The average person moves nine times after they turn 18. When you consider the way our work force is changing, we’re likely to explore many more cities before settling down.
While each move is fueled by the excitement of a new adventure, reality sets in when you consider the challenge of buying and selling furniture to make your new space feel like home.
Thanks to AptDeco you can buy and sell your furniture, as well as design your new space, on a single platform.
Founded by Reham Fagiri and Kalam Dennis in 2013, the New York startup is making buying and selling furniture fun. Yes, you read that right.
The shopping experience works like a traditional e-commerce site. You browse pre-owned furniture from brands like Crate & Barrel, West Elm and Pottery Barn, place your order, and schedule a delivery.
AptDeco secures your payment, picks up your furniture from the seller, and delivers your new piece to your home. No negotiating prices or driving home with a dresser strapped to the car.
The process is equally simple for sellers. AptDeco works closely with individuals to help them derive the greatest value from their listings.
Furniture typically sells within 10 days, a metric the team is constantly working to improve. Reham’s ultimate goal is that furniture will sell the day it’s added to the site.
AptDeco’s unwavering commitment to support their customers stems from Reham and Kalam’s time at Y Combinator.
Their core learning from the accelerator is to: “Roll up your sleeves and do things that are unscalable,” Reham shared.
Whether it’s helping sellers decide on competitive pricing or offering customer support every day of the week, empowering users is at the core of the team’s ethos.
Each team member spends a weekend on-call responding to customer requests and helping users navigate the process.
The maniacal focus on customer experience inspired two of AptDeco’s most popular features: Collections and Design For Me.
Collections are curated lists of AptDeco furniture based on your style. The team hand-picks listings to create boards like Georgetown Classics, Mid-Century Modern, and BoHo Dreams.
Individuals seeking a more custom experience can use the Design For Me feature where they submit photos of their space, style, and budget for a list of furniture specifically tailored to their home.
The startup’s ultimate goal is to streamline the process of shopping for furniture and designing your space without leaving the site.
AptDeco is currently live in New York City and expanded their marketplace to Washington, DC on Tuesday.
To gain deeper insight into Reham’s journey launching and scaling AptDeco, stay tuned for her 33founders feature, and follow the team on Twitter here.
Here’s a glimpse of what we discuss:
- How AptDeco is simplifying the process of buying and selling furniture
- How to gain the most of your customer interactions
- The growth mindset: How to silence the noise
- The vital importance of planning for sustainable growth
- Why one-one-one time is essential for your culture