HEST Raises $2 Million, Accelerates Opportunities to Help People Sleep Better in the Outdoors
New fundraising round marks investors’ confidence in the HEST brand, its products, and the team along with the growing opportunity to help people sleep better in the outdoors.
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SEATTLE (Nov. 3, 2021) – HEST, the outdoor startup and designer of premium sleep products built to make the great outdoors even greater, today announced $2 million in funding from new and existing investors that will boost brand development in product innovation, team growth, and sales strategy.
What launched two years ago with the goal to build a line of products that takes all the best things from our beds at home and turn them into portable, adventure-ready forms, now celebrates a growing line of premium car-camping sleep products that can be found online and in brick and mortars across the country. The HEST product fleet has proven its success through recurring sell out and consistent reorder fulfillments over the last year – via DTC and third party vendors.
“We are so proud of this most recent fundraising round as it proves enthusiasm in the growth and opportunities of HEST, our expanding product line, and all of the people behind the scene,” said Aaron Ambuske, founder and CEO of HEST. “This funding will be used to boost investments in new products and innovations, grow the team, scale the supply chain – including domestic production capabilities – and accelerate the company’s omni-channel sales strategy. We are thrilled to see what HEST rolls out for its customers this next year and beyond.”
This funding round included angels, Ascend Venture Capital, and the Alliance of Angels – the largest and most active angel group in the Pacific Northwest.
“Sleep will be a $137B market by 2026. We think Aaron and HEST can do for sleep what Allbirds did for shoes – use innovative design, unique materials, and a modern and differentiated brand to create passionate followers in a coveted consumer segment,” said Kirby Winfield, founding general partner of Ascend Venture Capital.
“The pandemic really kicked demands into high gear – the 2020 North American Camping report showed that nearly half of all campers either started camping in 2020 or restarted after having not gone in recent years,” Ambuske continued. “We are rapidly growing, and one of our biggest challenges has been keeping up with customer demands – we look to this new funding round to meet those challenges with new opportunities.”
Later this month, HEST will launch a new car-camping mattress that will be the most portable mattress in its current fleet. Stay in the know at www.hest.com.
About HEST
HEST brings the comforts of home to the great outdoors by producing premium sleep products that build community around camping. HEST develops and delivers high-performance, low-maintenance solutions for camping and travel. HEST was founded in 2019 by outdoor industry product and engineer Aaron Ambuske who was looking for a better night’s sleep when spending nights outdoors. Today, HEST is committed to building a line of products that takes all the best things from our beds at home into portable, adventure-ready forms. HEST revels in the idea of enabling more people to get outdoors and enjoy all that they have to offer, especially after a good night’s sleep.
Learn more about HEST at www.hest.com.
