Interior Secrets – StartupSmart

Bill Huynh was looking for some furniture for his parents’ new house and was disappointed with what he found in the marketplace. Providers, he says, were “hard to come by” with prices “just too high.”

Huynh surmised that those on a tight budget, such as first home buyers or renters, were offered a very limited choice, such as Ikea or Fantastic Furniture.

“We wanted to provide designer lifestyle living at affordable prices so it was available for all Australians, not just the affluent consumers,” he says.

“(The) initial motive was to make a bit of money but it was the challenge of beating the competition and providing value to consumers which excited me.”

Despite his limited business knowledge, Huynh wasn’t deterred. He worked on his business at night, overcoming obstacles such as the realisation suppliers often didn’t take his web-based model very seriously.

“(It got to the point) where I had to convince suppliers we had a shopfront and the online model was merely an addition to our marketing strategy,” he says.

“Nowadays, if the suppliers don’t have faith or respect for our online model, we move on to the next supplier.”

A key driver of Interior Secrets’ strong growth is Huynh’s focus on the marketplace. He knew exactly what his competitors were offering – and how to trump them.

“I studied my potential competition inside out, as if I had worked there myself,” he says. “Everything from selling to warehousing and deliveries.”