Haley Weidenbaum, now co -founder of her husband Adam Weidenbaum or the company that covers the Everhem windows, began its start in interior design in 2011. She enrolled in a certification program on the subject through the UCLA extension program and one year.
It was then that Haley discovered Homepolish, the domestic design startup that connected interior designers with customers. Haley worked as an interior designer with Homepolish for about six years. The company, which raised $ 20 million in funds in 2016, closed in 2019 after revealing that it had run out of capital.
Haley’s experience with Homepolish cools a first -hand look what could happen when a startup grows too fast. The work also helped to lay the foundations for her and Adam to launch a business relaxed by interior design of their own use of a slow and stable approach to do so.
Image credit: courtesy of Everhem. Adam and Haley Weidenbaum.
“At that time, the window treatment was the most difficult part of my work,” says Haley Entrepreneur. “I could not find the right company to execute the designs I wanted. The quality was excellent. Customer service in all the companies I tried was really poor. I just wanted to do better. Offering an exceptional and memorable pH, it has always been always.”
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Adam, a graphic designer with professional experience in finance, was an ideal co -founder to help make vision. When Haley approached her idea for Everhem, Adam was working on a digital media agency where she focused on the brand, and was ready for a change.
“I knew enough to know not to doubt Haley at that time,” says Adam. “When something comes up, it will usually happen. So I said:” Sure, let’s do this. “” Adam learned everything he could about window treatments, built the company’s economic models and worked on the brand’s identity. One of the first most important steps was the name of your new business.
“We wanted to create a name that focused specifically on the treatment of the window per se, since we know what the future of the business could have,” says Adam. “Maybe we got into another vertical or several other vertical ones. And then, if we are lit in something to do with the windows, it will not make sense to people.”
Image credit: courtesy of Everhem
“It had this double meaning. It is Swedish for the home, and all our products will be sewn by hand.”
The wheels began to turn after the couple saw an episode of Summary: Design ArtA Netflix documentary about Creatives, who had the British interior designer Ilse Crawford. Shortly before launching the business, the Meadow Baums tok a trip to Stockholm, Sweden, where they stayed at the Ett Him hotel, which Crawford designed.
“We are very inspired,” says Adam. “[It was] Completely our environment. We learned that ‘he’ is basically the Swedish word for ‘home’, [and] We have always felt a connection with the Hygge movement, comfort. [‘Hem’] It made a lot of sense. It had this double meaning. It is Swedish for the home, and all our products will be sewn by hand. Then the ‘always’ was added because it made sense: this is for your home forever. “
Everhem’s letter is also inspired by Crawford: it is the same letter used for the title of the designer’s book, A frame for life. It is also called “Tarzana”, which is the name of the city where Haley grew. It was a “complete circle,” says the co -founders.
“We wanted to put the user experience online and raise it.”
The Weidenbaums distrust external capital from the beginning. In those first days, they used their savings to self -finance the company. Most of the money was to build a website and acquire inventory. Hugging the slow and stable mentality, the co -founders did not expect a “great boom” in the official launch of August 2019. The first organic order and the month of sales were “stimulating.”
“We enter an industry that is in the leg for decades and decades,” says Haley, “so it really keeps us skillful to reinvent the wheel [in terms of] What everyone else were doing [with] Do personalized window treatment. But we wanted to change customer service format. We wanted to put the user experience online and raise it. Because that was a big problem for many people. “
Image credit: courtesy of Everhem
Even so, the Weidenbaums were cautious; He is not sure how much business they would have in their hands, they did not feel ready to launch investors.
Duration of his time at home, Haley witnessed how an external capital injection could fundamentally alter the operations of a company, and not necessarily for the better. Homepolish tried to control many of the business of interior designers to earn money and meet the ambitious expectations of investors, they point out Weidenbaums.
“Our caution when looking at investors always has one leg, we do not want to give control of the company’s destination too early and risk ruining it,” explains Adam. “It seemed like an Emarter decision, at least at the beginning, to do it, that is slow and see where it is going.”
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This conservative growth approach also extended to the hiring of the company. At the beginning of 2020, a couple of months after launch, the co -founders were still doing everything themselves. At that time, the Meadenbaums had a child and twins on the way, so they knew it was just a matter of time before they need additional help. The couple hired their first team member a few weeks before the pandemic blocks.
“O Course, for a period of time [during the pandemic]All essentially closed [and we] He couldn’t do anything, “says Adam.”[We were] Basically bleeding capital. But we offered discounts of 30% -35% in all areas. Make your order now; We will fulfill it when we can. And that really worked. “
Like many home -related companies, Everhem saw an increase in demand in the midst of blockages, with more people trapped inside and eager to improve their living spaces. Then came a series of organic influence associations, which also helped the business to upload. Everhem was not his marketing strategy paid until 2021.
Image credit: courtesy of Everhem
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Today, Everhem is a multimillionaire brand with a “small but powerful team” that helps maintain its constant growth trajectory. Hiring, and make sure that the new team members are adequate, remains one of the most important and challenging objectives of the company.
“You never really know when you hire someone if they are going to exercise or not,” Adam explains. “We have an extremely lucky leg with some people who have become [essential]. I don’t think the business runs without them. But we have also had our part of Hip. “
“We are here to change the perception of window treatment.”
Advancing more around 2025, co -founders are excited about continuous growth and the next Everhem collaborations.
“Collaboration with designers has been our great goal,” explains Haley. “This allows us to remain in the field of interior design always, make it obvious to our consumer base that is at the forefront of each manufacturing. We are here to change the perception of window treatment. It can be a complicated, but, and confusing and confusing, confusing, and confusing, and confusing, and confusing, it does not realize that you do not realize that.”
Everhem has just launched its Matchstick Shades product with Annie Meyers-Shyer, who directs the Instagram account this oak house. The company also recently announced an association with artist Carly Kuhn to sacrifice exclusive fabrics and patterns.
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The co -founders have learned a lot throughout the years that go to build Everhem, and one of their best tips for aspiring entrepreneurs who hope to start their own businesses is simple but essential: do not look at the income day.
“It can go crazy, especially when the economy is in flow,” says Adam.
Haley also emphasizes the importance of believing in his vision. “If you have an idea about the launch of a company or an idea of a product that you want to launch in the company that you have already founded, try it,” says Haley. “Do it in a way that mitigates the risk as much as possible, but see with your instinct and do not doubt yourself.”
