ZOOM Interiors: The Young Female Entrepreneurs Who Are Reinventing Interior Design
If you haven’t heard of ZOOM Interiors yet, you certainly will. For all Shark Tank lovers out there, you probably recall the ZOOM girls successfully impressing Barbara Corcoran in season 6 with their fresh and unique idea of providing online home décor consultations and furniture sales (and we all know that if Barbara Corcoran likes an idea, it’s a good one).
I had the opportunity to talk to Madeline Fraser of ZOOM Interiors, and she was kind enough to share some of the ZOOM story.
About the ZOOM Girls
The ZOOM girls, Madeline Fraser, Lizzie Grover, and Beatrice Fischel Bock, all came from very different places in the world, but they came together in the early days of their college careers, and spent the next four years together. After holding a variety of internships, many with traditional designers with clients who had very large budgets, they realized they wanted to look for something nontraditional. They found it while studying abroad, where the ZOOM concept was born.
While studying abroad in London the ZOOM girls were contacted by a friend in the U.S., requesting help with a design on a budget. After successfully helping their friend redesign her space from abroad, via the Internet, a business model started to take form.
The Idea Behind ZOOM Interiors
While some are blessed with the creative gene, there are plenty of people who just can’t quite figure out how to make a space look great and reflect their style, especially on a low budget. The ZOOM girls realized this early on in their education, and found that by taking the design process online they could make it more affordable for those in need of some style guidance.
The girls entered a business plan competition while still in college, signed LLC papers and got their business off the ground. They were 21 when they first started, and the business has been quickly growing and evolving over the past two years.
When asked what makes ZOOM different from other design companies, Madeline highlights ease and affordability. The ease comes with the ability to customize a space from your laptop or tablet and have the handpicked and custom pieces delivered to your door. While you may be doing a little bit more of the physical work yourself, when it comes to decorating, this is also the money-saving aspect of the company. And let’s be honest- it’s not hanging pictures that challenges most of us – it’s deciding which pictures to buy. ZOOM does the Internet scouring for you, while keeping your budget in mind.
ZOOM Interiors Accomplishments
One of the biggest accomplishments for the ZOOM Girls, Madeline explains, was Shark Tank, as it gave them the recognition they needed, an overwhelming sense of support, and it solidified their belief that their idea was a good one.
Another accomplishment came with their first client; a girl out of college, living with roommates in a basement room. The ZOOM Girls transformed the basement space in one day, and it changed their client’s life. Their client went from avoiding her room except for sleeping to never wanting to leave it. She began to truly appreciate her space, keeping it neat and presentable, because it was a space she now loved and appreciated. Check out photos of this transformer space here.
In this particular case, their client raved about ZOOM to her boss, and the two bonded over the interior design experience, and after some time the two actually got married! Madeline shared how one of her favorite things about ZOOM is moving with their clients as they transition through different stages of life.
Madeline’s Advice for Young Entrepreneurs
“Go out and get advice from everyone in your life. At the end of the day, make your own decisions. It’s your ideas, your passion that will move you forward, but you need the advice and feedback of others who have been there and have the experience and the wisdom.”