On today’s episode, I sit down with Matt Hassett, Founder and CEO of Loftie, a consumer sleep tech company best known for its design-forward, connected alarm clock aimed at helping people use their phones less and sleep better at night.

In this conversation, we talk about how the business actually got off the ground, including what it took to move from an initial concept into a physical product, how Matt got the first units manufactured and into customers’ hands, and what it looked like to build a hardware company without venture backing. We get into the realities of working with overseas manufacturers, managing inventory and cash flow, and trying to grow while operating with real capital constraints.

We also spend time on how the company has evolved since those early days, expanding beyond a single product into a broader set of offerings. A big part of the conversation focuses on tariffs and the impact they had on the business, what it actually means when your costs effectively triple overnight, why relocating one's manufacturing presence isn’t as simple as it sounds, and how those constraints forced a meaningful shift in strategy, including moving a large portion of the business toward international markets.

I learned so much from Matt, and I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.