Area sleep app founder seeks up to $1M in crowdfunding raise

Restflix, a Lakewood Ranch-based streaming service that offers relaxing, sleep-inducing video content on a monthly subscription basis seeks to raise some $300,000 from a crowdfunding site.

The company seeks the funds through Republic, an investment platform that, unlike some other crowdfunding sites, works with investment bankers and others to verify a company’s potential. “Republic only accepts less than 1% of all companies that apply,” says Restflix founder and CEO Kevin Hillman.

Hillman says the minimum capital he expects to raise in the offering is $25,000, with the maximum up to $1 million.  He says the likely amount is about $300,000, with funds going toward acquiring more content and possibly producing new content.

The prospectus includes perks for investors at intervals from $100 up to $100,000. Perks range from annual subscriptions to an “I invested in Restflix” t-shirt to being mentioned in an exclusive Restflix-produced story and more.

Hillman has long struggled with sleep, and has also been part of growing technology companies for a decade — two reasons that led him to launch Restflix. A Business Observer 40 under 40 winner in 2020, Hillman founded Restflix in July and it now has an app and is available on Google Play, Roku, Apple TV and Fire TV. Users can select specific content or watch more than 20 channels that play calming videos and music.

Hillman, in the Republic prospectus, says given the growing $64 billion sleep aid market, the company has “the potential to acquire millions of subscribers” by focusing on better and deeper sleep. The goal is to have 50,000 monthly app subscribers by the end f 2021 and 150,000 over the next 24 months.

In an interview, Hillman says that while he thought there was a big need for a service like this, even he’s surprised at the response. Customers have emailed him from as far away as Afghanistan to talk about how much Restflix has helped them. “There’s definitely a need out there,” Hillman says. “It’s a lot more than we thought.”