A Start-up Beyond the Norm

The YES! Start-up scheme enables these young entrepreneurs to carve their niche in the design industry

For StudioNorm Design Consultants Pte Ltd, the inspiration for creative design comes, strange as it may seem, from normality. To clarify, for these three design entrepreneurs, their designs must serve a functional purpose in normal everyday life as well as being artistically aesthetic.

StudioNorm was formed in 2008 by Mr David Tham, Mr Eugene Chan and Mr Jeth Koh to provide creative products for the hotels, F&B, clubs and entertainment industries. Subsequently joined by Marketing Manager, Mr Amit Oza, this four-man tour-de-force is carving out a niche in product design through its two brands normform and Property.

 

Birds of a feather

The team's bond goes back to their Polytechnic days when they were course mates on product and industrial design courses. They subsequently went their separate ways and gained employment in established companies. However, after two years of answering to senior directors, the guys felt the calling to branch out and team up together to create their own designs.

"Running our own company, we know that our creativity would no longer be stifled," explains Creative Director, Mr David Tham of their decision to form StudioNorm.

Thwarted by lack of funding that would allow the guys to establish a commercial office and market effectively to the industries they targeted, they ran the business out of their individual homes, financing their salaries with freelance work and part-time teaching, and meeting regularly to strategise for growth.

 

A new lease on the business

Change came when they applied for funding from the YES! Start-up scheme as Mr Tham explains, "We were lucky enough to just qualify for the scheme as the cutoff age was 26 and we were all 25 at the time! The funding allowed us to set up our current office, and gave us the working capital to keep the company going as we grew our client base."

Having set up the business at the start of the economic downturn, the company's first years in business have been challenging, faced with declining client orders due to tightening budgets. In addition, they had to manage high production costs as the exclusivity of their products does not warrant the large production scales that would make production viable overseas. However, things are turning around now as hotels and entertainment outlets start planning their budget for the coming year. "Orders for the next year are coming in, and we are starting to reap the benefits of close client relationships with repeat orders. Our customers are establishments like boutique hotels that value the minimalist approach to decor with sleek lines and unique display products," explains Mr Tham.

A showcase for creativity

The next move for the team will be to launch their website by the end of the year as this will help with attracting orders from overseas and allow the team to showcase their products to the domestic market more easily. Following on from there, the company aims to move to larger premises that will combine their office with a showroom store. "This will allow us to better demonstrate our products, as at the moment we have to rely on our catalogue alone," Mr Tham adds.

Valuable advice

Given their unique experience of starting up in a downturn, Mr Tham has these words of advice to entrepreneurs embarking on their first venture, "The most important thing is your cash flow. So be prudent with your spending. We made it a point to source for better production deals where we could to keep costs down. Another consideration should be the relationships you have with your customers. Remain in constant contact with your clients to build a firm foundation. After all, it's cheaper to keep existing clients than it is to find new ones."