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Virginia Beach-based company is changing the way we buy mattresses

Posted at 9:57 PM, Jun 06, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-06 23:59:32-04

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Typically when we shop for a new mattress, we go to the mattress showroom, plop down on lots of bed and like Goldilocks, find the one that's just right for us.

A new company is changing that in a big way and its international headquarters is right here in Virginia Beach.

Leesa is an online mattress company located at the Oceanfront on Pacific Avenue.

Leesa co-founders David Wolfe and Jamie Diamonstein are locals, kind of.

Jamie's family has been in the mattress business for generations in Norfolk and David is from the UK but has been living in Virginia Beach with his family for 18 years.

They felt like the beach was the perfect place for the company's  international headquarters because they love it here and it might be easy to lure young, bright tech employees to the surf and sand.

The company started only two years ago, but is already on track to earn 150 million in sales this year earning Leesa business accolades from Wall Street to Silicon Valley.

If you're not sure how this online mattress thing works, it's pretty easy according to Leesa customers.

First you go online, order the size and style of mattress you want, wait two - seven days, and a big box is delivered to your door.

The mattress is rolled up when you get it, so you unfurl it, wait a few minutes and you can see it take shape.

This is how one Leesa customer describes it, "It's like one of those little animal sponges when you were a little kid that you put in water and it gets big," says Andrea Ware.

Andrea and her Navy husband bought a Leesa mattress six months ago. They said they did research on the best mattress to buy, looking at reviews on YouTube.

The couple had never heard of the company but after looking at all the positive online comments, they clicked to order one.

Andrea has had back trouble since she was a teen and is a hair dresser who stands on her feet most of the day. Sleep and being comfortable in her bed were very important to her.

"The soft mattresses don't have good support, this has support, I've had a better night's sleep, I'm functioning throughout the day better. I'm waking up and I feel rested."

The customer gets to try the mattress for 100 days, and if they don't like it, the company will come get it and a refund is given.

While the founders are a little surprised how fast the company has grown, they're not surprised that customers love their Leesas.

"One thing that differentiates us in the design of the product is that we use premium foams. We have not compromised on any components in the bed," says Diamonstein.

Another thing that sets Leesa apart from other online mattress companies is its social impact. They donate one mattress for every ten sold, plant one tree for every mattress sold and 1% of each employee's time is spent volunteering.

Leesa has donated ten thousand mattresses to shelters here in the U.S. and abroad including the Union Mission Norfolk.

"We meet people who in many cases have never slept on a new mattress before, never slept on a comfortable bed, and it's life changing for them and for us too," says Wolfe.

Not only is Leesa attracting customers, its attracting the brightest digitally-minded people in the work place, like New York city native Alex Realmuto.

Realmuto read about the successful startup in Tech Crunch and called the company to see about getting a job there.

"We're a block from the beach, I live close to the beach so it's an incredible work-life balance," says Realmuto who's in charge of digital marketing.

The Pacific avenue office has everything a 20-something could ask for, a gym with a personal trainer, beach cruisers, and a game room where many impromptu meetings are held, bringing a little of the Silicon Valley feel to Hampton Roads.

And at the end of the day, these young trailblazers can rest easy knowing they've positively impacted the world around them and helped hundreds of thousands of folks get a good night's sleep.

Click here for the Leesa website.