We are publishing an interview of Ms. Meenakshi Maheshwari – Co-founder, In Houz Furniture – A Jaipur Based Startup.
About the founders: In Houz was co-founded by Ms. Meenakshi Maheshwari, Mr. Mahendra Singh Rathore and Mr. Natwar Singh Rathore in July 2015 with varied experience of around 10 years in manufacturing, exports and retailing. Starting with the few, the co-founders bought their individual expertise into this venture.
With Head-office based in Jaipur, we now have opened six studio cum stores in different cities like Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Jodhpur, Indore, Noida and Pune. We also have warehouses scattered in Chennai, Hyderabad and Jodhpur which provides customer a timely delivery and as manufacturers we are able to ship directly from the factory to you- No middleman charges and no added Handling charges.
At In Houz every piece of furniture we sell is built by our skilled craftsmen to ensure superior quality and durability. We strive to ensure customer satisfaction from start to finish. From the time a purchase order is generated till an item is delivered to customer’s home we do everything we can make sure everything goes smoothly. The start-up aims to provide customers with the top quality products which comes with a lifetime warranty and a unique shopping experience.
What is the problem you are trying to solve? Can you share with us any insights that led you to believe that this is a big enough problem?
While there are many furniture stores and portals that are available, the market, however, is not organized. The buyer is only subjected with a very limited number choices in terms of quality, design, price optimization. We thought of building a managed marketplace because the market has got a huge potential and customers are looking for solutions that offer great customization designs with affordable prices. At In Houz Furniture you can get an amazing range of beautifully designed piece of any category like bedroom sets, livingroom sets, diningroom sets, bar sets and many more. You can see the images from every angle to ensure that it would be perfectly fitted in your living space. In Houz also provides easy customization option where the customer can choose the size and colour. They can also share the image with us on Whatsapp and our experts will work with them to find the best design solutions for their home.
What is the uniqueness about your Startup?
The USP of our company is customization orders. In Houz provides customers with the customization option which helps them to design their own furniture. They can customize any furniture to their needs and desires by selecting size, shape, material and finish. Also, they can share the image with us on Whatsapp and our experts will work with them to find the best design solutions for their home. Moreover, the prices we offer are indeed the lowest. We have achieved this by bypassing multiple layers of middlemen to eliminate any additional cost.
What is the revenue model? Explain your thought process.
Our revenue model is free.
Who are the consumers that you are targeting? How is this going to affect them?
We want to reach out to a larger section of audience who are looking for quality furniture – quality in both design and durability at the best prices possible. We have six studios cum stores and three warehouses though our major presence is available online so that makes us reach to a larger section of society, thus serving all the major cities of India.
What is the big picture of your startup? Will it lead to something bigger? If so, how?
We are bringing new products into the market and will soon introduce you to our new additions. Our goal is to reach to each and every household and increase our sales through e-commerce and make it easy for customers to shop online.
We have received great reviews from our customers so we plan to keep expanding and grow our catalogue further.
In the future, we wish to open multiple stores in different cities for the customers to get a better feel of the products. Also, we are bringing new products into the market and introduce you to our new additions.
Any other information about your startup that you would like to share with us: Why In Houz?
- Customization: After going through the market and research studies, it is clear that people are no longer willing to buy whatever the manufacturers are designing. People are looking forward to customized furniture that matches their spaces and increases the comfort levels just by clicking a button while sitting in home.
- Skip the middle person: Most of the times, the middle person fool around with both product manufacturers and customers and gambles the quality and price. In Houz directly deals with you without any involvement of the third person with free delivery and installation.
- Quality: The designers at In Houz are quintessentially talented and have the ability to create unique and out of the box furniture that can actually turn out to wow factors of your home.
Warranty: Every single element you buy at In Houz offers you a lifetime warranty irrespective of size and shape. Therefore, you will receive a 100% customer satisfaction on a whole.
Also, we have won the “Young Achiever’s Award” for Excellency in IT, conducted by Youth Foundation on 29th May 2016 and also been awarded the “Corporate Diva Award” conducted by 95 FM Tadka and Active Wheel on 25th June 2016.
We have also been covered in Business Ranker magazine.