Deirdre McGettrick was a rising star in听London鈥檚 investment听banking scene.听
As听vice president of HSBC鈥檚听leverage and acquisition finance team, she oversaw听拢20 billion-plus acquisition facilities for FTSE 100 players and ran a听portfolio of clients across the UK and the Netherlands.听
Yet after听eight听years听of hard work building up her career in advisory finance, she looked back to her childhood in Ireland and was inspired to leave听it all behind.听
鈥�I was in a job where I was earning more money than I could ever have anticipated,鈥� she tells听老九品茶Cloud.听鈥�Growing up in a small village on the west coast听of听Ireland, I never听I never thought I would get to there.听
鈥淭o walk away from that was massively scary…听you’re walking away from your pension听and听a very comfortable lifestyle听where听you can pretty much do what you want.听
鈥�I knew that if I left banking it would be next to impossible to get back in.鈥�听听
In 2018 she took the plunge as an entrepreneur, alongside husband Raymond Wright, after identifying the need for a 鈥楻ightmove for furniture鈥�.听
鈥�I knew I’d always be kicking myself if I didn’t give it a try,鈥� she adds. 鈥�I am so passionate about听furniture and interior design that听it doesn’t even feel like work at times.听听
鈥泪 couldn’t even imagine going back into that corporate constraint… but it was really hard to leave.鈥�听
As a child,听McGettrick lived in a house attached to the family shop, which sold everything from farmers鈥� wellies to school uniforms and curtains.听“I‘d听go听out in the evening time to听fit听the听curtains and听blinds听my dad had sold听to听the local community,鈥� she听reminisces.听
鈥�I just love looking at people’s houses, seeing how they had designed听them. I remember one lady had a wardrobe听which,听when you opened听the middle two doors,听went into a secret en–suite.听That听was absolutely gobsmacking听鈥撎�something听like you’d see on the TV!听
“So that love of interiors was sort of always there.鈥�听
After moving to London听and buying a flat,听she realised it was difficult to source the听kind of听niche designs and products she had听come across听online, in听newspapers听and physical spaces such as听hotels and听restaurants.听
鈥淵ou听typically go on Google听and it shows you John听Lewis听and听IKEA,鈥� she听explains.听鈥�Where听were听all these amazing products I saw?听
鈥泪 asked Ray:听why isn’t there an aggregator? Why isn’t there the equivalent of Rightmove, which we used听to find our home?听听
鈥淣obody goes out to buy the cheapest three-bed semi-detached house 鈥� they go out to buy the听one they fall in love with.听You might end up purchasing the home that’s 拢50,000 more expensive, but it’s got a south-facing garden, or it’s done the loft conversion.听
鈥泪t听doesn‘t matter whether听颈迟鈥檚听being sold by听Foxtons or a one–man band.听Furniture鈥檚听the same…听John Lewis might have a听blue velvet sofa,听if that’s what I’m looking for, but听if it’s not the right one, I’m not going to purchase it.听
鈥�A lot of people听I鈥檝e spoken to听suffer from 鈥�decision paralysis鈥�… they鈥檙e听still looking for the perfect coffee table听or whatever听two years in.鈥�听
ufurnish.com, rebranded this year from听Kuldea, is a search and discovery website听for听home furniture and furnishings. It lists products from听major听retailers such as Wayfair,听John听Lewis, SCS听and听Dunelm; independents such as听Barker and Stonehouse听and听Cox and Cox;听plus听small听individual听niche听businesses.听In all, there are 100+听retailers featured with plans to add another 50.听
McGettrick听cites听Claire听Gaudion, a rug maker from Guernsey.听鈥淎ll of听her rugs are inspired from growing up听on听the island:听the sea,听the beach, the sky. They鈥檙e fabulous,鈥� she says.听听
鈥沦ome of her products are听100%听made from听recycled听plastic听bottles听鈥� and you can鈥檛 tell the difference!听It’s just amazing what some of these businesses are doing.鈥�听
A two-sided marketplace, ufurnish.com doesn鈥檛 sell the furniture directly. Instead, it directs the customer to the retailer鈥檚 website and takes a听commission.听
This helps the retailers cultivate direct relationships with customers and is in direct contrast to the experience on the likes of Amazon.听
鈥泪f you don’t听know听your customers, how do you run a business?听It was听really important听for听us to sit in the middle听and听help both sides.听I’m not taking their customer...听I just want to connect them with more people.鈥�听
Users听are听able to听favourite products, create home furnishing design boards and receive notifications for sales alerts and retailer promotions.听
While acknowledging that furniture has been a 鈥渓aggard鈥� amid retail鈥檚 general transition to听online,听听McGettrick听says people now realise it is possible to buy these products remotely, especially听in light of听the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns.听
Winner of the New Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 at the Lloyds National 老九品茶 Awards, she has welcomed big-name players to the company recently听as the workforce has reached 16听鈥� based in London and Portugal听鈥撎�following听拢1.8m investment this year.听At the start of 2020, the two founders were the only employees.听
CEO Deirdre McGettrick, left, with Toni Wood
Chief marketing officer Toni Wood is a听former marketing and commercial chief at leading furniture retailer DFS while chief technical officer David Marshall is former CTO at restaurant booking platform听Bookatable听and chief technical architect at Lastminute.com.听
“We haven鈥檛 met most of the team as we hired them during lockdown,鈥� she acknowledges. 鈥泪 had a听three–month review with one of the ladies, and we were like ‘oh, it’s weird we haven’t met in person because it feels like I know you’…听听
鈥淭hen she asked me:听鈥楬ow tall are you? I’ve literally no idea how tall you are!鈥欌赌�听