With a focus on Greater Philadelphia small businesses and entrepreneurs, "The Creators" is a weekly feature presented by PHL Inno. Check back each Monday for a new profile on a local business. Have a story you think we should know about? Email associate editor Lisa Dukart at ldukart@bizjournals.com.
Discomfort was the unlikely source of inspiration for Philadelphia resident Brittany Cribbs to launch her own company.
After traveling around Europe, Cribbs took a 10-hour flight from Italy back to the U.S. Having opted for a budget airline, the experience was less than ideal. Despite great service and good food, “the seats were just horrible,” Cribbs said. “And because the seats were so bad, the whole experience was terrible.”
Upon her return, Cribbs began searching for seat cushions that could ease the pain she had experienced on that flight. After weeks of looking, she couldn’t find anything.
“At that point, I just decided I was going to invent my own,” she said.
Working with a manufacturer, Cribbs designed a memory foam cushion that would transform an uncomfortable seat. More importantly, it would also be portable.
Realizing she likely wasn’t the only one in need of such a product, Cribbs decided to pursue the idea as a business. By the end of 2016, just months after taking that flight, she had a prototype in hand.
But like that uncomfortable flight, the path forward wasn’t without its bumps.
After self-funding the prototype and initial orders, the product that her manufacturer shipped ended up being subpar, forcing Cribbs to fix the issues by hand.
“That's your worst nightmare,” Cribbs said.
Later, she turned to crowdfunding through IFundWomen, raising over $12,000 in the hopes of expanding Cloud 9 Easy Go and finding a more reliable manufacturer, which she eventually did. IFundWomen proved an even bigger resource for Cribbs, who was selected by American Express for its 100 for 100 program after using the platform. In November 2020, American Express awarded $25,000 grants to 100 Black women entrepreneurs.
“It was just an overwhelming feeling of thankfulness and gratitude because I had been through so much with my manufacturers,” Cribbs said. “That grant really just … breathed new life into my business."
That funding not only allowed Cribbs to ramp up production, but to pursue different facets of the business. In the last few years, Cribbs has introduced on-the-go accessories like totes, blankets and travel mugs.
“My goal with Cloud 9 Easy Go is to make whatever your experience is more convenient and more comfortable,” she said, whether that’s commuting, attending children’s sporting events or traveling.
Moving forward, Cribbs plans to focus more on the cushions, which remain her best sellers. She introduced a smaller version of the original cushion which is better suited to desk chairs. That medium-sized cushion retails for $79 while the larger version is $89.
The Covid-19 pandemic was a surprising boon for the smaller cushion, with many people working from home. It was so popular, Cribbs snagged a $175,000 order for it with West Chester-based QVC and HSN when she appeared on USA Network’s new show “America’s Big Deal” last fall. While Cloud 9 Easy Go is still undergoing negotiations with the home shopping companies, Cribbs expects the cushions to be available through one or both platforms sometime this year.
Just appearing on “America’s Big Deal” proved big for the company, which saw a “huge, huge influx of sales,” Cribbs said, but declined to share specifics.
In addition to her debut with QVC and/or HSN, Cribbs is already eyeing her next big goal, which is to get Cloud 9 Easy Go into sports arenas around the country. “I would love to start getting licensing deals with different sports entities, different sports programs like the NFL, NCAA, NBA, WNBA, NHL,” she said. “That is my big goal because I feel like that is such a huge market that I could tap into.”
Now Cribbs is working to expand the cushion line, including materials and colors. Currently the vast majority of sales are direct-to-consumer through her website and Cribbs is fulfilling them single handedly. As she prepares for her QVC and/or HSN debut, Cribbs is seeking a fulfillment center and hopes to soon make Cloud 9 Easy Go her full-time job.
For Cribbs, the potential of such platforms is unlimited. “I grew up with it and I see how powerful those platforms are and I've seen it work in my own life,” she said. “I feel like once you build that trust with that customer base, that is your ticket to success.”
What makes Cloud 9 Easy Go cushions different from others on the market?
The fact that it is portable, because if you go on Amazon right now, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of different kinds of cushions but a lot of them are just the seat pads or maybe there's a back support cushion, but most of them aren't a full seat cushion. If it is a full seat cushion, it's definitely not portable. So the portability aspect is what sets my cushion apart.
Who is your primary customer?
The majority of my customers so far are people who work from home and instead of buying a super expensive, $300, $400, $500 executive desk chair, they use my cushion in whatever chair they have at home. For my customers who fly, most are families, people who take a lot of trips.
How did you end up on “America’s Big Deal”?
Through the American Express grant program, I was given a mentor through SCORE, which is a program through the SBA. My mentor and I would have our meetings and during one meeting, we were strategizing how I could get my product on QVC and HSN. My grandmother raised me and is addicted to home shopping. I grew up watching QVC and HSN and I was telling her about Joy Mangano and … how much I admire her. The following week my mentor emails me and says, “You've got to apply to this show.”
Are you seeking investors now?
I'm actively seeking investors and I'm working on a couple of things right now. ... I have a really, really good feeling that 2022 I'll have a lot more resources coming in so I can expand Cloud 9 further.
