Modsy lets you 3D model any and every room in your house, and then visualize new furniture before you buy it, this intersection of design and 3D is the latest market disruption worth millions.
For over 25 years, I have worked with design-leading furniture brands like Martha Stewart Living and Herman Miller. I’ve had products in all major e-commerce and mass-market retailers; office superstores; electronics boutiques; and wholesale clubs. I’m not bragging (well maybe a little). I’m telling you this because I’ve been in the design world a long time and that is almost the same amount of time I have been waiting patiently for the applicable intersection of Tech + 3D + Design.
I know the applications are seemingly endless, but getting others to play into that evolution has been slower than I expected. My work with product design and launch sent me into the world of 3D printing, where I fell in love. Sure, it was clunky, and the learning curve has never ended but I could see the possibilities from very early on, and I wanted to be a part of that disruptive revolution.
Common Sense for Business
It’s no secret that, in business, a low to zero inventory and local manufacturing model is inevitable because it is most the cost-effective option with the lowest risk. For businesses with the need to 3D model, without manufacturing, there’s also amazing potential. What is so surprising is how many large brands and corporations treat this like a secret. The disruption that could potentially knock them off the throne is massive. Interior Design is experiencing this disruption right now, and even though we are seeing the early years of it’s changeover, we can already see the efficiency.
Welcome to Your New Room
There’s a new application available if you want to redesign (or, let’s be honest, just design for the first time) a specific room or area in your house, or your entire house. This application is called Modsy and they are using 3D room modeling, along with partnerships with giants like Crate & Barrel, West Elm, and Pottery Barn, to help you create the room or home of your dreams, on one platform, in a cost effective way. “Modsy lets you visualize new furniture in your room before you buy.”
What’s the Current Process?
Most consumers are going to Pinterest, Houzz, and a thousand online retailers trying to piece together every single room, on their own. This is the pain point that exists, and Interior Design is not the right answer for everyone. Shanna Tellerman, the founder of Modsy, whose background consists of Google Ventures Investment Team, VR before it was cool, and 3D, felt this pain point when trying to decorate her own home and took action on it.
The Importance of Strategy
This bold founder recalls waking up in the middle of the night, in the building stages of Modsy, almost gasping for air and wondering what they were going to be able to sell people to put in their rooms. This moment of simultaneous clarity and panic made it very clear to Tellerman that she would have to establish strong partnerships and put a team in place to focus on that piece of the business. I imagine this wasn’t the only moment Tellerman experienced, like this, where she had to imagine something that would work for a platform and service that is brand new to the market. No pressure or anything. These moments allowed her to steadily build out each piece of Modsy, which is an important lesson in business.
1. Pay attention/take note when you feel like “something is wrong”.
2. Imagine those moments as learning lessons and treat them accordingly.
3. Brainstorm around those moments on how you can grow your strategy.
Seeing A Vision Come to Life
“I created Modsy because I found myself wanting to decorate but unable to visualize how each piece would fit into my space, without first buying it. I wished for the West Elm catalogue staged in my home, and this showed me a technological hole in the interior design market, along with a 3D solution.”
The reason this application hasn’t been created in the past is simple: 3D modeling was clunky and looked almost cartoonish. That just isn’t the case anymore. Modsy is sleek and dropping in at just the right time to disrupt a design market that is long overdue.
More Application Will Equal More Disruption
My stance, coming into this year, has been that this will be a great year for the tech + design intersection. What I mean by that is, not only will we see more and more really tangible and useful applications for the cool tech and design elements available out there in the world, we will also get to see them come to life. As this happens, steady yourself for market disruption that is more than we’ve ever seen. By this time next year, we will all be talking about how we can’t believe the heavy hitters never saw it coming.
Read the original INC article published on March 13, 2018.
