In honor of National Small Business Week, the Colorado Chamber is celebrating Colorado small businesses and recognizing the contributions of small business owners, entrepreneurs, and their employees to our local communities. Learn more about Small Business Week here!
Today’s feature is Colin McIntosh with Sheets & Giggles
Colin McIntosh is the founder and CEO of Sheets & Giggles, a sustainable bedding brand based in Denver that was ranked No. 309 on the Inc. 5000’s list of fastest-growing private companies in America.
Sheets & Giggles is most known for its award-winning Eucalyptus Lyocell sheets, which have been featured on national TV programs such as Good Morning America and The View. This award-winning product has also been named “Best Overall” sheets in Good Housekeeping.
When McIntosh began crowdfunding in 2018, Sheets & Giggles (S&G) was just an idea. However, he ended up raising $284,000 from a preorder campaign. Only two years after McIntosh packed and shipped S&G’s first box from a cold empty warehouse in Denver, S&G hit a major milestone – its first month with over $1 million in sales. In the last four years, the company has shipped 200,000+ boxes and now makes sustainable mattresses, pillows, and even coffee.
Beyond the growth, McIntosh is most proud of S&G’s philanthropic and environmental work despite the young stage of the business. In 2019, S&G donated nearly $20,000 to save koalas; in 2020, S&G donated $40,000 to Colorado COVID relief; and in 2021, S&G donated $28,000 to cancer organizations. Plus, over the years, S&G’s reforestation efforts have resulted in tens of thousands of new trees planted in Colorado and around the United States.
“I generally just want to make the world a better place and improve the lives of people in my local, national and global communities,” said McIntosh. “My mom always taught me to leave the world a better place than I found it.”
McIntosh’s advice to other small business owners is to outwork their competition. “The one great equalizer is finite hours in a day, and if you can take advantage of those hours more than your competition, you’ll be shocked at the results.” However, McIntosh also emphasizes the point that work is just one aspect of life and “work should always just be a means to an end, not an end in and of itself.”
Learn more about Sheets & Giggles here!
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