Interior design made easy
There’s a platform that matches homeowners with interior designers, writes Oon Yeoh
ONLINE platforms for matching customers with service providers have made life much easier for both parties. Take ride-hailing services like Grab, for example. Customers love it because the service is cheaper and more convenient than regular taxis. The drivers love it because they don’t need to go through the hassle of getting a taxi permit and can work whenever they like.
There are all kinds of platforms that match buyers with sellers, and customers with service providers. Something that you may not have expected is a platform that matches homeowners and interior designers. BuildEasy is just that. The idea is to make high-quality interior design affordable and within the reach of everyday consumers.
This concept is the brainchild of Tan Yong Meng, whose foray into the interior design industry began right after he completed his “A” Levels. While waiting to get into university, he interned at a construction company, where he got the chance to explore his passion in construction and interior design.
While pursuing his degree in commerce, Tan started a renovation company. He studied while working part-time throughout the three years it took him to complete his degree. During that time, he noticed a growing demand for interior design services but realised that many people couldn’t easily find the right designers and couldn’t afford them anyway. Thus the concept of BuildEasy was born.
WHAT MADE YOU CONVINCED THAT THERE WAS A NEED FOR SOMETHING LIKE BUILDEASY?
While working in the construction and renovation industry, I realised that finding the right interior designer can be a long and expensive process for most people, some of whom don’t even know where to start looking. So, you first need to identify a few interior designers. Then you need to speak to each of them to see if they’re suitable for your needs. After that you need to decide which one to engage. So, it’s quite a troublesome process. And interior design services are not cheap. They typically charge on a per square foot basis, so the fees can really add up. I figured if we could offer a better way for people to get good interior design, there would be demand for this.
WHY GO WITH FREELANCE
INTERIOR DESIGNERS RATHER THAN COMPANIES?
This is to offer something more affordable. We knew that there were many designers who did freelance work on top of their regular work. So we decided to tap onto these people to provide their services online, all on one single platform so it’s easy for consumers to pick and choose. It’s a win-win situation for all involved.
IS BUILDEASY ONLY A PLATFORM OR DOES IT PROVIDE OTHER SERVICES?
own in-house team. Once the interior design portion of the work is done, homeowners would need to look for a renovation company to implement the design. This is another big headache for consumers. If they’re lucky, they’ll manage to get a good one. But we’ve all heard horror stories of cost overruns, delays in completing the work, bad quality work and poor customer services. So, we decided to offer an in-house BuildEasy renovation service which we can guarantee to be of the highest quality.
DO THE CUSTOMERS ACTUALLY MEET THE INTERIOR DESIGNERS?
No, everything is done online. We have a seamless system whereby the customer starts by telling us about their projects, preferred style etc. Then they can choose a specific designer or browse through a collection of different themes. Next, both customer and designer collaborate online. Once done the customer can choose to engage their own renovation companies or if they want, make use of our in-house renovation service. We provide a lot of guarantees and each of our projects is insured to give consumers peace of mind.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN ADVANTAGES OF CONSUMERS GOING THROUGH BUILDEASY COMPARED TO THE TRADITIONAL WAY OF JUST FINDING AN INTERIOR DESIGN COMPANY AND ENGAGING THEM?
more convenient, our approach is cheaper and we get the job done much faster. So, convenience, affordability and speed are what we have to offer.
BEING THAT YOU’RE AN ONLINE BUSINESS, DO YOU MAINLY PROMOTE YOUR SERVICES ONLINE TOO?
Yes, we use social media advertising and SEO (search engine optimisation) to generate traffic to our website so people can explore what we have to offer. Digital marketing is crucial to us and we’ll be doing a lot of that this year.
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS?
something very new and alien to Malaysian homeowners. They’re used to the concept of working with an interior designer in person rather than online. So, our job is to make sure the online experience is seamless. As word of mouth spreads, people will come to know that this way is actually better. Changing mindsets isn’t an easy thing.
WHAT’S TO STOP SOMEONE FROM COPYING YOUR BUSINESS MODEL?
There’s no such thing as a real barrier to entry. Any business idea can be copied. But it’s the execution that counts. Someone else could try to do the same thing but can they offer our level of service?