Interviewed by Syed Md. Rakeen, Team MBR

Sarjeena Maodud is the co-founder and CEO of Sheraspace, an interior design platform on a mission of democratising interior design in Bangladesh. She is educated from University College London with a Bachelors in Computer Science and a Masters in Technology Management, and holds a second Masters in Entrepreneurship from the University of Cambridge. A personal experience with interior design led her to found her own company, Sheraspace, to address the gaps in the market that she had faced during that experience. Team MBR was in conversation with Ms. Sarjeena Maodud to learn about Sheraspace and her vision to make interior design services accessible to the mass populace.

Syed Md. Rakeen: Sheraspace, with its incredible interior design services, has tapped into an innovative yet vital industry segment of Bangladesh. Would you kindly share your inspiration behind forming Sheraspace?

Sarjeena Maodud: Back in 2017, I was looking for an interior service provider to renovate my new house in Dhaka. I ended up having an experience that revealed to me that existing solutions in the market lacked quality, transparency, and affordability. It piqued my curiosity about the interior design industry, leading me to delve into research and eventually launch a tech-driven interior design platform, Sheraspace, in 2019, along with Nizam Farid Ahmed.

Syed Md. Rakeen: The availability of interior design services is often perceived as a luxury as opposed to a necessity. How did Sheraspace manage to make interior design services affordable while maintaining quality at the same time?

Sarjeena Maodud: Sheraspace is making interior design services accessible to a segment of people who could not access them before. Expensive fees, extensive timelines, and the hassle of availing of interior services used to previously position the offering to be unattainable to middle-class buyers. By addressing these pain points of the customers, Sheraspace was able to offer them a solution they found pertinent.

Sheraspace is the first company to introduce online interior solutions in Bangladesh. Being the first mover allowed us the advantage of setting the price benchmark and working with a focus on addressing the previously unresolved needs of consumers.

Syed Md. Rakeen: Preferences for interior designs vary from client to client, which could lead to potential disagreements regarding the choice of designs. How does Sheraspace cater to the different requirements of clients while consulting on interior design projects?

Sarjeena Maodud: Understanding the clients’ needs is key. And that starts with astute listening. The frontline project representatives are trained extensively in empathetic listening and communication to ensure a thorough understanding of the clients’ requirements. Each project starts with a requirement elicitation meeting whereby client needs are carefully extracted through discussion, probing, and questionnaire filling.

We furthermore have an inhouse custom-built CRM and project management tool that enables the operational management of each project and supports the storage, communication, and execution of client requirements.

Syed Md. Rakeen: The interior designs of houses located in commercial spaces, as opposed to residential spaces, tend to vary a lot. From your experience, how does the interior design style vary in commercial and residential spaces?

Sarjeena Maodud: I believe perceptions of interior design are quite subjective - a space that is beautiful to one may be found undesirable by another. It really depends on the subjective lens of each client, so every project is unique in that respect.

As for commercial versus residential interiors – the former usually prioritises productivity, efficiency and focuses on capturing the company culture in its everyday surroundings. Residences, on the other hand, are centred around the personality and lifestyle of its inhabitants, thereby possessing aesthetics and functionality that complement those aspects.

Syed Md. Rakeen: During COVID-19, Sheraspace switched its attention from offering offline services to online interior design consultation. Would you kindly share the transition from offline to online services during the pandemic, as well as a brief on how the online interior design consultation works?

Sarjeena Maodud: The pandemic’s disruption challenged Sheraspace to think disruptively. In a time of uncertainty, we piloted the online interior design consultation service by offering it to a small group of customers. Upon collecting feedback from the delivered consultations, we redefined and improved the workflow processes, established quality assurance checkpoints, and integrated appropriate back-end technological intervention to deliver a seamless client experience. Processes are ever-evolving, though, and we continue to remain attentive to the scope for improvement, even today.

A customer simply shares their name and contact information on our website, following which a sales team member will get in touch to hear their needs and recommend a suitable package(s). It starts with an online requirement elicitation meeting whereby all requirements of the client are logged onto our system. The designer then works with the client’s brief and puts together design visualisations (mood boards, 2D, 3D, etc.) into a design plan presentation. This design plan is then presented to the client online, discussed elaborately, and their queries are resolved. All of this is delivered within a week.

Upon completion of the online interior design consultation, clients also have the option to avail further interior execution and fit-out services.

Syed Md. Rakeen: Possessing a diverse range of interior designs requires designers to stay updated with timeless and trendy design trends and technologies. How does Sheraspace manage to cultivate a culture of innovation and creativity within its employees?

Sarjeena Maodud: The Sheraspace design team holds expertise in a wide range of interior design styles. It is a matter of learning from both what’s relevant in the world of design and what expectations are coming in from clients. I believe it is a positive feedback loop that reinforces learning for our team of designers. Sheraspace also offers access to online professional courses for employee training and educational purposes. Going forward, we intend to incorporate further training and skill-building methods for employee development.

Syed Md. Rakeen: Sheraspace is home to impeccable interior designs, with several renowned content creators already availing of its services. Would you kindly share if Sheraspace plans to incorporate technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality, or artificial intelligence into interior design projects?

Sarjeena Maodud: Indeed. Technology is becoming increasingly indispensable in the ways we work and live. Although I do not see AI replacing our designers completely, I do believe AI can be an assistive and collaborative tool that would enable our designers to deliver a greater number of spaces within the same amount of time.