I started losing my hearing at 21 and built a business

I began noticing ringing in my ears at 21 and soon after experienced slight hearing loss in my left ear. I knew I should wear earplugs at music festivals but didn’t because the options were ugly, uncomfortable, and deadened the music I wanted to enjoy. That gap felt like both a personal problem to solve and a clear business opportunity: a lightweight product people would actually use and that could sell globally.

At the time I was already working with my childhood best friend, Nick, on Dore & Rose, where we started by selling silk pillowcases and later expanded into sleep products. With my focus on branding and Nick’s marketing expertise, that company grew quickly and now generates about $30 million in annual revenue.

Being best friends since we were 12 lets us be blunt with each other and make decisions fast, which helped scale both businesses. We hired leaders to run Dore & Rose and spent about two years on research and development before launching Hears in 2024.

hearing loss, earplugs, hears, dore &, silk pillowcases, sleep products, music festivals, hearing protection, research, entrepreneurship