Dollar Shave Club for Couches Shows Upside in Asking 'Why Are Things Sold the Way They Are?'

Introducing our new podcast, Problem Solvers with Jason Feifer, which features business owners and CEOs who went through a crippling business problem and came out the other side happy, wealthy, and growing. Feifer, Entrepreneur's editor in chief, spotlights these stories so other business can avoid the same hardships. Listen below or click here to read more shownotes.

Here's one of the most exciting questions in today's economy: Why is this thing sold this way?

Asking this question reveals all sorts of opportunities for startups to disrupt old industries full of entrenched, major players. Companies like Harry's and Dollar Shave Club, for example, questioned why razors are expensive and cumbersome to buy, and then solved the problem by launching affordable subscription services. Caspar asked why mattresses are so expensive, and solved the problem with a simple, shippable mattress.

Related: This Founder Shares How She Was Able to Attract Better Customers By Increasing Her Price

But of course, the path to success is not as simple as it may sound. A lot happens between asking the question and solving the problem, and in this new episode of Problem Solvers, we explore all those challenges in the middle. We're telling the story of Burrow, a company that sells a single, high-quality sofa, which it mails to customers in easy-to-assemble pieces. But in order to accomplish its goal, it had to navigate the many pitfalls of the furniture industry, and then develop a manufacturing process from scratch.

"You know, there's no roadmap for this stuff," says Burrow cofounder Stephen Kuhl, "and one of the things we learned is, if your business is going to be unique, you can't just ask other people how to do it and they'll help you out. You've got to learn on the fly."

Today, Kulh has won over the biggest manufacturers in the furniture industry, and sales of his sofa are on the rise. How did he do it? Listen to this new episode of Problem Solvers.

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