Peloton’s co-founders, John Foley, Hisao Kushi and Yony Feng, and five more of its former executives have secured $25 million in Series A funding and founded a new direct-to-consumer (DTC) rug company. The venture capital firms on the deal were Addition and True Ventures. Addition’s founder, Lee Fixel, backed Peloton’s Series B funding, and True backed its Series C.
Ernesta, as the new company is called, should be going into business in spring 2023 and describes itself as bringing “custom rugs to homes and places of gathering” at the “same price as a store-bought standard-sized rug” but through a “better buying experience,” in part through fast order fulfillment. According to Axios, Ernesta cuts and binds rugs from carpet rolls purchased from big manufacturers in Dalton, Georgia.
Foley’s note on the Ernesta website explains that the company’s name is meant to honor both Ernest Hemingway – with products embodying the writer’s “economical and understated” style – and Bob Marley, born under the name Robert Nesta Marley.
