Mike Handelsman, CEO and Owner of FoamOrder

FoamOrder has been online since 1999, and its roots in the upholstery trade go back to 1950. Everything the company sells is made to order. Customers choose a shape, dimensions, foam and fabric online and receive an immediate quote, and the team in Richmond cuts, sews and finishes each piece.

Under Mike’s leadership, the company stands behind that work with four commitments:

• Cut-to-order guarantee — if FoamOrder mismeasures or miscuts a custom cushion, it remakes and ships it at its own expense
• Precision — custom foam cut to within a quarter inch
• Choice — more than 1,000 fabrics, plus control over foam type, density and firmness
• Guidance — foam specialists who help customers compare options from the first question through delivery

FoamOrder serves homeowners, more than 100 interior designers, and hospitality customers including The Four Seasons, Marriott and The Ritz-Carlton. More detail is available on the About FoamOrder page.

In spring 2020, shelter-in-place orders closed the shop. Within days, healthcare providers were asking about foam padding for face shields, and Mike reopened FoamOrder as an essential business to cut it.

Mike believes that the leader of an operations-focused company should understand every part of it, from a customer’s first question through production and delivery. He holds a high standard for the work. When something falls short, he prefers to raise it early and help the team reach the standard instead of lowering it.

Reporters typically introduce Mike as a memory foam, upholstery or bedding expert. Articles that quote Mike Handelsman of FoamOrder include the following.

• Tom’s GuideCleaning pet accidents from a mattress
• Tom’s GuideWhat to clean a mattress with instead of white vinegar
• Family HandymanUses for plywood, including under outdoor cushions and sagging sofas
• Good Housekeeping UKHow often to wash bed sheets in summer
• EHL Hospitality Business SchoolHotel interior design that works for guests and staff

He has also been asked about leading a small, hands-on company.

• Chief ExecutiveWhy leaders at an operations-focused company need to understand every function
• AZ Big MediaGiving tough feedback: focus on the work, raise issues early and hold the standard

Before FoamOrder, Mike spent much of his career at early-stage internet companies, including LoopNet, where he led the online business marketplaces BizBuySell and BizQuest. During that time he wrote for Inc. and Entrepreneur. He began his career in marketing and consulting at Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo and McKinsey & Company.

Mike holds a degree in Public Policy from Duke University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Outside FoamOrder, he mentors students through Duke’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship program.