
Business Leader Rohan Blacker: Learning the lessons from Sofa.com
Jan 22, 2026
39:04
Rohan Blacker is a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Sofa.com. Blacker shares his journey with host Dougal Shaw, from an unfulfilling legal career to becoming a pioneer in UK e-commerce. He left Sofa.com in 2015 when a private equity firm took over. Today he’s still very much in furniture retail, running Pooky.com and Schplendid sofas. Blacker tells the story behind acquiring the Sofa.com domain name, explaining why he and his co-founder felt a "nuts name" was essential for success, in the brave new world of online branding. Blacker also explains why he thinks Sofa.com declined after his exit, citing "death by a thousand cuts", including excessive discounting and high rent overheads. He explains how he is now using the lessons learned from his Sofa.com days to power his latest venture, Schplendid, which aims to champion sustainable sofas in a world of "fast furniture".
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