eve – a new e-commerce venture launched to disrupt the sleepy mattress industry – has completed its GBP2.5 million Series A investment round, led by venture capital investors Octopus Ventures and DN Capital.
Octopus Ventures and DN Capital provided GBP1.25 million of funding each, on top of their initial contributions to the company’s seed funding of GBP600,000. The investment will be used to fund international expansion (into Germany and the USA), above the line advertising in the UK and a new product development launch.
eve, which aims to deliver quality mattresses direct to consumers at a fraction of high street prices, has chalked up sales approaching GBP2 million since launching in February 2015. The business continues to grow at an average monthly rate of 35 per cent with a run rate of GBP6 million.
Jas Bagniewski, CEO of eve, says: “We have always had great confidence that our business would shake up the painfully outdated mattress industry. Consumers now know that there is a much better alternative to outrageous prices, slow deliveries and commission hungry salespeople. At eve, we set out to create the world’s most comfortable mattress, designed, engineered and made in the UK, at a price that’s fair – and consumers have really responded to this. We have been blown away by the popularity of our product and look forward to using the funding to grow the company further.”
eve is led by four experts in their fields comprising: Bagniewski, the ex-head of Zalando UK, co-founder of Groupon UK and other successful e-commerce businesses; James Fryer, a mattress expert with years of product development experience; Felix Lobkowicz, a former Senior VP at Rocket Internet, Germany’s globally renowned start-up hub; and Kuba Wieczorek, a branding and creative professional who came via Soho’s advertising hub and Channel 4’s Creative arm.
Luke Hakes (pictured) of Octopus Ventures, says: “Eve is a great example of a high growth business bringing technology and innovation to a previously traditional market. We are proud to have backed Jas and his team from an early stage and have been impressed with the growth of the business, particularly as they branch into new markets."
Lawrence Barclay of DN Capital, says: “We are delighted to continue to support eve in their mission to help us all sleep better and wake up feeling refreshed. Not only have they built a fantastic brand but they have consistently exceeded our expectations and we believe that they will go from strength to strength."
eve launched in the UK in February before expanding into Germany in September. The company will use the new capital to launch in other markets over the next few months, as well as broadening their marketing campaigns.
