Meet The Inside (www.theinside.com)

HQ: New York, NY

The team: Britt Bunn and Danielle Walish (Co-Founders)

The problem: Decorating a modern living space can be challenging — and the COVID-era has also increased interest in curating spaces that are WFH-friendly. In the current market, there’s a huge divide between pricey high-end custom options and low-end (and low quality) options. Now more than ever, consumers of all ages need a quick-ship, on-trend home furnishings line that is both customizable and affordable.

Meet The Inside: Launched by design tastemakers, The Inside is a direct-to-consumer, digitally native furniture brand. Consumers can customize on-trend designs with beautiful fabrics that reflect their own personal style, at prices that won’t blow the home-decor budget. The zero-inventory, on-demand manufacturing technology allows The Inside to constantly adapt to customer demand, plus reduce overall/inventory waste, warehousing costs, and ultimately, prices. Developing their products in US-based factories to make shipping speedy, with delivery times shorter than traditional furniture companies. One customer put it perfectly — “I can realize my champagne design dreams on a beer budget.”

Why we’re betting on it:  From the first meeting with The Inside, we understood their unbound vision of a better business model for on-trend, affordable, quick-ship home goods — and the customers that want them. And it’s an industry that’s growing (~$115B), with a specific demand for a more sustainable supply chain, and eco-friendly products.

The cofounders have spent their careers at industry-leading design companies, and intimately understand the home décor market. They care deeply about their customers, always putting them first, without risking operational discipline. Britt previously worked at One King’s Lane and Hamlet, and Danielle is an interior designer by trade. Christiane Lemieux (the third co-founder not involved in day-to-day operations) founded DwellStudio, which sold to Wayfair. They’ve tapped their network to collaborate with beloved design brands (like Scalamandré and Old World Weavers) and more modern influencers (like designer Peter Som). And with their planned new category launches in 2021, they understand the need for design-forward, family-friendly categories (think baby and kids furniture).

Our take: The Inside is prioritizing building long-term relationships with their customers, which is key if they’ll be the retailer of choice for the entire home. Their existing curated selection of high-quality, affordable home furnishings is made endless by customization choices, but doesn’t feel overwhelming. Plus, we’re excited by their laser-like focus on delivering an amazing and seamless customer shopping experience and can’t wait to grow alongside The Inside into many more homes.