Reham Fagiri, a single woman from Sudan with aはじめmann from the University of Maryland and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania, decided to make a move from Philadelphia to New York by selling her used furniture on the Facebook Marketplace and the Craigslist. Despite her efforts, her listing didn’t go anywhere, highlighting the challenges of building online businesses in cold economies. She faced prohibited sellers, strange listings, and frustration over unsatisified buyers. Her失败 but didn’t stop; over four months, she realized the need for a viable business and returned to theUS to start a platform.
In New York, she opened AptDeco, a peer-to-peer marketplace where consumers can buy popular furniture from brands like West Elm, Jonathan Adler, and Pottery Barn for up to 70% off. This happened when she took advice from her family’s failed encounter with a man who became agitated inside her home. Fagiri realized the need for a business that would allow her to maintain a positive consumer experience, offering clear payment, shipping, and FreightEMS options, as well as a dispute resolution system.
With a diverse and tech-savvy team, AptDeco now boasts cumulative revenue under $100 million and is expanding to New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The company has raised $20 million in five rounds of funding, including investments from Morgan Stanley, Liquid 2 Ventures, and begins a new accelerator, YCombinator. AptDeco caught on, with investors selling 50,000 shares and hockey playersningen in New York, NY. It now serves over 10,000+x home buyers annually, ambitions to be fully profitable in just this year.
The circular economy in the U.S. keeps going Strong, with demand for second-hand Furniture surging. The market reached $186 billion in 2023, growing at a 17.2% rate from 2023 to 2024. This trend is sparking competition from local brands like Chairish and Kaiyo. Fagiri noticed that many customers are interested in sustainable purchases, as evidenced by 39.33% revenue for wood furniture in 2023, with 78% of purchases for residences. Many former consumers expressed a desire for more affordable options or better value, but while waiting, ordinary items were being sold cheaply to Facebook Marketplace sellers.
Tariffs”>
Fagiri questions the benefits of tariffs for furniture sellers, citing President Trump’s promise to bring furniture back to the US. However, the local furniture industry isn’t thriving in the US, with sales dipping 9% in April due to high mortgage rates and materials costs.aptDeco serves as an early example of how consumers respond to tariffs, with early signs of them attracting resale buyers. Brands like IKEA and Patagonia are adopting the circular economy, offering used, refurbished furniture to consumers. Fagiri fears limits on resale due to rising costs elsewhere, but the circular economy’s focus on waste reduces the impact of tariffs and stimulates customer demand.
Overall, AptDeco gained massive success, attracting millions of buyers who had never sold furniture before.
