I think we’re all in agreement when I say that nobody wakes up excited about the idea of going mattress shopping. From the schlepping around a sea of styles that all look the same to the nightmarish hours haggling with a pushy sales executive, no part of the experience is fun. Casper entered the market three years ago and completely changed that.
No longer do you have to leave your house. You can order your mattress quickly and easily from the comfort of your home and, thanks to their courier service, you can have it on your doorstep the same day. And they’re not shabby either. All of their mattresses are made up of two high-tech foams and, considering that we spend half of our lives in bed, the investment is worth it.
The business seriously fascinates me. They hit $100 million in sales in their first year of business and in the three short years since they launched, have been able to make mattresses sound, well, sexy and it’s encouraged a whole slew of upstarts to follow suit. As with most disruptive businesses, timing was on their side. The business launched at a time where the conversation was fixed on the benefits of sleep. Even Arianna Huffington made it the focus of her most recent book, The Sleep Revolution. That aside, their success is down to the fact that they have nailed each and every touch point, from the product itself to the whole customer journey.
As the brand’s Chief Experience Officer, Taryn Laeben is the woman responsible for bringing that all together. I got to spend the morning with her, walking around Casper’s pop-up in Soho (you can buy the mattresses there if you’re dubious about buying a mattress online) listening to her tell me how the business came into being and what it is about the company that made her leave her role as President of jewellery brand, Alexis Bittar.
ON HER IMPRESSIVE PAST ROLES: I remember walking into the lobby of Kate Spade after moving back from Amsterdam feeling like I was home. For the first time, I was working for a brand where I was the customer. It was totally my style – super warm, chic, and creative. At Kate Spade, I was the Senior Vice President of Kate Spade & Company in North America. I oversaw the Company’s 150+ full-price and outlet stores across the US, Canada and the UK as well as the E-commerce division and North American wholesale business. I was responsible for the overall brand and product strategies, as well as the growth and profitability for Kate Spade’s largest region. Before heading up North America, I was the Vice President of International, where I oversaw all operations throughout Japan, Hong Kong, PRC, and Southeast Asia, and business development into new regions including South America, Europe and the Middle East. Prior to joining Casper, I was President of Alexis Bittar, a New York based fashion jewelry company known for developing the category across major national retailers including Neiman Marcus, Saks, and Nordstrom. With Alexis I had always been a customer, wearing the jewelry for years. I sat next to him at an awards dinner and a year later we reconnected when he was looking to grow his team.
HOW TO KNOW WHEN IT’S TIME TO MOVE ON: When you’ve stopped learning in a rich and fulfilling way, it’s time to go. As I acclimate at Casper, it’s something that becomes more and more apparent — I’m learning an entirely new industry and making an impact at a startup seeing rapid growth, while discovering the intricacies of a digitally-native business. Early in my career, I thought about roles in a linear manner. It was always about getting the best job. But I’ve learned that success is about rich learning and how you apply it. When what you’re learning slows down, it’s time to hang up your hat.
THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FROM THOSE ROLES: I’ve learned that rigorous strategic planning, clear roadmaps, and a global-minded culture are the three most important qualities a leadership team can have. Casper is just shy of 3-years-old, making it the perfect time to build out a strong leadership team with clear, strategic goals and plans. We look at least three years out and work hard to place budding leaders in roles where they shine. Our European launch in 2016 has allowed us to really refine our global playbook as we grow.
ON WHAT BROUGHT HER TO CASPER: The first thing that attracted me to Casper was the brand itself — it’s beautiful, powerful, and I immediately knew it was full of potential. From the moment I met the founders, I fell in love with the company, what they were trying to build, and the opportunity they had created for themselves. I had to join the team. Ultimately though, it became clear to me that our potential was much greater than purely a disruptive online mattress company. Casper is building the first sleep lifestyle brand – and at a time when sleep is at the center of public discourse. Because our brand is so earnest and powerful, we are uniquely positioned to take that white space. Culturally, we make decisions at Casper as a group. Younger team members naturally crave more context and transparency, as opposed to being handed decisions in a much more hierarchical way. I’ve loved the challenge of altering my approach and integrating into that very open and transparent style. It’s inspiring to see how much more valuable our work product becomes as a result. The opportunities for Casper are limitless, and that is fed daily by our team by – how passionate they are, and how tireless they are to innovate. When Casper launched in 2014, no one had heard of a mattress startup. Consumers were conditioned to visit an overwhelming mattress store full of countless confusing models and gimmicky promotions. Casper radically disrupted the $14 billion traditional mattress industry by introducing one mattress shipped directly to your door. We reinvented not only the shopping experience but also sleep products – our product line has expanded to include sheets, pillows, a foundation, mattress protector and even a dog mattress.
ON THE INFLUX OF NEW PLAYERS IN THE MATTRESS GAME: Our success has created a hot category that has set the standard for what people expect from sleep products and the shopping experience. We stay above the competition with obsessively-engineered sleep products designed by our in-house research and development team, which collectively holds more than 50 patents.
ON HER INNATE KNACK FOR LEADERSHIP: I have always been a natural leader and a charismatic, people-person who genuinely cares about my team. Leadership is something that a great leader never stops working on and you should never stagnate in your approach. Every year you lead and every direct report presents an opportunity to be a better leader. This is the most inspiring challenge as I take on new opportunities. I’ve learnt to always remember my initial instinct when it comes to people, but that it’s also important not to react outwardly to your gut instinct. With people challenges, I find it’s best to pause, assume best intent, and approach fact finding in an unbiased way — all while remembering what your initial instinct told you.
NETWORKING 101: Networking is most effective through contacts. Don’t be afraid to ask for warm introductions. Nine times out of 10 the person you’re asking will feel honored to have been asked. Remind yourself that executives love to help people advance in their careers — it’s one of the joys of becoming successful.
HER ADVICE ON HOW WE ADVOCATE FOR OURSELVES AS WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE: We often let concern about how they will be perceived outweigh the importance of pushing hard in these types of conversations. Always remind yourself that you will never be perceived as negatively as you think you will. You are your own worst enemy and only get one kick at the can. Be poised, be firm, be unrelenting. Do not worry about how you will be perceived.