Meet GhostBed. GhostBed makes state of the art mattresses and more, but they are certainly not your average mattress company. They are real people who know mattresses. It is what they do. It’s in their blood. They eat, breathe, and sleep (obviously) GhostBed. Their passion is to make a real difference in their customers’ lives. We had the opportunity to speak with their Founder, Marc Werner to learn more about his journey, passion and how Marc’s personal health issues got him into the mattress business.  Check out the details of what his team is up to at GhostBed.

What is your background? 

I’ve invented a lot of products, and I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’ve been working 80 hours a week for my entire working career of over 45 years. I love it. My wife started this company with me. Previously to this we had the ladder business Werner Ladder. You probably have one in your garage – 85% of the world has one at their home. My grandfather started the business over 100 years ago and my dad invented the aluminum and fiberglass ladder. The inventive creative gene runs in the family. Ever since I was 23 I’ve created various items, received numerous patents from everything such as cooling technologies to adjustable items and electronics to thermo. Creating is what I like to do. 

What motivated you to start the company and what motivates you now?

I was the guy in the family that always saw what was coming around the corner. I just have a sixth sense for that. There are lots of things I can’t do, but I know what I can do. My health and wellbeing motivated me to create GhostBed. I’ve had three neck surgeries and I really couldn’t find a pillow or a mattress that worked for me. As an ex- athlete with back problems, it’s a never ending struggle. I am grateful because I could have been in a wheelchair after the last surgery. When my dad was inventing fiberglass ladders, I was his lab assistant, so I know polymers well. A fiberglass ladder is a structural polymer and a memory foam mattress or pillow is a comfort polymer. I reconstituted the chemistry and made my own. I said to my wife, “You know, we should start a business,” because we had just sold the ladder company. The ladder company had 43 factories, 10,000 employees and had been in business for over 100 years. Once we sold it, all I needed was 5 minutes and I was ready to do something new. I told my wife that it would just be pillows, I didn’t let her know too much about my mattress ideas. That’s how GhostBed was born. 

The wholesale side the business was called Nature Sleep. We were selling in Macy’s, large mattress firms, and Costco because they were the same retail buyers who had purchased my ladders. Then I realized ecommerce was the future. However, the idea of selling mattresses online, 22 years ago, was too early. That is why Bezos started with books because they are easy to ship and then you train people to get comfortable buying things online. Mattresses were one of the last products to be sold online because everyone thinks you need to lay on it to try it out. We offered a free trial sleep test for people to try it out. As for the name, it came from my childhood days. I used to be afraid to go under my bed. I was telling my head of sales that story and he said it would be a great name for a company.

How many pitches do you give a week/did you give to get funding?

I was lucky and didn’t have to do any pitching, everything was self-funded. 

How does your typical day start? 

Reasonably early however not as early as it did when I was younger. I used to get up at 4am and run 10 miles, I can’t do that anymore. Now I get up at 6am then head into the office which is close to the house. I used to work long days, sometimes not getting home until 10 at night, but my wife put an end to that. Now I try to be home by 7 so we can have dinner. I then work from home at nights and on the weekends as needed. When you’re running a business it never stops. It becomes part of your family. When your wholesale or retail clients need something, they expect you to respond, even if it is 10 on a Saturday night.

How did you learn to embrace risk-taking? 

I’m a natural born risk taker. I believe you should say something in three seconds and make a decision in two seconds. I don’t hesitate. I remember when I was right out of college, I was working for an accounting firm in Chicago on a big account. My client was an old man and he was sitting in the boardroom. There I was, sitting with him, a clean shaven little boy with a suit on and a man who has bought over 200 companies. He turns to me and says, “I’ve got guys that do analysis of the companies I’m buying. Once you’ve got 85% of the information, you can make a decision. However these guys want 99% of the information. They’re afraid to make decisions. If you can’t make decisions you will not be effective in your business career.” I’ve always remembered that. I try to be quick to analyze information and make a decision. Hopefully I’m right 51% of the time, but know you are going to be wrong sometimes. However, if you don’t make decisions and take chances, you can’t move forward.

If you had to pick – a night out or a night in? 

I’d prefer a night in. I am a chef. I love to cook at home. I prefer to be home all the time. My wife would probably prefer to go out more but I like to stay in. Every Sunday we have the whole family over including grandkids and my 92 year old Dad for Sunday Dinner. 

Have you had to pivot since your initial idea/product/solution?

Yes, it is part of the process. It is a constant recalibration and evolution. I was selling online when I first cut my teeth for omnichannels like Amazon and Costco. I was learning how to process one sale rather than a truckload. I had to set up a system that could process one sale, ship one sale, love the order all through the chain, get it to the customer and make them happy. On the wholesale side mattress firms started buying up retailers and kicked me out. We were going to go out of business if it kept happening so we had to focus on the retail business. We took control of our own destiny. We developed our own brand, GhostBed, so we could control that revenue stream and communicated directly with the customer. 

Was there a time you messed up and felt like you’d failed? How did you bounce back?

I’ve had a number of things that didn’t work out. You have to keep going. You have to pick your head up and know there is a tomorrow. It could be the economy, the product, the customer. For example, when Mattress Firm bought up the retailers and kicked us out, I had to do something with that inventory. I was counting on the millions of dollars worth of sales. I had to figure something out to move forward.

Do you have any pets? 

Yes, we’ve had Golden Retrievers in the past and now King Charles Cavaliers. We’re pretty much dog people. We also make dog beds.

How do you give back?

One of our friends is on the board of a couple of dog rescues, so we’re always donating to them. We also do a lot in South Florida with battered women’s shelters. We donate mattresses, pillows and sheets to those places so they have a comfortable bed to sleep on when they have to hide from their significant other. 

What is one things people don’t know/misconception of being a founder 

That’s a good question. There is a presumption that you’re super rich, arrogant or other stereotypes. There are some young founders that want to be the president of the company but don’t understand why they are still the dishwasher. They don’t understand the timing of starting a company. They want immediate gratification.

I also think people underestimate the amount of stress and time required to found a company. They have no idea until they get into it and they realize they are standing in quicksand, and it’s raining fire. They wonder what they should do? They then learn pretty quickly how difficult it is to start from scratch. That’s when you find out what your character really is. You have to take the straight path and work hard. However there will be tough decisions to be made when things get tight. 

Do you prefer coffee or tea?

Coffee, but I also love tea. I only have one cup a day.

What else would you like to share with other entrepreneurs?

Two things. I always try to do the right thing by everybody and when I hire anyone, I’m very empathetic. I say the same thing to everyone we hire, “there are going to be good days and there are going to be bad days. We’re not going to worry about the bad days. Everyone’s human. So don’t stress and worry if you screwed up or something didn’t work, or if you need to take your kid to the doctor or a baseball game and you have to leave early. Don’t worry about that. We’re all human. We’re all the same people on the same planet. Let’s focus on the good days. If we have a bad day or problem, just move forward. I’m not firing you. More importantly, I’m not judging you. So don’t worry about that. Relax, and be your best self.” I’d like to emphasize that.

Debbie is co-founder, chief of customer success at Buzzy Rocket and yellow lab lover. From LA to London, she is well known as an expert in creating that certain elusive magic that drives explosive growth at the intersection of companies, customers and mobile. She has proven strategic vision, and isn’t afraid to get in the trenches. In fact, she’s been doing this at companies big and small for 25+ years. Her background includes executive level positions at both public companies and startups where she has proven over and over again that her passion, drive and results oriented perspective get it done. She is tenacious, loves the game changer and loves to win.

Debbie is co-founder, chief of customer success at Buzzy Rocket and yellow lab lover. From LA to London, she is well known as an expert in creating that certain elusive magic that drives explosive growth at the intersection of companies, customers and mobile. She has proven strategic vision, and isn’t afraid to get in the trenches. In fact, she’s been doing this at companies big and small for 25+ years. Her background includes executive level positions at both public companies and startups where she has proven over and over again that her passion, drive and results oriented perspective get it done. She is tenacious, loves the game changer and loves to win.