Two young entrepreneurs believe they have come out with the ‘perfect’ mattress that’s also affordable.
MILLENNIALS are famously not job-seekers but job creators who find solutions in problems and solve them.
Innovative, disruptive businesses are the brainchild of people who understand that there are long-standing issues that require immediate solutions.
Economics graduate Winson Chong, 23, and his girlfriend Joey Tan, 23, who studied marketing and management, are such people, and the problem they are trying to solve is mattress buying.
“Let’s face it — mattress shopping sucks. The salesmen are pushy, the prices are very high and not transparent and there are too many confusing options and gimmicks camouflaged as health benefits,” Chong says.
“People buy mattresses for health because we all need a good night’s sleep and sellers sometimes manipulate this by overpromising their products.
“Tricky features are disguised as benefits, after-sales support is very difficult to get and good mattresses can be very expensive.”
So the two work with a manufacturer to produce a fully foam mattress using the J-Foam that they co-created. “We tried many materials and finally settled on this. It has better bounce, pressure point relief and is durable.”
Joey Mattress comes with a 10-year guarantee and is breathable so you don’t feel hot while sleeping, Tan says.
ONE PRODUCT
Chong and Tan say they want to make mattress shopping easy and enjoyable.
“We believe one great product is better than 10 average ones, so we made only one perfect mattress — the Joey Mattress.”
Chong says trying a mattress for five to 10 minutes in a store is not enough for your body to know if it’s suitable so Joey Mattress allows customers to try it for 99 days.
If, for any reason you don’t like it, just return it for a full refund. No questions asked.
“An average person will need around three to four weeks to fully adjust to a new mattress so we let our customers do this. We will pick up the mattress from their home for free and issue them a full refund.
“We take a direct-to-consumer approach by only selling our mattresses through our website — www.joeymattress.com. We want to keep it that way because this allows us to cut down on middlemen which translates to lower prices.
Joey Mattress ranges from RM1,250 (single), RM1,895 (queen) and RM2,395 (king).
“We want to make a product that is great and affordable to most people,” says Chong.
LOCAL TOUCH
The mattress, made in Malaysia, comprises a unique polyurethane.
The J-Foam is engineered in-house for bounciness, better breathability, pressure-point relief and durability.
“It has two layers. The top is 8cm and it’s a soft and bouncy comfort layer with pressure-relief characteristics. The bottom is 15cm and it provides firm support for the spine,” adds Chong.
The top cover is smooth and breathable, comprising 68 per cent polyester and 32 per cent viscose.
The mattress also has Zero-Motion Transfer technology that isolates movements on the mattress for undisturbed sleep.
“Many people here don’t get enough sleep and that’s sad. Sleep is how our body relaxes and recharges. That’s when repair in our bodies takes place.
“Sleep deprivation has negative effects on our well-being and health. We hope this mattress can help customers sleep better,” says Tan.
Chong says the brand sells some 30 mattresses a month and so far, no one has requested for a refund.
In fact, a 60-year-old customer contacted them to say he now experiences less back pain.
Both Tan and Chong both feel the satisfaction of being able to help.
“It feels good to have made a difference. And it’s great when people have an improved quality of life because of what we do,” says Chong.