A Manchester business has set its sights on future growth after becoming a TikTok sensation and welcoming Manchester City star Phil Foden as a shareholder.
Levitex is run by James Leinhardt and sells a range of pillows and mattresses made from a special type of foam that was created by its team at Manchester Science Park.
The company was launched in 2019 through a Kickstarter campaign which smashed its original target of £10,000 to end up raking in more than £32,000 from over 440 worldwide backers.
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Since then the business has continued to grow and counts the likes of Jo Whiley and Gabby Logan among its celebrity fans as well as Paralympic gold medallist Richard Whitehead, Olympic gold medallist rower Will Satch and former professional track cyclist Ed Clancy.
The entire Team GB Paralympic team were supplied with Levitex products for the Tokyo games and the company has recently enjoyed huge success after joining social media platform TikTok towards the end of last year.
In an exclusive interview with the Manchester Evening News, Mr Leinhardt has revealed his future plans for the business, the importance of TikTok to the brand and how Phil Foden was convinced to invest.
"I assumed that TikTok was just stupid dances"
Mr Leinhardt's company has recently hit a worldwide audience after it joined social media platform TikTok in November 2021.
Using it to spread the word about sleep posture, Levitex has so far racked up 6.4 million likes while his most viewed video has been watched more than 7.9 million times.
On why the platform is so important to the company, he said: "TikTok is phenomenal for us. When I started the mission we made a sleep system to manage the posture of really poorly patients which was assessment led, patient by patient.
"You could only see people one by one so we needed a way to scream this message and the answer was TikTok. I can't believe the success we have had with it.
"I assumed as a 42 year old that TikTok was just stupid dances but the pandemic has meant that people my age and above are on there now.
"What people are hankering for on there is short-form education where you're giving someone a take away. "Instagram is so much more showy.
"With TikTok you're feeding the world with information that you know is sensible. It's all common sense and logic, nothing hooky and no clinical, stupid words.
"Essentially, if you sleep like a wally, your neck's probably going to hurt in the morning. That's our very sophisticated clinical message!"
"The perfect night's sleep does not exist"
Levitex has developed special pillows and mattresses that its founder says he can "guarantee" will improve people's sleep.
Mr Leinhardt said that by " delving into the specifics" of sleep posture his company can "positively impact people's lives".
He added that people should not trust brands who try to sell a "perfect night's sleep" as it "does not exist".
Mr Leinhardt said: "We can improve the quality of people's sleep, guaranteed. I can't improve the quantity or a perfect night's sleep because it does not exist.
"For me last night I slept dreadfully because I had a bottle of rosé, it was ridiculously hot and I could not get to sleep.
"I've also got four kids, two dogs, one sleeps on my head, and I run my own business.
"No pillow or mattress brand can promise to get rid of what is upsetting your sleep on any given day but you can break down the variables of sleep.
"Given that something like 70% of us are not sleeping properly since the pandemic, we want to help people in a way that's digestible, relatable and so you can feel the results straight away.
"The business has started doing some corporate work now and that's one of the avenues that the company is going down now which is really exciting but it comes back to the singular message of sleep posture.
"By delving into the specifics of sleep posture we can positively impact people's lives.
"We all know that sleep is important but it's the last thing that people are addressing."
" We're at the foot of the mountain"
After the success of the Kickstarter in 2019, Levitex is backed by Chester-based Deepbridge Capital which is helping to fund its expansion.
The company is hoping to turn a profit for the first time in 2023 and is gearing up for a multi-million fundraise in the coming months.
The entrepreneur said: "I've been really anxious about being a custodian of other people's money.
"It's not mine and yes I could go on holiday and buy a new car with it but they have allowed me to legitimately make this mission possible.
"We're at the foot of the mountain and there is a lot of work to do.
"Deepbridge has just let me fly and do my own thing and not be traditional money men."
As well as securing a raft of celebrity fans, Levitex has also secured direct investment from Manchester City and England star Phil Foden.
Mr Leinhardt also revealed that after being sent a pillow from Levitex, the team were asked to send another one to his team mate Riyad Mahrez.
The next day, Foden had invested in the company.
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