The start-up culture in India is spreading like wildfire with young entrepreneurs looking to tap every sector of human living. Deebashree Mohanty talks to Sandeep Kumar from floorspace.in, who says that the interior design industry is brimming with service providers who bring the unusual to the table. In a three-part series, we bring you the start-ups on food, clothing & education and how they are inspiring the youth
According to designer Ritu Kumar, the business of interior design has opened numerous opportunities for experienced designers. “It was once considered a sub-domain of architecture but today this industry has evolved into an independent and well-recognised body in itself,” he tells you. Explaining the far and wide reach that this industry offers, Ritu Kumar says that in India there are approximately 100,000 interior designers and 10,000 to 14,000 independent interior design studios across India. The industry is growing at a rate of 20% and is expected to do so until 2018. Why is there such a huge demand for specialised interior designersIJ “Blame it on global exposure and changing mindset,” the veteran designer has to says.
Increasing standard of living, growing consumerism and an abstract retail boom is also adding fuel to the demand for professional home stylists. “These men or women, can create luxury living experiences with high aesthetic appeal. And, there is a huge demand for such professionals. After all, who doesn’t want a pretty homeIJ,” he queries.
Interior design is not a nouveau concept for India with celebrities and entrepreneurs making hay while the sun shines. But there are a few start-ups who are trying to innovate in this field making interiors solutions more affordable, more convenient and more stylish at the same time. These and other upcoming start-ups, have opened up new avenues for freshers and experienced students looking to do something new and interesting within this industry.
Take floorspace.in, for instance. Set in Bangalore, this start-up is looking at giving the home buyers a lucrative option without weighing too heavy in their pockets. Interestingly, floorspace.in marries digital experience with touch and feel! “Earlier a home buyer had only two choices — engage carpenters the traditional way or walk into one of those posh home interior brand showroom and buy! Floorspace offers a platform that brings the professional work methods and elegant designs but at affordable cost. They make professional interiors easy and affordable to many by providing preconfigured interior solutions across hundreds of project floorplans,” Sandeep Kumar, the founder and CEO of this unique offering in the interior space, says. The start-up is growing at a phenomenal rate with new designs and projects added to its portfolio every single day!
So, how does a home buyer benefit by opting for a pre-configured solutionIJ “It is a win-win situation for the customer because this translates into three things – Easy, Affordable and On-Demand experiences,” Sandeep explains. He tells you that a pre-configured solution gives the buyer an upfront cost visibility as you see on a website and this helps people discover the budgets for their projects. Second, the buyer can start to firm their budgets with the help of multiple channels on web, social media and whatsapp. Floorspace.in has many experience centers that help home owners understand various material and accessory choices from reliable and quality providers like Hettich, Kesseboehmer etc before finalising.
Then, there are umpteen space planning tools to understand designs and how they will look in your new home. “Basically, instead of hiring an interior designer, our company allows clients to save money, while still receiving high quality services,” he points out. But does that not influence consumer buying habitIJ “No. Our intention is not to alter consumer buying habit at all. We only provide them the comfort of engaging in buying from their homes but also give them the option of the touch and feel experience. When they come down to our experience centers, our team gives them a general idea about what goes inside the interiors solutions for their dream homes. This helps them to make a decision,” Sandeep says, adding that this venture provides adaptive designs that already come preconfigured for a large number of apartments and villas thereby saving precious time and money.
Pre-configured designs are quite the fad these days and the best part is that everyone who is anyone can afford to now design their home without feeling the pinch. “Pre-configured interior designs work wonders, especially, when you have little time to do home shopping after buying your dream home. Given a busy schedule, its always a good way to see, identify and then opt for a service,” actor Irrfan whose latest film, Piku is all set for a May 8 release, says.
There are many celebs like him who want to make their home as stylish and as comfortable as they can. Take Deepika Padukone’s concept for a lavish home set-up — “Everyone wants, and deserves a beautiful home. My idea of a good house is the minimalistic theme with lots of free space to move about. Interior designing is one industry that is never going to go out of fashion,” the top actress has to say.
But, it is not just the celebs that are taking into customised interior designing in a big way. Sandeep tells you that this has struck a chord with everyone. Thus opening the job market for freshers, students with experience and people who want to pursue this as a start-up career option. Is marketing such a unique proposition easyIJ “We have opted for the online and social media among our key channels of customer engagement. On our FB page, we get a lot of designer consultation requests, inquiries and feedback about the job we are doing.
“This gives us direct insight into how we are performing as a service provider,” Sandeep, who comes with a strong engineering background reflective of a bachelor’s qualification from IIT Bombay and an MBA from IIM Calcutta, informs. Currently, floorspace.in boasts an impressive list of clients, like professionals from organisations like the IBM, Microsoft, Adobe and HSBC. The company is based in Bangalore, but hopes to expand to other cities in the future.
What is in it for budding entrepreneursIJ “If they follow their passion, there is a lot of scope and too much that they can achieve within a short span of time in this industry. There is a lot of buzz around this sector which is throwing up new things to explore everyday. “When I entered this space, the home buyer was clueless about how best to identify his budget for perfect interior solutions and where he could get everything under one roof. That’s how floorspace.in was conceived — to make it more convenient for the consumer. We are a team of professionals, architects and interior designers with diverse experience and training in architecture, landscaping, model apartment, villas, corporate offices,” Sandeep says.