Diamonstein behind Leesa, we saw the best match for our own thesis—adding capital and tastemaker influence to innovative thinking and savvy activation,” said Tyler Tysdal, managing partner for TitleCard Capital. “For any great business, the benefit goes to the consumer—a superior product at a lower price with the same ease of purchase of buying a book online.”
Leesa’s successful launch and fast growth has also helped jumpstart its social impact program, dubbed Leesa One-Ten. Through this program, the company donates one mattress for every ten sold. Leesa has already committed more than 800 mattresses to shelters, 320 of which will be donated to the Bowery Mission shelters in New York. The kick-off donation event will be for the Bowery Mission’s newly refurbished flagship men’s shelter, which will take place on July 15th.
“We are happy to be helping New York, which is also the home field for TitleCard members – Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist and Jets wide receiver Eric Decker,” said TitleCard partner Eric Epstein.
For more information or to purchase a Leesa mattress with a 100-night, risk-free in-home trial backed by a full refund policy and free shipping, visit http://www.leesa.com.
About Leesa
Based in Virginia Beach, Va. with offices in Manchester, U.K., Leesa is an online luxury mattress company that offers 100 percent American-made mattresses delivered directly to your door with a universal feel that everybody needs to sleep better. The 10-inch mattress comes in all standard mattress sizes and features three layers of high quality foam: a 2-inch perforated premium comfort top layer that offers better airflow and a cooler night’s sleep; a 2-inch memory foam middle layer that provides body contouring and pressure relief; and a 6-inch base foam that provides stability, durability and core support. Leesa mattresses also feature a beautifully designed, seamless four-stripe cover that is woven from one piece of polyester-blend fabric. All Leesa mattresses ship straight to your doorstep within three to five business days. To avoid the awkward showroom experience, Leesa offers a 100-night risk-free trial, free shipping to all 50 states, and no-hassle returns. Leesa operates an industry leading social impact program through which it donates one mattress to a shelter for every ten purchased. For more information, visit www.leesa.com.
About TitleCard
TitleCard Capital is a private equity firm that seeks to apply the marketing influence of well-known athletes, artists and industry executives such as Jimmy Kimmel, Adam Levine, Henrik Lundqvist, Eric Decker and Jessie James through investments in consumer-facing businesses. TitleCard aligns itself and its influencers with companies in the sectors of technology, consumer products & services, specialty finance, health & wellness, media and entertainment, and hospitality. One of the TitleCard’s founders is Kenny “The Jet” Smith, a TV personality on Inside the NBA and NBA TV. Tyler Tysdal is the managing partner and leads a team of investment professionals. For more information, visit www.titlecardcapital.com