CASE / / / Casper Mattresses: The Dream Team Makes Sleeping on the Job a Team Event!

The TV show Friends was one of the most successful TV shows of all time, ranking 21st of the best TV shows for all time,¹⁸⁰ and it is still popular on Netflix.¹⁸¹ Why was this show so popular? The 10 years of episodes portrayed close friends who lived in Manhattan and their comedic and romantic adventures and career issues and how they bonded as a team to help each other in times of need. So, too, Philip Krim and his four friends (Neil Parikh, T. Luke Sherwin, Gabriel Flateman, and Jeff Chapin) also hung out together in Manhattan in 2013, after each had gone through the trials and tribulations of starting new businesses that just didnt make the grade.

Their aim: like the founders of Netflix, Airbnb, Uber, and Amazon they wanted to redefine a very traditional market with a highly structured value chain. They were looking for a very common product or service that they could reinvent, just as Apple reinvented PC computing, and H&M did for fashion.

The company they formed, Casper, became a New York phenomenon, with their humorous sleeping advertisements plastered across the NYC subways.¹⁸² Why did they decide on mattresses? Philip Krim had some prior experience selling bedding mail order out of his dorm room at the University of Texas. That business grew rapidly, and the group agreed they should spring into action.¹⁸³ Neil Parikh stated that Sure, a lot of people were forming tech companies, but a lot of other people were trying to get healthier, and not much was being done [about] how to improve sleep.

Also, buying a mattress was a terrible experience: Customers were harassed by salespeople working on commission, an experience similar to buying a used car. We decided a brand that would help people sleep better at its core would succeed.¹⁸⁴ The key to their business model? Making the entire shopping experience, from ordering, to delivery, to actual sleep comfort not only painless but a joyful experience at a reasonable price. Casper became the worlds first end-to-end sleep company.¹⁸⁵

Casper was founded in 2014. Casper posted $373 million in net revenue in 2018, with losses reaching $64 million. The company wasn't yet profitable, although Casper projected the company would be profitable in 2019¹⁸⁶ with a forecasted 2019 revenue of $556 million. Casper had managed to grow from $1 million in its first 28 days to a projected nearly $600 million dollar firm in 2019.

Teamwork and team decision-making were key. The team members brought a diversity of expertise to the company. Krim brought mattress expertise; Sherwin built the brand to connect with consumers; Flateman brought art design and developed Caspers online image; Chapin designed the mattress and based it on human-centered design. Being New Yorkers, the team had each experienced the problem of carrying mattresses stairs to fifth-floor walkups. This experience led to a breakthrough idea they all endorsed: a boxed, compressed mattress that could be easily carried up steps, around corners, and through doorways. Mattresses are shipped in a 41-by-21-by-20-inch box, and come in six sizes weighing from 44 to 91 pounds and can fit in the trunk of a cab.¹⁸⁷

The founding team expanded to included employees. Weve been very lucky that almost all of our early hires are still with the company. If youre planning to bring on senior leaders in six, or 12, or 18 months communicate that with the people that will ultimately report to them, so that everyone has an idea as to how youre going to evolve the org when the timing is right. This allows employees to prepare themselves for changes, and gives managers a chance to adapt workflow, if necessary.¹⁸⁸ The last thing Krim wanted was to have his loyal employees walk out because they were caught by surprise. The thinking is, if you treat your employees well and dont surprise them with unexpected news, they will not surprise your customers with less than top-quality products and service.

1. Krim, Parikh and their friends formed a team in order to start this new business venture what type of team did they form? Explain.
2. What elements of team structure seemed strong at Casper? Explain Why.
3. What were some of the team norms at Casper?
4. What were some of the team roles at Casper?