Leading-edge online interior design service and veteran Fishburners members, Designbx, have been named as finalists in this year’s Telstra Business Awards. They are one of six finalists in the Emerging and Energising category chosen from thousands of nominees, and as State Finalists are one of the top 24 businesses in NSW.
Designbx burst onto the startup scene in 2015, established by three female founding directors, Emily Carding, Kerena Berry and Kylie Pratt.
The founders identified through market research and first-hand experience in the interior design industry that there were significant barriers between professional designers and Australians. Interior design is often viewed as a luxury that the average Australian doesn’t have time for and cannot afford.
Their mission is to “improve the home and work environments of 1 million people by 2023 and revolutionise the furniture and homewares industry.”
Designbx make interior design truly accessible, intuitive and affordable for all Australians.
By operating online, offering customers a full design package including one-on-one consultation from a network of interior designers, and an added exclusive 5%-50% industry discount on individual products, Designbx has resolved the issues of traditional interior design services.
Designbx also strives to help the environment and various charities. Clients have the option to choose sustainable materials when purchasing from their range of over 50,000 products and the Designbx team plants a tree for every room package sold via donations to Plant a Tree For Me.
Designbx are also participants of the philanthropic initiative, Pledge 1%, which donates a portion of companies’ equity, time, product or earnings to non-profit organisations in the community.
One of Designbx’s many satisfied clients is Hit 100, a social business that offers a nutritional and affordable meal delivery service to those living with a disability.
Designbx allowed them to transform their office in Kings Cross from a compartmentalised commercial space to a fresh, inclusive and positive work environment in a short time frame and with a budget of only $5000-$7999.
The company’s CEO, Karn Gosh, remarked that Designbx maintained a “contemporary approach to what could have been a frustrating and challenging thing for us to do.”
Designbx has also been featured on mainstream media several times, with an appearance on the Channel 9 Today Extra show, Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph and Startup Daily.
In 2017 Designbx were named a finalist in Startcons Best E-Commerce Startup. They went on in 2018 to be named as Finalists for Best Online Shopping Innovation at Finder.com’s Innovation Awards and Regional Finalists in the New South Wales Business Chamber Awards.
The Designbx team have been able to up-scale their business at Fishburners by building essential rapport with other startups and partners, gain feedback and validation from consultancy sessions and make use of the extensive resources on offer.
When asked how Fishburners has helped their startup, the Designbx founders said, “Designbx immediately signalled our intentions to be highly collaborative by choosing a base at Fishburners. Designbx was able to be introduced to key partnership contacts, and design a pitch that has subsequently led to a big partnership opportunity.”
