Itsy Bitsy Ritzy
Situation
By 2011 the residential housing market collapsed with the mortgage-backed security crisis. A new segment of housing inventory emerged; the small apartment and tiny home. At the time, there weren't any brands designing high-quality, multi-purpose, American-made furniture for small spaces. I joined forces with my mother – a noted interior designer – to launch a family business.
Action
We produced prototypes with smaller profiles than traditional designs. Most of the pieces included built-in storage and were multi-functional. We sold our commercial and real estate clients turnkey design. The design innovation was to maximize every square inch of space. We decided to manufacture domestically and secured an inexpensive manufacturing space in our home state. I led digital product development for our direct-to-consumer eCommerce site with 86 SKUs featuring four signature collections.
Results
After securing significant organic press, we began to define a new category in the furniture market. After attending several trade shows, we realized the problem we solved with residential furnishing translated to boutique hotels with tiny rooms. I shifted my focus to growing relationships with partners like Family Offices, Real Estate Companies, and Hotel Owners. We won several large hotel deals in New York and Florida and by year two we became profitable.
Success Stories
Selectable • IBR • WTA • Ideal Protein