Music festivals gave me hearing loss. My best friend and I started making earplugs, and it’s now a multimillion-dollar business.
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Bob Verlaat runs two companies with his childhood best friend Nick Nijhof.
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Together they designed earplugs that are stylish enough for festival-goers.
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They run the company together while traveling.
This article as described is based on a conversation with him. Bob VerlaatHears co-founder. Edited for length and clarity.
I like to party and enjoy being close loud music. I knew I should wear earplugs at music festivals, but I didn’t. When I turned 21, my ears started ringing. Shortly after, I noticed slight hearing loss in my left ear.
lucky me hearing loss It doesn’t affect me as severely as it does some people. I mostly hear the ringing sound when I’m in bed. But I could still see there was a problem: I knew I needed to protect my ears, but I didn’t because the existing earplugs were ugly, uncomfortable, and dulled the music I was trying to enjoy.
I realized that if I could make earplugs that people would actually use, I could solve a major problem. It was also great business opportunityglobal demand and a lightweight product.
Managing the company together with a friend allows me to make quick decisions
At that point, I was working at another company, Dore & Rose, with my childhood best friend, Nick. We started sales silk pillowcase and later expanded into a variety of sleep products. Thanks to my branding insight and Nick’s marketing expertise, this company quickly took off and today generates approximately $30 million in annual revenue.
Nick and I work well together because we share the same passion. We always said we would start a company together, but we never expected to run two companies at the same time.
Because we’ve been such good friends since we were 12, we can be completely honest with each other. This means we can make quick decisions. Our ability to respond quickly has helped us grow sales for both companies into the millions.
We created a more attractive, clearer earplug
Nick and I have hired people to lead Dore & Rose. Even though we still see what goes on in that company every day, we now have employees who do their jobs better than us. It set us free Focus on Hears.
We invested nearly two years in research and development before founding the company in 2024. I knew our product had to address all the reasons I don’t wear earplugs. Most importantly, it had to be super aesthetic and instantly recognizable. This will allow us to build it into a brand and ultimately partner with other brands in the industry. festival scene.
