After graduating from Cornell with a degree in Mathematics, Geoff Chasin found himself in research and development at Digital Equipment in Maynard, Massachusetts, near Concord, at the Hudson Semi-Conductor Facility. He designed a robotics file system in MicroPower Pascal.

Unhappy with the solitude of the coding world, he quit and began his new life by driving a delivery truck. Finding this a social profession more to his liking, he became the owner/driver of a delivery and home moving service.

In 1989 Geoffrey Chasin bought the New England Retail Express, with the help of a partner. NERE acts as a moving and storage service, often as a subcontractor for retail chains such as Sears, delivering appliances to different areas all over New England, with offices in Massachusetts, Virginia, Florida, Louisiana, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Chasin has helped this company expand from its $2 million base in 1990 to its current $20 million dollar level.

In 1992, Chasin and a partner bought the franchise Dial-A-Mattress, a durable-bedding tele-retailer, from its parent company 1-800-Mattress, for $800. The concept would seem counterintuitive; why would anyone buy a mattress without lying on it? One answer is that they represent Serta, Simmons, Tempur-pedic, and King Koil, all of them well-known brands. The other is that their website, www.mattress.com, is a direct, simple, and customer-friendly site selling a wide array of related products, such as bed frames and children’s furniture.

Geoff Chasin is happily married with four children.

Given today’s emphasis on the environment, it’s no surprise that his New England Retail Express service is a member of Smartway, a program launched by the EPA in 2004. This organization brings trucking companies, railroads, and trade associations together to work out delivery strategies that will reduce fuel consumption as well as the emissions from freight movement, providing cost savings to companies and reduce the all-important carbon footprint.

Both the NERE and mattress.com have won the BBB’s Torch of Excellence Award, and both support dozens of local and national charities.