Casper co-founder Philip Krim explains to Guy Raz why Casper pursued litigation against several mattress review websites.
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Krim: Casper financed the Sleepopolis acquisition but had no editorial control
“They wanted to buy this site, and we talked to them about financing that acquisition so that they could operate it, and they had complete, independent editorial control, and they ran their business. We were just a financing partner for them.”
Assertion Supported
Krim: Mattress makers renamed identical beds across stores to block comparison shopping
“Right, and that was one way that you couldn't price shop it. So it very well could be that Macy's is selling ABC mattress, and Sleepy's is selling XYZ mattress. Those could be the same mattress for all intents and purposes, but you would never know that becaus…”
Insight
Krim: Mattress businesses do not need repeat purchase frequency to make money
“You can make a lot of money selling mattresses. You don't need frequency.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Krim: Casper was the first company to brand the unboxing experience
“To my knowledge, we were the first to ever brand the unboxing experience, and so we put the stripes on the box on the exterior, and we put a tray on the interior.”
Opinion
Krim: The killer app for Calm and Headspace is sleep, not meditation
“The folks like Calm and Headspace have gone on to build great businesses, and I think the killer application for those businesses is not meditation. I think it's sleep”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Krim: Casper faced post-WeWork public market backlash against unprofitable startups
“We were the first, I think, visible high profile company to go public post WeWork, which meant there was a ton of negative sentiment around companies that were investing capital into their business and around, you know, these, the startup And side of things.”