Small-Business Success Story: AcousticSheep

published 26 January 2017

Kiplinger's spoke with Dr. Wei-Shin Lai (pictured above), 39, the cofounder and CEO of the Erie, Pa.-based company AcousticSheep, about why she left her private practice to focus full-time on her line of headphones. Here's an excerpt from our interview:

What are SleepPhones?

They’re like pajamas for your ears. We put very thin speakers inside a headband made of a soft, stretchy fabric. You have this nice, warm feeling while you listen to music, nature sounds or a comforting podcast. SleepPhones come in corded and wireless versions and work with most media devices.

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6 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Made Millions

How did you finance your business?

As a doctor and software developer, we could buy what we needed with our own money. We were profitable from day one, and we’re still self-financed. We did open a line of credit so we can build up inventory in the third quarter of each year in anticipation of the holidays. We have a really big fourth quarter.

Are you making a living?

In our first year, we had about $30,000 in sales. In 2008, we wrote a business plan aiming for $1 million in sales in five years. In 2012, we made more money from the business than from our jobs, and we reached our goal by early 2013. In 2014 we quit our day jobs and moved to Erie, near my husband’s hometown. We did about $5 million in sales in 2016, and we have 25 employees.

Erie isn’t known for tech, is it?

It’s kind of a Rust Belt community. Jason always talked about coming back to the region to bring better jobs and a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship, and that’s what we’ve done. The business community has been incredibly supportive. But we’ve struggled to find the right local talent with experience running a fast-growing company. Our advisers here tend to be old school, and sometimes they don’t quite know what to do with us.

6 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Made Millions

What’s your greatest satisfaction?

Customers have told us that they could finally come off sleeping pills after taking them for a decade. We’ve saved marriages, too. Despite one person snoring, the other person can finally get some sleep.

Esswein joined Kiplinger in May 1984 as director of special publications and managing editor of Kiplinger Books. In 2004, she began covering real estate for Kiplinger's Personal Finance, writing about the housing market, buying and selling a home, getting a mortgage, and home improvement. Prior to joining Kiplinger, Esswein wrote and edited for Empire Sports, a monthly magazine covering sports and recreation in upstate New York. She holds a BA degree from Gustavus Adolphus College, in St. Peter, Minn., and an MA in magazine journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University.