Casper

In 2014 Philip Krim and his cofounders compressed a queen mattress into a box, killed the showroom, and handed buyers 100 nights to change their minds. The unboxing was the marketing; the brand was friendly and clean; growth was fast, complete with a Target deal and an IPO. Then Nectar, Purple, Tuft & Needle, and dozens more arrived with the same playbook, and acquisition costs climbed as everyone bid for the same ads.

For founders and operators, this case sharpens the difference between inventing a category and keeping it. It presses on the hardest question in any breakout consumer launch: if a competitor copied your product and distribution tomorrow, what exactly would you still have, especially when the purchase is high-ticket and happens once a decade?