Carrying the torch: Son expands his father’s legacy of Innovation

Andrew Foley, an experienced entrepreneur and executive with extensive experience in the start-up world, carries on a legacy of innovation in his current business venture, Atlas Headrest. 

Son of the late Dennis Foley, an accomplished designer who also spent nearly 15 years managing design at Herman Miller, Andrew now leads the company his father helped establish. 

Atlas Headrest products were originally designed and developed by Dennis Foley and Robert Beck, a fellow former Herman Miller development engineer. Since his father’s death in 2015, Andrew has taken the reins, leveraging his entrepreneurial skills to build upon the foundation laid by his father.

We connected with Foley for a Q&A about his journey as an entrepreneur and the future of Atlas Headrest.

What is Atlas Headrest currently bringing to the market?

Atlas Headrest manufactures headrests for Herman Miller’s Aeron and Embody chairs, and the Haworth Fern chair. Soon-to-be-released headrests include designs for the Steelcase Leap v2 and the Herman Miller Mirra 2 chairs.

What is the origin story of Atlas Headrest?

The origin story for Atlas Headrest begins at the Herman Miller design yard with my father, Dennis Foley, and his business partner, Robert Beck. The two Herman Miller veterans worked a combined nearly 45 years at the company. Those two had a passion for the Aeron chair, so they began this journey. I was aware of the process and what they were developing, and this was intended to be their retirement plan. I got the most heavily involved when my dad passed away in 2015 and I operated the company as a bit of a side hustle — a nighttime gig — while I worked at Gentex.

I departed Gentex in 2018 to pursue this full-time, and it has taken off from there. We have around 30 employees now, manufacturing headrests. We do all our own design and engineering work, all our own manufacturing and sourcing. We are proud to have all this stuff in West Michigan employing people to do all those tasks and supplying us with all our materials. 

I’ve also been involved with AudioRadar since 2018-2019. I’ve been supporting the project initially as an advisor and now as the chief technology officer. I serve as CEO at Atlas Headrest, which is my primary pursuit, then also act as the chief technology officer for AudioRadar. In exchange, Tim Murphy, CEO of Airdrop Gaming, which manufactures AudioRadar, acts as chief design officer and consultant for Atlas Headrest on a secondary basis.

What is your favorite part of doing business on the Lakeshore?

I left Holland to be an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan. I came back here, I went back to Michigan for my master’s degree, then I came back here. The biggest thing for me about this area is the community, the people, and the resources that we have. I always think of the greater West Michigan area as the office furniture mecca of the world. This is where people come to pursue furniture dreams. That’s the lifeblood of our area. The passion for furniture combined with the community, values, resources, and people are what make this area so special and what makes me invested in it.

In addition to that, my wife’s family is from here. She is a third-generation business owner in downtown Holland. This is our happy place; this community is what we are all about. We love watching it grow and prosper, we love watching Holland’s downtown area prosper, watching people find great jobs with more-than-adequate pay so that they can earn a living wage. Those are all things I am passionate about.

Other things go with it, too. I love the environment and all the seasons that we have. All winter, I fully engage in the Michigan sports available, whether it’s snowmobiling, skiing, or anything else. When it comes to summer, I am 100% into water sports and anything that is outdoors. That is what makes this place so special. I would not want to live anywhere else because we have all the things I am passionate about, whether it be business pursuits or hobbies and activities.

As you do business on the Lakeshore, how do you cater the right products to the right audience?

Atlas Headrest and Airdrop Gaming products have a global appeal. There is a component of the furniture industry, a lot of what we see coming out of major manufacturers here like MillerKnoll, Haworth, and Steelcase, that is a bellwether for what is to come. As a third-party manufacturer of these ergonomic accessories, we try to follow those trends. Because we are here locally and we are close to these companies, we have friends and contacts, which allows us to constantly share notes. We get a head start on things and we are on a faster feedback loop with industry trends and where things are going.

The resources available here — the industrial designers and engineers, electrical engineers, the fact that we can make prototypes in this area — are incredible.

What is one thing you wish you knew before you were an entrepreneur?

Having a mentor is so important. Having people that you can lean on and bounce ideas off is important for anyone who wishes to be an entrepreneur. Find a person, or a group of people, who are similarly passionate. You need someone who can support you in that kind of way. You can access certain resources and arrive at decisions that need to be made a lot quicker if you know someone in that same space. Finding a mentor who has already gone through or who is currently going through the same process as you are is the most useful tool in business.

It has been a huge component of my success. My mother-in-law and wife’s family has been in business since the early ‘60s, having their own businesses, starting their own businesses. They own what was the Model Drug Store, now The Apothecary Gift Shop in downtown Holland. They are entrepreneurs through and through. I look at the way they have started businesses, comparing notes and seeing the risks that they took. I do not feel that I have ever taken risks that are comparable to what they have done to get where they are. However, hearing feedback on decisions I am going to make has been invaluable.

Even if it’s a different business, someone has already been through this. Some people do not have the risk tolerance to do it. It is going head-first in and realizing there are real consequences. You do not know if you will be able to put food on the table.

What is next for Atlas Headrest?

We have an extensive roadmap of future products. There is enough work in the Airdrop Gaming/Audio Radar front for Tim and me to have multiple lifetimes of work. Now we are just trying to pursue the roadmaps we have laid out for these companies and products. The next step for us is to pursue our current roadmaps. Even with 30 employees, we are just hitting our stride with Atlas. We are excited about the prospects of our future products, some that I have not mentioned, that will come down the pipeline.

This interview was conducted by Sam Mitchell, a communications intern at
Lakeshore Advantage. Mitchell is currently documenting the journeys of West Michigan entrepreneurs as they navigate their path to success.