WHO IS JEREMIAH CURVERS? MEET POLYSLEEP’S CO-FOUNDER & CEO
Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, Jeremiah Curvers was privy to witnessing the volatile ups and downs of the lifestyle firsthand. Instead of diving headfirst and following in their footsteps, he joined the corporate world and began climbing the ladder with a focus on sales and digital marketing.
Eventually, that entrepreneurial spirit so embedded within his family caught up with him.
At 30 years old, Jeremiah was approached by a friend about how he was receiving new manufacturing machines to become a supplier for bed-in-a-box companies—an up-and-coming industry that was shaking up the mattress scene.
At the time, Jeremiah was sporting just over 12 years of digital marketing experience, and large ecommerce companies were few and far between in the Greater Montreal Area.
“I was intrigued by the opportunity to disrupt the Canadian mattress industry, so I thought ‘why not?’” Recalls Jeremiah.
Jeremiah identifies as a very curious person—a DJ and music producer in his previous life, and now testing his skills at photography, he’s known to his friends as the guy who’s always up to trying something new.
Just as he began testing mattress prototypes, he injured his back at a golf tournament, suffering a double herniated disc and was bed-ridden for three months.
“On top of sleeping at night, I was in bed for 8-10 hours during the day, making my technological and research approach very different than that of my competitors,” says Jeremiah. “The importance of a healthy sleep surface had never been more important to me.”
Now, Jeremiah is in year six of Polysleep’s journey, and the company has recently been acknowledged as one of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies by the Globe & Mail. Polysleep is on a mission to empower wellness through sleep and their 100% Canadian made mattresses boast unbelievable comfort, unrivaled quality, and countless happy customers. Starting as a solely D2C player, the small, efficient and nimble Polysleep team have expanded their footprint with brick and mortar partners like Costco, BestBuy, Wal Mart and more.
JEREMIAH CURVERS’ LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE
Once pandemic restrictions started to ease, Jeremiah found himself navigating the complex world of remote vs. in-office work.
Some of the Polysleep team loved the work from home life and others found that the lack of human connection was taking a toll on their personal motivation.
“I always lead with empathy, and my main goal was for everyone on the team to be happy. I was lost on how to find the right balance to ensure everyone was content, working, and not creating silos,” Jeremiah recalls.
So, he turned to his TEC CEO group and Chair, Marc Blais.
Marc saw serious potential in both Jeremiah and the company, so he connected with him on LinkedIn in 2020 about joining TEC. Though Jeremiah had received casual help from other entrepreneurs, he had felt like he needed a well-versed coach who had the proper tools to help him develop both personally and professionally. He jumped at the opportunity to expand his network of successful CEOs and grow from their collective wisdom.
EMERGING FROM THE CHALLENGE
In his quest for answers, Jeremiah discovered that almost everyone else in his TEC group was also navigating the remote vs. in-person environment, and each in their own unique way.
Although there are undoubtedly helpful tools to aid business leaders (in particular, Jeremiah likes Jim Canfield’s book: CEO Tools), Jeremiah recognizes that there is no one single tool to tell you how to run a business, and there will always be levels of uncertainty. But to him, TEC reduces those levels of uncertainty.
“The group accelerates the experimental process of trying something,” says Jeremiah. “It’s a multiplicative effort, rather than you having to gather the data by yourself with your own employees.”
After just one month, Jeremiah had access to valuable feedback from his fellow members around a variety of methods they had used for their return to work
“What works well for other companies has a good chance of also working well for yours,” believes Jeremiah.
With the experimental feedback from his fellow group members, Jeremiah was able to quickly find a great hybrid balance that worked well for everyone without having to go through months of trial and error, changes in routine, or disrupted productivity.
Polysleep now has two fixed days every week where everyone works from the office, and they take advantage of these days for brainstorming and collaboration. The other three days, employees are welcome to work from home.
So far, it’s been working great, and the team is happy.
“To me, TEC is a way to avoid mistakes and accelerate decisions with a minimal amount of risk,” says Jeremiah. “Whether it’s about recruitment, sales, or anything in between, there’s always someone there who has gone through what you’re going through or is going through it with you.”
TEC’S IMPACT
Jeremiah appreciates that his Chair, Marc, has a way of forcing him to question himself and the way he does things, often making him realize there may be opportunity for great change. These changes, then, are discussed as a group to help each member grow.
TEC has also helped Jeremiah gain confidence as a young entrepreneur. Starting a business in his early 30s, Jeremiah feels as though he has grown and expanded his horizon in a way that wouldn’t have happened without being able to network with other CEOs and understand what is and is not working for them.
“A huge value of TEC for is the networking element and the ability to call someone at any given moment to get their two cents on something.”
Ready to explore who could be sitting at your table and benefit from the wisdom of those who have stood where you stand? Apply to become a TEC member using the form below.
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