Unbranded Designs
Unbranded Designs is an e-marketplace providing unique, affordable furniture to design-focused individuals. We fund, manufacture, and sell the most promising creations from our online community of independent designers. Through our platform, designers can showcase their work, build their individual brands, and take part in challenges to earn cash and see their pieces brought to life.
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A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, we started out as a company that was going to make ultra-portable furniture for college students. We’ve come a long way since then, and with the help of the Chicago Lean Startup Challenge, we believe we’ve reached a sustainable, viable business model. Though our journey is really just beginning, we’ve already learned a great deal. Here are the top three themes that emerged from the last 10 weeks:
1. Keep It Simple Stupid: Starting a business is hard. Starting three businesses at once is damn near impossible. When we started the CLSC, we wanted to build our platform to serve the needs of three vastly different consumer groups - Individual consumers, restaurants & bars, and furniture stores. Through our customer interviews, we learned that each of these groups had different pain points and required very different business models. We struggled to think up a solution that could handle all of these disparate customers. That was when one of our advisors reminded us that what is really important is whether you can do ONE thing really, really great. We decided to focus and created an e-commerce platform to sell directly to consumers. It's not the most complex model, but there is a demand, and we can deliver on it.
2. Be Open to Opportunities: When we began speaking with manufacturers, our key partners, we were just looking for someone that would support us by building our furniture. What we learned was that many smaller shops struggle with marketing and branding, just like our designers. We were surprised but didn’t hesitate to jump at the opportunity to partner with them in ways that expanded their brand and customer base. In return we were rewarded with manufacturing flexibility that we wouldn’t have otherwise received. It was a great win-win for both parties, and was only possible because we kept an open mind on the nature of our partnership.
3. Talk to People, Talk to People, Talk to People: One of the key mantras of the Lean Startup is to “get out and talk to people”. We cannot overstress the importance of those 6 little words. We mentioned the obvious benefits that we experienced in sections 1 and 2 as we quickly identified our customers and key partners. But through our discussions with customers, manufacturers, channel partners, advisors, and whomever else, we learned a few more important things. First, you have no idea what someone else knows before you talk to them. Countless individuals surprised us with key insights, like the designer who had a very disappointing experience working with a few big retailers. Second, you’d be surprised who people can connect you with. We would’ve never suspected to be able to land meetings with some of the furniture industry’s top executives – no we are not going to namedrop. It’ll only happen if you talk to people. Oh, and LinkedIn helps!
It has been a fun, challenging, and ultimately rewarding experience participating in the Chicago Lean Startup Challenge. We are grateful for the experience, and we look forward to building Unbranded Designs into the next great Chicago company!
