I Was the First Person I Was Trying to Help

My name is Sean Kerklaan, and I founded Rematee because I needed a better way to manage my own snoring and sleep apnea.

My journey began long before Rematee became a business. In 1999, my partner told me how badly my loud snoring was affecting her sleep. At first, snoring seemed like an annoyance. Over time, I came to understand that it was also a warning sign that deserved attention.

My early sleep studies confirmed that I had moderate obstructive sleep apnea. During one study, I experienced 157 breathing interruptions over eight hours. I explored the options available to me, including CPAP, a custom dental appliance and surgery. CPAP was difficult for me to tolerate, the oral appliance caused painful jaw problems, and surgery felt like too large a step.

Then, during a routine dental visit, my dentist noticed that I was grinding my teeth and suggested something remarkably simple: try sleeping on my side with a tennis ball behind my back.

That day, I used duct tape and a tennis ball to improvise a crude prototype on the back of a T-shirt. It was not elegant, but it kept me from rolling onto my back. The next morning, I woke feeling more refreshed than I had in years.

That experience changed the direction of my life. It showed me that a simple idea, thoughtfully improved, could make a meaningful difference.

From a Tennis Ball to a Business

I spent the next year testing and refining the idea. In September 2007, I launched AntiSnoreShirt.com, which later grew into Rematee.

I did not begin with a large budget, a marketing department or the resources required to pursue years of regulatory research. Instead, I took the path available to a small and nimble entrepreneur: I listened closely.

I listened to customers who loved the product, customers who struggled with it, and customers who wanted to return it. I paid attention when people purchased again, recommended us to someone else or contacted us with a small suggestion. Those conversations became our practical research and development.

With every new manufacturing run, we asked what we could improve. Could the product fit more comfortably? Could the bumpers remain more precisely positioned? Could it be easier to wash, package, ship or travel with? What could we learn from the customers who used it successfully for months or years?

Rematee did not emerge as one perfect invention. It evolved through hundreds of small refinements, each informed by real people trying to get a better night’s sleep.

Building Trust One Doctor and One Customer at a Time

From the beginning, I made a deliberate effort to help physicians and dentists understand what we were building. We could not afford a conventional medical sales force, and busy clinicians rarely had time for a lengthy presentation. Our growth depended on something more enduring: a useful product, honest communication and a reputation earned over time.

Today, sleep professionals around the world tell appropriate patients about Rematee because they already understand that sleeping position can matter. We do not diagnose sleep apnea or replace medical advice. Our role is straightforward: we make a durable, adjustable product designed to help people remain comfortably on their sides throughout the night.

That distinction is important. CPAP remains the gold-standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnea, and people should work with a qualified healthcare professional to understand their diagnosis and treatment options. But many people struggle to use CPAP consistently or arrive at our website without fully understanding positional therapy. When we can, we take the time to explain the basic idea, answer product questions and encourage them to speak with their healthcare provider.

The Customers Who Asked for Refunds Taught Us One of Our Best Lessons

Early on, I might have assumed that a customer asking for a refund had simply rejected the product. Over time, we discovered something much more human.

Sometimes the first reaction is, “I don’t want to wear this funny contraption.” Sometimes side sleeping exposes an old shoulder or hip discomfort. Sometimes people put enormous pressure on themselves to make a new therapy work immediately.

Our returnless money-back guarantee removes that pressure. When appropriate, we can refund a customer without asking them to package and ship the product back. They feel respected, and they remain free to try it again slowly, on their own timeline.

Most people do not abuse that trust. In fact, some of our most rewarding customers originally requested a refund, then returned six months—or even several years—later to purchase our newest product. Once the financial pressure disappeared, they gave themselves time to adjust, learned that positional therapy helped them and became devoted users.

Those experiences shaped how we think about customer service. A refund is not necessarily the end of a relationship. Sometimes it is the moment trust begins.

A Small Canadian Family Business With a Global Reach

Rematee is headquartered in Ontario, Canada, and our primary warehouse is in Seattle, Washington. That cross-border structure grew out of my own family journey.

I lived for many years in Vancouver, British Columbia. After my wife and I had our first two children, we wanted them to grow up closer to their grandparents and cousins—both my family in Ontario and my wife’s family in Nova Scotia. We moved east and later welcomed two more children. Today, we are a family of six.

I am now largely a stay-at-home father, raising our four children while continuing to build Rematee as an e-commerce business. It is a life I feel incredibly fortunate to have, though it is not always perfectly balanced. School holidays, summer breaks and busy family seasons can stretch a small team. When our service falls short, we listen, take responsibility and use the feedback to improve.

Our customers have taught us that small-business service does not need to feel small. It can be personal, responsive and generous. We offer product support, size assistance, exchanges, warranty coverage and a money-back guarantee because we want customers to feel confident trying something unfamiliar.

Learning to Adapt

COVID tested nearly every part of our business. We had to become far more disciplined about fulfillment, international shipping, inventory and costs. We learned what we could manage from Canada, what needed to move through the United States, and how to keep serving customers while supply chains and border conditions changed.

Since then, we have continued adapting to tariffs, customs requirements, carrier costs and changing e-commerce platforms. We have learned to work with UPS, FedEx and DHL so customers can receive products reliably and quickly without losing sight of affordability.

Third-party platforms such as Amazon help our products reach more people, but they can make the customer relationship feel anonymous. The conversations that happen through our own website, email, chat and phone support are different. They give us the privilege of hearing what people are experiencing, helping them work through a challenge and sharing why this company exists.

Where the Rematee Journey Led Me

Rematee introduced me to far more than e-commerce and product design. It drew me into the wider worlds of sleep science, wearable technology, human performance and clinical practice.

Along the way, I helped build Fatigue Science, a wearable-technology company focused on sleep, fatigue and human performance. That experience expanded my understanding of how sleep affects safety, decision-making and performance—not only for an individual waking up at home, but also for people working in demanding environments.

More recently, my work has moved further into medical technology and clinical workflow. Through Smart Clinic Systems, I consult with medical practices on practical ways to help physicians and clinic teams work more efficiently. The technology has changed, but the approach feels very familiar: listen to the people doing the work, identify one real bottleneck, make a practical improvement, measure whether it helps, and keep refining.

That philosophy began at Rematee. I first used it to improve a T-shirt with a tennis ball behind it. Today, I also use it to think about better healthcare workflows, automation and thoughtfully applied technology.

Better Sleep Is a Journey

One of the most important things I have learned is that better sleep is rarely a one-step, finished project. Our bodies and circumstances change. We age, gain or lose weight, improve our fitness, recover from injuries, change our alcohol or smoking habits, and move through stressful seasons of life.

Positional therapy can be one useful part of that larger picture. So can improving sleep habits, following medical advice and paying attention to patterns over time. That is why we created a simple online sleep journal. It is not a diagnostic tool, but it can help people record when they went to bed, how long they believe they slept and what habits may have influenced the night. Over time, even simple observations can help reinforce the behaviours that lead to better rest.

If someone cannot afford a purpose-built product, I still encourage them to explore the basic idea. They can tape a tennis ball to an old T-shirt or place a football in a waist pouch behind their back. It may not be comfortable or reliable enough for long-term use, but it can help them discover whether staying off their back makes a difference.

When they are ready for something designed to stay securely in place, wash easily and work consistently night after night, Rematee is here.

Why We Keep Going

We keep learning. We keep adapting. We keep our chins up and continue building because a great night’s sleep is worth the effort.

Few things are more rewarding than hearing a customer say, “I just had my best sleep in years.” Those messages recharge us. They remind us why a crude tennis-ball prototype became a company, why we still answer questions personally, and why small improvements continue to matter.

If you are considering Rematee, I want you to know that there are real people behind this business. We care about your experience. We stand behind our products with sizing support, product exchanges, warranty coverage and our money-back guarantee. Most importantly, we want you to give yourself the time and patience needed to find what works for you.

Better sleep changed my life. It has shaped my career, my family business and my work with healthcare professionals. It would be our privilege to help you take the next step in your own journey.

— Sean Kerklaan
Founder, Rematee