SlouchBack -- A Distinct Brand of Comfort

With nearly 4,300 colleges and universities in the United States, SlouchBack looks to provide comfort for dorm rooms across the country.

"Why Sit Up Straight When You Can SlouchBack?"

Andrew Goetting, Roger Williams University 2008 graduate and founder of SlouchBack, lives off of drive, perpetual optimism and a healthy obsession with comfort.

During his freshman year at Roger Williams, Andrew came to a stunning revelation: college dorm rooms are small.  With little seating area beside a typical dorm bed, students are forced to cram on the same furniture where they sleep just to hang out. 

Andrew explains that "many of the students don't realize how much time they will be spending in their dorm room, which can make such cramped quarters uncomfortable."

A semifinalist in the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition in 2008, the SlouchBack itself is a back rest that transforms twin beds into a couch.  Perhaps the most innovative feature of the product is the SlouchBack is inflatable.  Why? Andrew notes, "We didn't want it to take up valuable space when it wasn't in use." 

Compared to similarly priced items such as body pillows and bean bags, the SlouchBack's space-saving capability becomes quite attractive.

How SlouchBack Got Started

Talking with Andrew, you get the feeling that things just seem to work out for him.  An All-American sailor his senior year, he is quick to point out that what he has accomplished as an athlete was the result of hard work, and a little bit of luck.  It is this same attitude that helped Andrew to first start SlouchBack.

Initially, Andrew took his own simple drawings of a SlouchBack prototype and bartered (with beer) with student architects and engineers to get AutoCAD drawings of the product to send out to manufacturers.  Bootstrapping the entire operation, Andrew constantly looks for ways to minimize costs.  He has performed exhaustive research, much of which was low-cost or even free.  He describes a particular visit to the local furniture store, "I dragged a few friends along and made them sit down on every couch. I asked them what they found comfortable about each one and gained a lot of valuable insight."

Last summer, Andrew and his longtime roommate (Roger Williams '08) and business partner Tyler Price, traveled to five college campuses -- Roger Williams, Harvard University, Dartmouth University, Skidmore University and Colby-Sawyer College -- to perform additional research. The duo handed out 50 SlouchBacks to students chosen at random on the condition that they would fill out weekly surveys assessing the product .  The team received tremendous feedback which they used to cultivate the final product.

Parting Shots

Andrew is also joined by Stanford University '08 graduate Jeff Seibert, the designated "tech guru," as part of the SlouchBack management team.  The trio have begun to assemble sales representatives on campuses around the country and will be traveling to and putting on live demonstrations at these sites over the summer. 

To date, the SlouchBack is exceeding pre-order first month projections and the number grows everyday.  The team hopes the SlouchBack will become a dorm room staple in the near future. 

You can usher in the fall semester in style and comfort by pre-ordering your own SlouchBack here for $99.

Related link: SlouchBack