Sleep.ai Success Story. 10 OOTB questions to founder Colin Lawlor

We started the journey with the world’s first (and still best) RF-powered hardware device. We had to convince consumers to buy the device to track their sleep before we could use the data to guide them to the appropriate intervention. It didn’t sell as well as expected. The data were key, but being tethered to one form of hardware was a barrier to success. We switched to Sonar (which converts the average smartphone into an accurate bio-motion sensor), opening up the market and reaching far more people. Subsequently, we built an open data platform (collecting data from every wearable / nearable) to drive Sleep.ai today (note, most of these devices don’t agree with each other, so having a gold standard comparison is really valuable). Realizing that barriers to collecting data, such as forcing people to use a particular device or wearable, would not help us develop solutions that make a difference in the lives of billions.

It is likely going to be way harder than you think – there will be moments when you ask, “Why do I keep going?” When you reach those moments, you have to ask yourself, “Am I closer to the vision than I was, and is there a way to get there, given the challenges of the moment?” You also need people around you to provide advice and support. Inside the team, advisors, Board members, partners – there are those who get it and have your back – spend time with them. In the end, you have to pick yourself up and keep going. If you knew how hard it could really be, you might never do it in the first place. But regardless, you will learn and be stronger for it. I love the quote from Edison, who famously said that he didn’t invent the lightbulb but rather found 1,000 ways not to. He would have kicked himself if he had given up on the 999^th attempt.

It would be the last year, mainly because it is coming together. The market is right (the consumer now searches about sleep at a higher rate than any other health or wellness topic), the technology is right (you couldn’t do the things we can do now at this speed or cost as little as 12 months ago – so the things you can accomplish are multiplied, while the cost is not), we have the supporters and partners we need to win and everyone on the team is another year wiser – while the belief is stronger. You can’t beat that.

I read the books and realized that failure is a learning opportunity. That said, I didn’t like it (and truth be told, who would). But now, failing fast is a key part of my philosophy. The world and your competition are changing so quickly that you have to move, and that involves some risk. Contain the risk by all means, but do not stop moving forward.

The first users were acquired by running an ‘America’s Best Sleeper’ Quiz on the Dr. Oz show – it confirmed strong interest, set up a database and ultimately won us our first users. We opened up our B2B partnership strategy by exhibiting at CES. I suppose that in itself was not unconventional, but we used our data to tell the story and from there, the fun began.

One person advised me to build a peer group, because being CEO was lonely. One Board member advised against it, thinking it best to stay focused on the tasks at hand. Over the years I found people (investors, Board members, friends) who I could call when in the midst of a challenge or when needing a little encouragement. That really goes a long, long way. I don’t mean every day or even every week, but from time to time, everyone needs someone to call.

I was around 12 – I loved gardening and convinced my Dad to build a greenhouse (we lived in Ireland and it can get chilly so greenhouses are required to propagate plants). I grew plants with my buddy Paul and we sold them to local hardware stores. I learned a lot, made a little, but enjoyed it!

Yes – I always had a passion for business (particularly international) and at one point joined a management consulting firm and quickly became a partner. I loved it. I have loved it ever since, but nowhere near as much as working at Sleep.ai. A great friend of mine tells me that my whole life has been building up to this moment. He is right. I have a passion for leveraging sleep to improve health outcomes, and another passion for working with people to make a real, significant impact. Putting the two together with some leadership and business skills is bringing all my dreams together.

They might not expect to see the incredibly humble beginning. I have had debates with people (including my wife) about whose family was poorer growing up. I was one of the first in my whole extended family lucky enough to go to University and probably didn’t fit in that well, because, well, I didn’t know how to. I probably even had a hang-up about it, perhaps was a touch embarrassed, but looking back on all that now, I realize that my parents gave me the most important gift of all – a good attitude. As you can probably tell, I am now comfortable in my skin and happy to share my humble beginnings. To me, that might encourage others with hidden talent.

I play the bagpipes. Indeed, not badly, I should add (bagpipes can be ok or terrible – there is little room in between!). They are a difficult instrument to master – perhaps that is why I chose them! My best man recently led my boyhood band to win the World Championships. I have played for Presidents and Royalty, in pubs, palaces, and concert halls, at weddings, funerals, and parties. It brought me to the United States when I was just 14 years old, and I played in Fort Worth, Texas, at the Cowtown Goes Green Festival. For Covid, I stood on my doorstep in San Diego every night at 7 pm to say thank you to the first responders and challenged myself to adapt a different popular music number every day (my neighbors didn’t know any Irish music and eventually came out to jam every night) – after 60 days, it was hard! Every St. Patrick’s Day, I bring them into the office – all in the name of some fun. To paraphrase a famous Irish author – “a gentleman is a person who can play the bagpipes, but doesn’t, so I don’t take them out as often as I should!”