Sheets & Giggles: a Techstars Company
By Colin McIntosh, Founder & CEO of S&G
Ok, maybe we took the bit too far.
A year and a half ago, S&G was just a pun. Admittedly, a solid pun, but still just a pun.
About a year ago, when we began getting ready for our May crowdfund, I wondered if anyone would care about sustainable bedding. I also worried if I should have gone with a more "serious" bedding brand name like Ball & Brunch or Skydive Home.
My fears quickly subsided when we were crowdfunded into existence by the largest Indiegogo ever for bedding in May 2018, and a whirlwind of good news followed our launch. We won first place at Denver Startup Week 2018, shipped 10,000 sheets to folks all over the US, got glowing reviews from authorities like Forbes and Real Simple, began growing our small but hard-working full-time team in Denver, and were even named one of Built in Colorado's 50 Startups to Watch in 2019.
Now 18 months in to this journey, I'm proud to announce that S&G just completed Week 4 of Techstars Boulder, a prestigious 3-month accelerator program that has launched major companies like ClassPass, PillPack, Sphero, SendGrid, and countless more incredible startups. They also launched a few duds like AdHawk. (Only kidding! They're now 90 people and growing. Shout out to my good friends Dan and Todd, cofounders at AdHawk; keep up the decent work guys.)
You maybe wondering: why didn't I write this blog post during Week 1 of Techstars? To be completely honest, I had the flu. Life's not all rainbows.
Techstars' class announcement from January gives the full rundown of all 10 amazing companies accepted out of over 1,000 applicants:
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Atomos – helps commercial space operators solve a “last-mile” problem by moving satellites from low-Earth to high orbits using space tugs—reusable spacecraft optimized for flight in space and between orbits Vanessa Clark, William Kowalski – founders@atomosnuclear.com (Denver, CO) |
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CometChat – enables developers to add voice, video, and text chat to their apps and websites to power user-to-user communication Anuj Garg, Anant Garg – founders@cometchat.com (Mumbai, India) |
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Joust – simplifies financial management for freelancers and entrepreneurs through an FDIC-insured bank account, a merchant account, and PayArmour, an invoicing tool that guarantees invoices Lamine Zarrad, George Kurtyka –founders@joust.com (Denver, CO) |
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LuDela – brings light and ambiance to consumers’ homes through real flame smart candles Jamie Bianchini – founders@ludela.com (Bend, OR) |
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Sheets & Giggles – makes buying bedding fun, entertaining, and sustainable for consumers by selling eucalyptus bed sheets through an entertaining brand Colin McIntosh – founders@sheetsgiggles.com(Denver, CO) |
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Soona – enables brands to create affordable, predictable, and beautiful content through a same-day photo and video solution Elizabeth Giorgi – founders@soona.co (Denver, CO) |
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Trinicorp – helps disabled people regain their freedom with a self-balancing electric wheelchair that can go absolutely anywhere Mel Jack Du, Amro Eltayeb, Roman Sandoval – founders@trinicorp.com (San Antonio, TX) |
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Tripcents – helps travelers save for their next trip by combining proactive savings technology with vacation options that fit their interests and budget Brantley Pace, Beau Bergman, Jennifer McMillen, Charles Arcodia – founders@tripcents.co (Denver, CO) |
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Unbird – helps product and marketing teams make better decisions by aggregating and categorizing free-form qualitative customer data to uncover insights Jeff Whitlock, Cameron Nuckols – founders@unbird.com (Salt Lake City, UT) |
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Veho – enables e-commerce brands to offer a differentiated delivery experience through crowdsourced drivers who deliver next day and app-based communication Ita Zur, Fred Cook – founders@shipveho.com(Boulder, CO) |
So there you have it. For the next 10 weeks, we'll be sitting next to the folks from Atomos, who literally make spaceships. Zero inferiority complex, and we're humbled to spend time with such talented people in the Boulder / Colorado tech community.
If you're local, please feel free to come to Boulder for Demo Day on April 23. If you're a friend of the company, we can get you a ticket; please just email hi@sheetsgiggles.com with your request.
If you don't know what Demo Day is: every CEO gets on stage for 5 minutes and pitches their heart out to a room full of about 1,000 investors, founders, potential partner companies, and family members. It's like Shark Tank, but not soul-draining. Plus, open bar.
Thanks to Techstars staff, the folks at Foundry Group, David Cohen & David Brown (Techstars co-founders), Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (who helped found Techstars), Flytedesk (Techstars '15, they gave us free office space last year!), Natty Zola, Julie Penner, Jackie Ros, our mentors, our investors, and everyone going through this year's program.
The S&G team is excited to continue working hard to make good things happen for the company and our community, and surely no one will someday second-guess your decision to invest in a pun-based enterprise.
Read last week's much more exciting post about our fitted-sheet-only options for those among us who don't use top sheets. (They exist.)
I’ve loved reading your background! Pretty cool you took the bull by the horns and ran with it. I lived in CO for 25 yrs them most of the other 25 train TX with a few moves in btwn it I love when young people get a idea, run with it and make a success from it I can’t wait to try my sheets soon! Best wishes to your company!!
Well matched! TS and S&G deserve each other! Special and inspirational both.
Colin, we’re so excited that you are part of this class. It’s truly a pleasure to work with talented, bright, and dedicated entrepreneurs like you!
Just got my first two sets of S&G sheets and I LOVE them. You guys are the best. Make more things. And I expect the three guys in the bed to be shirtless next time :-)