The Silicon Review ^Asia

“With the immense focus on product quality and customer service, we strive to become the most preferred name in the furniture industry by customer’s choice.”

The sharing economy has grown exponentially across the world. The idea of ownership has been superseded by the desire to gain better experiences by sharing resources. Increasingly, people are turning to renting everything from property to clothes. Furniture and appliances are no exception. It gives you access to various utilitarian products, without the burden of buying and maintenance.

In light of the foregoing, we’re thrilled to present Cityfurnish.

Cityfurnish brings online an eclectic mix of furniture and furnishing range at your doorstep. The company is a pioneer in offering premium rental services with no hidden charges and 100 percent money-back guarantee. It is an online renting zone where contemporary and modern styles amalgamate to establish a new genre of wooden furniture and furnishings. Articles of Cityfurnish entail exceptional artistry to form a fusion of classic styles to cater to a variety of tastes. The operations of Cityfurnish are tailored in a way to effortlessly keep up with the needs of its clientele base. The company provides an enchanting and exhaustive range of furniture and furnishing that includes sofa sets, beds, dining tables, and more. Cityfurnish was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Gurugram.

Saurabh Gupta, Cityfurnish Co-founder/COO, spoke exclusively to The Silicon Review. Below is an excerpt.

Q. Can you brief us about the history of your company?

We (Neerav and myself) started Cityfurnish from Gurgaon. Our very first office was Neerav’s apartment in Gurgaon. When we started, almost 99 percent of people in India used to buy furniture and consider furniture renting as an inferior choice or compromise on quality. Keeping that in view, we saw an opportunity and decided to provide furniture on a subscription model without compromising on the quality of product or service.

Our vision is to make furniture subscription as a preferred choice over furniture buying and our mission is to make Cityfurnish synonymous to furniture subscription.

Q. What were the biggest initial hurdles to building your business and how did you overcome them?

The biggest initial hurdle we faced was to attract talent. In our initial days, we found it very difficult to hire skilled people because neither we were a known company nor in a position to offer good salaries. To overcome this problem, we associated some of our friends and old colleagues. We are really happy to say that they are still associated with us.

Q. What’s the best thing that happened to you recently? Either at work or outside of it!

The best thing recently happened to us was our selection in Y-Combinator. It not only provided us with the opportunity to be a part of the family of like-minded people but also gave us a chance to meet and take guidance from a big pool of successful YC alumni and investors.

Q. What would you say was the single most influential factor in your business’ success?

The most influential factor in our business’ success is our team. We are obliged to have a great team working single-mindedly towards the company’s vision and mission.

Q. What other business leaders do you look up to, and why?

I really admire Jeff Bezos of Amazon. The way he is leading Amazon, we will see Amazon being the biggest company in the world in no time. It is impressive to see how Amazon is entering into new businesses continuously by converting its cost centers to revenue centers and leveraging its loyal customer base.

Q. If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?

Do it passionately and forget about the rest.

Q. What do you think is the most memorable moment in your career?

I have so many memories; it is really difficult to choose a specific one. But yes, one thing I am not able to forget is that one of my bosses used to call me “Wild Card”, which means I could have been given any task without thinking twice. It still makes me smile when I think about it.

Q. If not a business leader, what else you wish to be?

If not a business leader, I would have tried to explore the real me by getting in close connection with nature and animals.

Q. What do you hope to accomplish in the long run?

In the long run, we want consumers to think about furniture subscription as the first option and buying second.

Saurabh Gupta: An Aspiring Entrepreneur

Saurabh Gupta hails from a small town of U.P. named Meerut and completed his masters in technology from IIT, Roorkee in 2003.  After working in various MNCs such as Alcatel Lucent, Amdocs, and Vodafone, he finally quit his job in 2015 and started Cityfurnish with Neerav Jain.

“Our vision is to make furniture subscription as a preferred choice over furniture buying and our mission is to make Cityfurnish synonymous to furniture subscription.”