mydeco

mydeco operated as an online e-commerce platform and multimedia design software company, positioning itself in the European home furnishings market. The company was founded in 2007 by Brent Hoberman, a seasoned entrepreneur known for co-founding lastminute.com. The inspiration for mydeco stemmed from Hoberman's personal experience renovating his home, where he identified a significant inefficiency in the furniture market and the common difficulty consumers face in visualizing interior design concepts.

The business was established in London, United Kingdom, and launched its website in February 2008. mydeco's business model centered on being an aggregator and marketplace for home goods, featuring a curated collection of furniture and accessories from hundreds of boutiques and retailers across Europe. The platform served consumers by providing a single point of search for over a million products, with options to filter by price, dimensions, and color. Revenue was generated through its e-commerce transactions.

A core feature of mydeco's offering was its proprietary 3D room planner tool. This technology allowed users to create a virtual representation of their own rooms, either by building from templates or uploading a floor plan. Consumers could then drag and drop furniture into the 3D space to test layouts, change wall colors, and experiment with different products to ensure they would fit and match aesthetically before purchasing. The company also launched an iPhone application that allowed users to take a picture of their room and virtually furnish it. This focus on visualization technology was a key differentiator in the online furniture retail space.

Throughout its operation, mydeco secured significant venture capital funding totaling $23.9 million. Key funding rounds included a $10.1M seed round in February 2008 and a $13.7M Series A round in September 2008. The company attracted a dozen investors, including Amadeus Capital Partners, Atomico, and Burda Digital Ventures. In a strategic move, mydeco spun out a simpler business model, Made.com, which focused on selling furniture directly from factories to consumers. Subsequently, mydeco's assets, including its technology and customer database, were acquired by Berlin-based retailer Monoqi in January 2015 to facilitate Monoqi's expansion into the UK market.

Keywords: Brent Hoberman, online furniture marketplace, 3D room planner, home furnishings e-commerce, interior design software, lastminute.com, Made.com, home decor aggregator, furniture visualization, venture capital, Amadeus Capital Partners, Atomico, Monoqi acquisition, European furniture retail, online interior design, home goods marketplace, multimedia design software, virtual room design, e-commerce platform, home accessories