Two recent college graduates create the world's first dog bed for humans

Noah Silverman and Yuki Kinoshita, both 22, created a prototype for the world's first dog bed for humans just a month before graduating from the University of British Columbia in May 2022. Their company Plufl, which started as a passion project in their dorm room, has since gone viral, already generating more than $1 million in revenue.

The idea for their product originated when co-founder Noah Silverman frequently saw a Great Dane napping in the corner of the coffee shop he worked at. "I would always get so jealous of how cozy and relaxed it looked while I was working," Silverman said. Wanting that comfort is what sparked the idea to change the way we nap. They began developing the idea and testing it out with friends while learning about product design and marketing along the way. After successfully creating a prototype, the entrepreneurs had to think of a name for their product.

"We were just sitting in a room with a bunch of our friends throwing around adjectives to describe the perfect bed we were trying to create," Kinoshita said. "The words plush and fluffy were the two that stuck with us." Plufl, a combination of those two words, was thus launched with support from 799 backers on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter.

Silverman and Kinoshita began gaining traction online with viral TikTok videos and Instagram Reels that reached over 50 million views. Their viral success led to an appearance on Shark Tank in October 2022, where the duo secured an impressive $200,00 deal from Sharks Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner.

After receiving their first batch of Plufls in December 2022, Silverman and Kinoshita wanted to hand deliver the product to their very first customers for the holiday season. The two went on a "Plufl Road Trip," which they documented on TikTok, renting a U-Haul and trailer to drive from their warehouse in Louisville, Kentucky to Toronto, Canada. Along the way, they captured the positive reactions and experiences of customers testing out the human dog bed for the first time.

"Plufl is about bringing more comfort, coziness, and joy to people's lives, providing the products and solutions that people need," said Silverman of the brand's mission. The duo looks forward to spreading even more joy as the company continues to grow in 2023.

To find out more about Plufl, visit: https://weareplufl.com/