My childhood dream was to play in the NHL. Growing up in Sherbrooke, Quebec, just an hour and a half outside of Montreal, I spent countless hours on the ice, honing my skills and imagining what it would be like to step out onto the big stage. Over three and a half years, I played about 250 games in Quebec’s junior hockey league. A highlight of my career was being invited to the Vancouver Canucks training camp in 2016. But as I reached my late teens, I realized that making it to the professional ranks wasn’t in the cards for me. I was a good player, but I was up against the best in junior hockey. Some of my friends have even gone on to play in the NHL. I didn’t have the passion or talent to push myself to reach that level.

That’s when my dad presented me with a new opportunity—joining the board of directors at his furniture company, Bestar. My role was primarily that of an  observer. I was there to learn, take notes, and ask questions later. At first, I was hesitant. Business and finance weren’t exactly my forte. But as I dove into learning about the industry, something clicked. The finance side of business captivated me, especially the stock market and investing. Its competitive nature reminded me of hockey. 

I pursued a degree in economics and finance at McGill University in Montreal. It was there, while working part-time at an investment firm, that I learned about the mattress-in-a-box phenomenon sweeping the industry. The acquisition of Endy by Sleep Country Canada was eye-opening. Endy’s owners had managed a significant exit—$88 million—in just a few years. 

Seeing how quickly these direct-to-consumer mattress brands were disrupting the traditional retail model got the gears turning in my mind. There was a major gap in the Canadian market when it came to easy-to-assemble, space-saving furniture that doesn’t require extensive instructions or tools. I’m the kind of guy who can barely hang a picture frame, let alone assemble anything from IKEA. That’s when the idea for Cozey was born. 

I partnered with an industrial designer in Montreal to create the drawings and ensure we had a simple assembly process that would yield a sturdy product. No one wants their sofa jiggling around every time they shift their weight. To keep things accessible and visually appealing, I aimed for a mainstream, mid-century style. Then, I had to find the right manufacturing partners to bring my vision to life. We developed a modular sofa design, one easily assembled without tools — a game-changer for urban dwellers struggling to fit bulky furniture through tight doorways and stairwells. Working closely with this local designer, as well as the manufacturers, we landed on a solution that met all of our criteria.

With $30,000 in personal savings and a loan from close family, I got to work building the Cozey brand from the ground up. My sister and a close friend joined me in those early days, handling everything from marketing to operations. In the beginning, we had a high error rate with our products—around seven per cent. I took customer service calls, sometimes going to customers’ homes to assemble furniture myself. Over time, our continuous improvement efforts helped bring that error rate down to a tenth of a percent. Early customers were incredibly patient watching that first batch of five shipping containers sell out in just a few months was incredibly rewarding.

By June 2021, we had raised $2 million and expanded our product line. It helped us handle the sharp rise in container shipping costs during that period without pushing those costs entirely onto customers. Over the next 18 months, we launched new sofa collections and branched out into tables, rugs, and other home accessories. As Cozey’s customer base grew, so did our team—today, we have over 175 employees across our distribution centers in Canada and the US, as well as our first brick-and-mortar store in Toronto.

My hockey dreams may have faded, but the competitive spirit that drove me on the ice has only intensified in the business world. Every day, I’m motivated to push Cozey to new heights, to create products that delight our customers, and to build a brand that becomes synonymous with modern, accessible furniture. Many of the people on our team are ex-athletes, and that drive to achieve something significant creates an energetic work culture. It’s much more motivating to aim high than to settle for something average.

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This journey has taught me the power of surrounding yourself with talented people, the importance of speed and decisiveness, and the thrill of taking calculated risks, like entering the U.S. market and opening a retail store in Toronto. America has become our fastest-growing market. We recently launched a pop-up in New York and a distribution center in Los Angeles, and it has only improved our brand recognition and bottom line. I’m confident that if we stay true to our vision, Cozey will one day be a household name, the first thing that comes to mind when people think of stylish, easy-to-assemble furniture. We’re just getting started.