Two Canadian entrepreneurs built a sleep-products brand in four years; Hush hit a C$48 million valuation before Sleep Country bought 52% | World News

Two Canadian entrepreneurs turned a weighted blanket business into a sleep-products brand that attracted a major buyer within four years. Aaron Spivak and Lior Ohayon founded Hush after exploring how weighted blankets could help people sleep better. Their first product gained traction, but customers soon complained that it was too hot for summer. The founders used this feedback to develop a cooling version, which attracted thousands of backers on Kickstarter. Their growing business caught the attention of Canadian retailer Sleep Country Canada, which bought a 52% stake in Hush for C$25 million in October 2021. The deal valued the company at C$48 million.

How two Canadian entrepreneurs built Hush in four years

Hush was founded in 2017 by Aaron Spivak and Lior Ohayon. The company launched its weighted blanket in Canada in 2018. In a December 2025 interview with Forbes, Spivak explained how the idea took shape. Ohayon had volunteered at a summer camp for children with special needs, where he encountered a sensory room with a weighted device. That experience helped inspire the pair to explore weighted blankets and deep-touch pressure stimulation. The founders spent about six months developing their first blanket while holding down full-time jobs. Spivak said they worked on Hush between 5 pm and 1 am and initially tested demand through pre-orders.The early response was encouraging. Spivak told Forbes that monthly sales rose from C$30,000 in the first month to C$60,000, C$120,000 and C$300,000 over the following months. These are figures reported by the founder, not independently audited results.

Customer feedback led to a cooling blanket

The early momentum did not last uninterrupted. During Hush’s first summer, sales slowed as customers complained that the weighted blanket became too hot in warmer weather. Spivak told Forbes that the founders surveyed 500 customers to understand the problem. The feedback pointed to a clear opportunity: retain the appeal of a weighted blanket while making it cooler to use.The founders responded with Hush Iced, a cooling weighted blanket. They launched it on Kickstarter in March 2019, setting a funding target of C$25,000. The campaign ran from March 13 to April 12 and raised C$1,116,334 from 5,394 backers. That was more than 44 times the original funding target. The response helped Hush expand beyond its first product. The company went on to sell pillows, sheets, mattresses and other sleep accessories, turning a single-product idea into a broader sleep-products business.

Hush grew into a wider sleep-products brand

Hush’s expanding product range attracted the attention of Sleep Country Canada, a major Canadian mattress and sleep-products retailer. By October 2021, Hush offered weighted blankets, pillows, sheets and mattresses. Sleep Country described the company as an eight-figure brand within its first 24 months.Spivak also told Forbes that Hush grew from approximately C$700,000 in its first year to a C$10 million business. The expansion gave Hush a broader presence in the sleep-products market. It also offered Sleep Country an opportunity to strengthen its digital business and add an established direct-to-consumer brand to its portfolio.

Sleep Country bought 52% of Hush in 2021

In October 2021, Canadian retailer Sleep Country acquired a 52% stake in Hush for C$25 million, valuing the sleep-products brand at C$48 million. The deal came just four years after Hush was founded, with co-founders Aaron Spivak and Lior Ohayon remaining involved in the business.Sleep Country gradually increased its ownership, acquiring another 16% stake in 2023. In May 2024, it bought the remaining shares, bringing Hush fully under its ownership.

Hush continued to expand its product range

Hush continued developing its product portfolio after becoming part of Sleep Country. In April 2025, the company introduced Hush Little Baby, a product line for babies and toddlers. In an interview with Retail Insider published that month, Hush president Phil Besner discussed the brand’s expansion into bedding, pillows, mattresses and cooling sleep accessories.