Lior Ohayon & Aaron Spivak: How They Turned Hush Into a $48M Empire
Who Are Lior Ohayon & Aaron Spivak?
Lior Ohayon and Aaron Spivak are Canadian entrepreneurs best known as the co-founders of Hush Blankets, one of North America’s fastest-growing sleep companies. From bootstrapping with just $4,000 to selling their business for tens of millions, the duo transformed the weighted blanket industry and built a loyal community of super fans along the way.
Net Worth
While their exact net worths aren’t publicly disclosed, Hush was acquired by Canada’s largest sleep company in 2021 after scaling to $48 million in sales within just four years. Both founders secured life-changing wealth, firmly placing them among the new generation of Canadian success stories.
From Where?
Both founders hail from Toronto, Canada. Aaron Spivak grew up with a natural entrepreneurial drive—running lemonade stands, organizing party buses, and even opening his own juice bar before the age of 20. Lior Ohayon, on the other hand, was deeply involved in the digital world, running a software company and exploring online businesses.
The two met in Toronto and immediately clicked, realizing they complemented each other’s strengths—Aaron’s hustle and Lior’s digital savvy.
The Spark Behind Hush
The idea for Hush was born when Aaron pitched a cricket protein startup to Lior, who wasn’t impressed. Instead, Lior pointed out the rising popularity of weighted blankets. When they researched, they discovered over 300,000 people were searching for weighted blankets online each month. Seeing an opportunity, they decided to create a premium version of the product.
They started by ordering a single sample, building a simple pre-order site, and running Google ads on the term “weighted blankets.” Their very first sale made them $20—and they were hooked.
Early Success & Brutal Failure
The early months looked promising. Hush was pulling in $30k, then $60k, then $90k a month. The founders thought they had struck gold—until reality hit.
During Toronto’s hot summer months, sales collapsed to nearly zero. The product was too hot to use year-round, and the duo was left with unsellable inventory. At one point, Lior even suggested shutting the company down. With dwindling cash and their backs against the wall, the pair faced their defining moment: quit or fight harder.
Breakthrough: Listening to Customers
Instead of giving up, Aaron suggested something unusual—they personally called every single customer to ask why they stopped using the blankets. The feedback was unanimous: customers loved the product but complained it was unbearably hot in the summer.
This feedback sparked their breakthrough idea: a cooling weighted blanket. The problem? Developing a proprietary fabric would cost $100,000, and they only had $4,000 left.
Kickstarter & Viral Growth
Refusing to bring in investors, the founders launched a Kickstarter campaign with a modest $25k goal. To their shock, they raised over $1 million in 30 days, making Hush one of Canada’s top 10 crowdfunding campaigns of all time.
Their new product, the Hush Iced Blanket, went viral. From there, the company doubled down on customer research and launched pillows, bedsheets, and eventually even mattresses—often selling out within hours.
Dragon’s Den & Community Building
In 2019, they appeared on Dragon’s Den (Canada’s Shark Tank) and made history as the first pitch where investors debated live on TV and actually increased the valuation during filming. The episode went viral on Netflix, catapulting Hush into the spotlight.
More importantly, Aaron and Lior built a community of superfans. They documented their struggles, shared behind-the-scenes stories, and made customers feel like part of the journey. Fans lined up at pop-up stores, asked them to sign blankets, and spread the word far more effectively than traditional ads ever could.
The Big Exit
By 2021, Hush had surpassed $48 million in sales in just 48 months. That same year, Canada’s largest sleep company acquired Hush for an undisclosed (but massive) sum. For Aaron and Lior, it was the ultimate validation of their relentless hustle, creativity, and belief in staying customer-obsessed.
Key Lessons from Their Journey
- Talk to your customers – The breakthrough cooling blanket came directly from customer feedback.
- Storytelling is everything – They didn’t just sell products; they sold a journey.
- Bootstrap discipline – By avoiding outside investors early, they kept full control of their brand and direction.
- Community > Marketing – Loyal fans drove their viral growth more than any ad campaign.
Final Words
Lior Ohayon and Aaron Spivak’s story is a modern underdog tale. From nearly shutting down to building a multimillion-dollar empire, they proved that resilience, listening to customers, and powerful storytelling can turn even a simple idea into a life-changing business.
Their journey with Hush is a reminder that in today’s digital world, anyone with grit, creativity, and the willingness to keep going when things get tough can build something extraordinary.
