Adapt – One of the Key Lessons Learnt During the Pandemic

08 Sep, 2020

Reham Al Masry Co Founder CEO Furnwish

We caught up with Reham Al Masry, Co-founder and CEO of Furnwish – a tech company that creates innovative solutions to the furniture and interior design industry, powered by Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence. Prior to starting Furnwish, Reham was a product manager at a German tour operator who had a passion for interior design and innovation and loved a good challenge. What is more challenging than founding your own startup?

Talk to us about your startup and what you are currently working on?
Furnwish is a tech company that creates innovative solutions to the furniture and interior design industry, powered by Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence. We have been through the hassle of furnishing ourselves many times, starting from not knowing what we want, to which styles go together, mixing and matching, to finally getting the desired look. So, we wanted to simplify the process and integrate tech in a very traditional industry.

We are currently working on integrating AI home styling with AR visualization. The goal is to have a professional interior designer at your fingertips.

What was it that attracted you most about Abu Dhabi/Hub71?
The location, support and investment potential. We see Abu Dhabi as a fast-paced growing environment, where businesses can truly accelerate. Its location combines accessibility to GCC and Asia markets with a sense of being able to have a life that is not all about work.

Hub71’s eagerness to support the ecosystem and continuously attract and facilitate opportunities, are key values that nurture any startup.

As we return to normalcy in the post-pandemic phase, what are you focusing on?
During the pandemic, we were all in survival mode adjusting quickly to the changes around us and trying not to lose the momentum gained from the months prior. Now as the dust settles, our focus is more on measuring the effects of these changes, developing new methods to scale the business in the new norm and benefiting from the quick actions we took earlier during the pandemic.

What are some of the key learnings over the past 6 months?

  • Adapt! That will always be the secret weapon – the faster you are to adapt and take action, the quicker you will benefit and survive
  • There is always a way out – every time you think you have reached a dead-end, take a step back and look again
  • Treat your people with respect and be as transparent as possible, especially during challenging times. Like Ben Horowitz puts it in ‘The Hard Things About Hard Things’: “Being a good company doesn’t matter when things go well, but it can be the difference between life and death when things go wrong.”

 

What sets you apart from other startups in your sector?
We always observe our customers and have experimented a lot, in order to continuously enhance the services we provide. We treat the customer as a human being, not just a number, and so, we refer to their problem on a regular basis to ensure we deliver true value.

Find out more about Furnwish.

Apply to the Hub71 Incentive Program.