When brothers Hunter and Grant Elsenpeter went to college, they became known among their friends as the guys who could assemble furniture.
“We became the designated furniture assemblers of our friend group,” Hunter said. “And every build came with the same nightmare: tools we didn’t have, screw scavenger hunts and marathon assembly times.
“Even with our knowledge, it sometimes took us a long time. Too many missing parts.”
The brothers, who are the third generation of carpenters in their family, decided they could find a solution to this problem. They began Simply Built in 2022 “to reinvent furniture assembly.”
“After years of putting together our friends’ college furniture, we’d finally had enough,” Hunter said. “We realized that almost everyone, handy or not, dreads the furniture assembly process: the endless hours, missing screws and confusing instructions.”
They have designed furniture that they say can be assembled in about 10 to 25 minutes without a single tool or screw. The tagline on their website: “Don’t get screwed. Assemble in minutes.”
“Our products also disassemble just as easily, making them renter-friendly and perfect for our moving-prone generation. Beyond convenience, they’re built to be reused, helping reduce the 40 billion pounds of furniture that end up in U.S. landfills every year,” their website says.
Tools as Toys
The brothers grew up in Fullerton; their father Jeff Elsenpeter owns Automated Enterprise, a high-end custom cabinetry maker within Orange County. Grandfather Bob Elsenpeter was also a carpenter.
“Since we were kids, tools were our toys,” they say on their website. “We spent years learning our father’s craft, turning wooden boards into luxury cabinets. When not in the shop, we’d steal materials from home remodels to build the world’s most over-engineered treehouses.”
After they decided to start their company, they attended a trade show where, through connections, they met a furniture manufacturer in Malaysia. They spent three weeks ensuring the product met U.S. standards.
“That was a whole story in itself,” Hunter said.
Hunter, 26, and Grant, 23, said they have invested more than six figures in the venture.
They aim to reach $1 million in sales in their first year.
They have patented their system. The brothers use a modern patented assembly method—each product has a YouTube assembly and disassembly video. Their website features nightstands for $99.99, a dresser for $229.99 and a desk for $209.99, with more products coming soon.
“We prioritize the customer,” Hunter said. “Furniture manufacturers aren’t prioritizing the assembly process for customers. It takes them five hours and headaches and lots of frustrations. Most people dread furniture assembly.”
