Hi friends 👋,
Last week, we had a busy week spotlighting and doing live chats with two inspiring founders, Samantha from Ally Shoes and Blair from GILDED BODY.
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In today’s edition:
✨ Why Matt Hassett created Loftie, a smart alarm clock that restores tech-life balance
🎙️ Look back to our live chats with Samantha from Ally Shoes and Blair from GILDED BODY
👀 Interesting new DTC brands we’ve discovered
Spotlight - Matt and Loftie
Our main story is about Matt and his product, Loftie. It’s a smart alarm clock that turns your bedroom into a sanctuary through features like breathwork courses, white noise, and sound baths.
This is a timely product since most of us are forced to spend more time with screens since the pandemic started, and mental health issues are at an all-time high.
Following Matt’s advice, we at StoreyLine have been leaving our phones out of the bedroom when we sleep, and it’s amazing to detach from technology for an extended period of time.
Matt, take us from here.*
🚊 Why I started Loftie
I always love to be around people who make things. Before starting Loftie, I was working on a project for the State of New York with IDEO, a global design consulting company.
I came back to IDEO as an Entrepreneur in Residence the following summer; this was 2017.
I noticed that a lot of my colleagues were not happy with their tech-life balance. People talked about deleting Facebook and Instagram from their phones either permanently or as a break here and there.
This got me thinking: How can we help people make their own better habits? How can we put in environmental cues to create healthier habits?
Most people use the alarm on their smartphones; having the phone nearby at bedtime and when we wake up perpetuates these less-than-ideal habits.
That’s why we decided that the alarm clock, this humble product that had been neglected for years, was due for a redesign and could help restore this much needed tech-life balance.
💡 What makes Loftie special
We want people to go to bed relaxed and stay that way so they get a great night’s sleep.
We created a range of white noise and nature sounds that lull people to sleep. Right from Loftie (no phone necessary), you can play a meditation, sound bath, breathwork, or story. You can also play your own content, like a podcast or a Spotify playlist.
You can get started now and mix your own natural soundscape at sounds.byloftie.com.
💦 Biggest challenge
Creating a smart device is quite complicated because it involves industrial design, mechanical and electrical engineering, and software development. We had to figure out how to pack all the features into a design that’s compact.
Fortunately, we are working with a fantastic product development company in New York, Doris Dev, that works with other great DTC brands like Equal Parts, Great Jones, Judy, and many more.
*Answers adapted and condensed from a conversation with Matt earlier this year.
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We’ll be doing a chat on Instagram Live this Thursday (July 30) at 3pm ET. Join us by visiting our Insta pages @storey.line or @byloftie!
Looking back
Last week, we had an amazing and enlightening chat with Blair, the founder of GILDED BODY, which makes luxury body care products.
We went over why she started Gilded, why she’s so passionate about providing accessible dermatology care to the underserved, and had a very candid conversation about what it’s like to be a black founder in the industry.
This is a must-watch in our opinion.
Watch the replay of our conversation here,full story here.
We were lucky enough to spotlight and chat with another founder, Sam, the founder of @allyshoes, about challenging the status quo of “with beauty comes pain” and bringing much-needed innovation and comfort to women who want to look good.
We also talked about challenging another ingrained concept: nude colors, and how she strives to offer shoes to women of every shade!
Watch our chat here, and read the full story here.
Brand Hunt
To drink: Milk powered by peas; canned sparkling tequila; punchy and sugar-free chai
To eat: cereals that dare you to break the rules; breakfast bars made from oats, egg whites, nut butter, and fruit; chef-curated superfood smoothies
At StoreyLine, we empower socially conscious brands and consumers to connect more efficiently through a unique, experiential marketplace both online and offline.
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