Online platform for all your home decor needs

'We want to be a one-stop-shop for design ideas, professional connect and product info', says Niyati Jagirdar, the co-founder of online interior design hub - myhomedesign.in - in a chat with Rajesh Kulkarni.

As a design professional and entrepreneur Mumbai-based architect and director of city-based strategic design consulting firm Abhikrama, Niyati Jagirdar is a woman of many talents. She has been the co-founder of three successful design-and-build ventures, is an accredited IGBC professional and an avid lighting designer too.

Her latest venture is myhomedesign.in, a versatile online marketplace that brings home owners, design professionals and product manufacturers together on a common platform.

Explaining the rationale behind the launch of this unique online platform in April last year, Niyati says, "Being in the design-and-build industry for the last 15 years, we saw a clear opportunity to connect home owners struggling to find the right design ideas with professional designers and product manufacturers who could help them with ideas and the right products."
      
She stresses that this is a win-win situation, wherein all three parties can be brought together on a common platform. "Home owners get to see new and inspiring ideas, designers get a vibrant platform to showcase their work and skills while product manufacturers get an opportunity to interact directly with customers and also display their products and range of services."

While Niyati herself is the Strategy, Brand and Design Officer, for this latest venture, she has roped in a talented team of co-founders to support her on this new journey. A team that also includes marketing and business development head Vikas Sharma, an industry veteran with well over a decade of experience spanning marketing, general management and project execution.

Rachna Jindal, the co-founder and chief technical officer, who is also a certified Theta Healer with a post-graduate degree in Computers to boot while the genial CEO Manu Rajendra, is responsible for the company's overall strategy, coordination, content and making sure "that everyone is happy," as Niyati puts it.

Elaborating on the value proposition provided by the online venture, Niyati says, "Well, first and foremost there are no charges applicable to the users who get to see great interior design ideas that can help them firm up their choice and style.

"Design professionals on the other hand get to create an online portfolio and showcase their work, while manufacturers get a chance to display their products and also connect with thousands of designers and potential customers in an instant."
 
While admitting that there has been a proliferation of online sites offering a similar range of products and services in recent years, Niyati is quick to point out that her venture is unlike any of the others.

"Each site that may appear similar to ours is only looking at the small picture," she stresses. "Myhomedesign.in has managed to bring all the stakeholders to the table and thereby created a winning proposition. We are the only ones in India who have set our eyes on the big picture and have connected all the dots."

And the 'big picture', she explains is the sea change in shopping and product selection techniques used by customers which has forced innovative brands to embrace the latest trends using digital platforms as an extension of their store fronts.

 "Today home owners are quite savvy and prefer to do their own research to get maximum value for every rupee they spend," she opines. "Home owners are constantly looking for product information, comparisons and great deals. Smart brands need to be around when inspiration strikes consumers. Brands which aren't there to supply the required information when customers raise their virtual hand will tend to lose out."

According to Niyati, the days of word of mouth publicity and one-way promotions are clearly numbered, with opinions expressed by third parties like reviews, write-ups and other relevant content on credible online platforms gaining more traction among potential customers.

Says she, "As digital media weaves itself deeper into the fabric of our lives, smart brands now understand that making the most of new opportunities is not about gadgets or technology, but about human nature."

"Forward-thinking brands are now looking at how they can interweave digital tools like our platform to integrate with their strategy for sales, marketing and customer service, to enhance their brand's image and recall. Customers simply see brands as being very good at giving them exactly what they want in the right context."

It's a strategy that has clearly worked for Niyati and her start-up venture with popular brands like Rustoleum, Sherwin Williams, Videocon, Ankur Lighting and Kajaria Tiles registering with the portal, which already boasts of more than 8,000 registered professionals and product manufacturers and an increasing number of users.

For Niyati however this is just the beginning of a long journey that lies ahead of her. Sharing her vision for her pet venture, she reveals, "Five years down the line, I want us to be the destination for all the stakeholders involved in the process of home design and build. We shall one day be the one-stop-shop for quality design ideas, professional connect and product information," she smiles.