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Launch HN: Pabio (YC S21) – Interior design and furniture rental as a service

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Re: Launch HN: Pabio (YC S21) – Interior design and furniture rental as a service

#51

Post by anandchowdhary »

thedevelopnik wrote: post #43
anandchowdhary wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> At ~$4,800 / year as with the sample proposal, it might be a tough sell (or "rent", in this case). Thanks for the feedback, I agree that it's not extremely affordable yet, and we're trying hard to get the price down. We currently work with a retail partner but plan on going direct-to-consumer soon, which should make our package more affordable. Since we currently only serve the Swiss market, it's common for unfurni…

As someone who owns a 2 bedroom condo and plans to stay for awhile but is still mostly furnished with Ikea, I would absolutely be interested in a buyout option!

Yep, we've seen homeowners or long-term renters especially interested in the buyout option. Fast furniture is a big climate problem, and although IKEA tries to show itself as sustainable, it's really the other thing. This is we only offer high-quality furniture, the kind that you won't replace every few years. That, combined with full insurance, things last longer and can be refurbished when you want to move out.

Re: Launch HN: Pabio (YC S21) – Interior design and furniture rental as a service

#52

Post by na85 »

carlobadini wrote: post #7
MattGaiser wrote: post #3

Have you guys heard of Fulhaus? I saw them on Dragon's Den (Canadian Shark Tank for you Americans) and they seem to have a similar model to this. Is your business model fairly similar?

CEO here: we actually didn't know them yet. But the website looks awesome. They seem to have a similar business model. We're operating in Europe as of now, though (That's across the Atlantic for you Canadians) ;)

>(That's across the Atlantic for you Canadians)

It's probably safe for you to assume that most Canadians know where Europe is.

Re: Launch HN: Pabio (YC S21) – Interior design and furniture rental as a service

#54

Post by anandchowdhary »

oliv__ wrote: post #53

Sorry to be a downer, I like the concept but the renderings on your website look so cold and impersonal to me, like tired clichés of their styles. I personally wouldn't want to live in a WeWork

We try to furnish your apartment based on your taste and needs, the two case studies or the sample proposal on our website aren't the full picture (we're working on more photos from some of our other apartments). We first get to know you better (do you work from home? live with a partner? like colors? etc.) and try to send a very personal proposal.

That being said, I agree that the Scandinavian style (warm, wooden, etc., what you refer to as "WeWork") is overrepresented in our photos, so we'll definitely work on changing that.

Re: Launch HN: Pabio (YC S21) – Interior design and furniture rental as a service

#56

Post by anandchowdhary »

sureglymop wrote: post #55

I think the idea is great.. but it would only be attractive to most users if the furniture was rent-to-own.

It (optionally) is! Here's an excerpt from a previous comment:

> All your monthly payments go towards ownership. Say you have a contract for $400 per month for 2 years, and your furniture costs $12,000. At the end of this period, you can either (i) pay the difference, i.e., $2,400, and you own the furniture; (ii) continue the subscription until you've paid the amount back; or (iii) you can sign a new contract and get brand new furniture with no extra cost.

Re: Launch HN: Pabio (YC S21) – Interior design and furniture rental as a service

#58

Post by mschild »

You may also want to look and target companies that have a lot of expat contracts. Expats usually get a good allowance for housing and providing stylish, quality furniture with little hassle might be a big bonus as its one less thing they have to take care off.

Re: Launch HN: Pabio (YC S21) – Interior design and furniture rental as a service

#60

Post by anandchowdhary »

mschild wrote: post #58

You may also want to look and target companies that have a lot of expat contracts. Expats usually get a good allowance for housing and providing stylish, quality furniture with little hassle might be a big bonus as its one less thing they have to take care off.

Absolutely, this is a great idea! We're in early stages of exploring partnerships with large employers, especially in tech, who typically arrange homes for expats. They sometimes use serviced apartments (which are significantly more expensive than renting and using Pabio) or use short-term rental agencies -- both are interesting channels for us.
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