VIDEO: Sheet Society’s Hayley Worley Talks E-commerce Growth and Plans for the Future

“The decision to start my own business was an easy one, and that’s probably because of my personality type,” said Hayley Worley, founder and CEO of multi-channel bedding brand Sheet Society Inside retail in a recent video interview.

“I’m really the type to jump out and say, ‘How did I get here? How do I get down?’ I really enjoyed it. We’re now in our eighth year of trading and it’s been great to see the brand resonating with so many consumers.”

Worley founded Sheet Society in 2017 after having the idea to apply her fashion skills to bedding, a category she felt had long been overlooked. After nurturing the startup for a few years, demand skyrocketed during Covid, and the business expanded across the board.

Sheet Society now has more than 30 employees, two brick-and-mortar stores, and an expanding product offering. To date, Worley has achieved this growth without any outside investment.

In the past, Worley said, the capital-raising process was challenging for female founders, with investors having “unrealistic” expectations for growth. But now, the way potential investors evaluate companies has “completely changed.”

“It used to be multiples of revenue, and now we’re more focused on profitability and more organic long-term growth,” she said. She thinks that bodes well for female founders, who are generally “less optimistic” in their forecasts.

While only 4% of the $3.5 billion in startup funding in Australia last year went to startups founded by women, there is still much work to be done on this front.

Bessie Hassan, corporate affairs director at Airwallex in ANZ, said the retail industry needed to give more women start-ups the chance to grow by supporting them and connecting them with key people in their networks, such as venture capitalists and mentors.

“Surrounding yourself with support within your network and beyond is really important,” Hassan said, pointing to Airwallex’s partnership with the She-com community, which supports female e-commerce founders.

“What do I do? There is no maternity leave plan”

Another challenge that some female founders face is combining running a business with raising children.

For Worley, the decision to start a family raised a lot of questions: “I wondered, what do I do? There’s no HR department, there’s no maternity leave plan. How do I advertise a position that’s a maternity replacement for a female startup founder?”

Eventually, Worley’s husband, Andy, stepped in to run the business, and when she returned, she realized that taking a break from the day-to-day operations could be beneficial. “I have a really positive view of the impact maternity leave has on the business. I’ve seen it time and time again, even with my team members,” she said.

“It’s really created a lot of opportunities for others in the industry to step up, step aside, or bring in new people who can bring fresh, new ideas. So it’s less of an obstacle than I thought, both taking maternity leave myself and running a company where the majority of the staff is women.”

Hassan agreed, noting that attitudes towards maternity leave in the corporate world are changing, though there is still much work to be done.

“I think having role models in your workplace is a great start because a lot of people have been there and will encourage you,” she said.

What’s next?

Focusing on what she can control has proven to be key to Worley’s success in growing Sheet Society, and it’s just the beginning.

The brand recently launched a body pillow that has enjoyed huge popularity and continues to expand its offering into related categories.

“(We’re) really growing into more than just a bedding brand. In the e-commerce era when we were growing up, it was ‘you do one thing and you do it well,’ and now we’re trying to do many things and do them all well,” she said.

The opening of new stores is also planned.

Worley said that while retailers face challenging business conditions as we enter the peak season, it is important to remember that economic cycles are just cycles.

“Running a business means not only weathering the storm, but striking while the iron is hot,” she said.

“We feel very lucky because we offer really beautiful, high-quality products. So when budgets are tight, our customers are more likely to invest in products made of natural fibers and that are durable.

“We can also take advantage of the fact that there is still a lot of market share. Although overall spending has gone down, we can still find people who are still spending money and introduce the brand to them.”

This article is part of Inside Retail #IRWD365 a campaign to highlight inspiring women working in the Australian retail industry and drive concrete change towards gender equality.