Emily Wangui — transcript

Furniture Zoo Ltd

This transcript is generated automatically by YouTube and has not been checked by a person. It misspells names and mishears words, particularly around Kenyan English and company names, so read it as a guide to the conversation rather than a quotable record. Each timestamp opens the video at that moment.

0:02 [music]
Greetings ladies and gentlemen and welcome to episode 65 of the African Loop podcast. Today we will venture into the world of manufacturing, furniture manufacturing specifically, and we are very privileged to have with us Emily Wambui of Furniture Zoo Limited. Emily, welcome to the African Loop podcast.
Thank you for having me, Leonard.
Excellent. So, Emily, we we like to start about with Emily. Yeah. So, you're an entrepreneur in a manufacturing space. We'll talk about being a woman in that manufacturing space, but let's start with you. You know, who are you? Where did you grow up? And how do you find yourself as a female entrepreneur in manufacturing in Kenya?
All right, cool. That's an interesting question. I don't know how much time you have. Um so, again, my name is Emily. I also go by the name Wanjiku Kamau on my social platforms. I grew up in Sagana, which is in Central Province, Kirinyaga County. I'm a daughter of two teachers, five girls, I'm the last born. Um and so, I came up I came from a family of purely girls. Um I'll go right to maybe when I was like in form one, form two,

1:21 I started doing something interesting. I used to do make bookmarks for people and I would sell them to the girls in our high school just so that they can use them as bookmarks in their Bibles and books that they were reading. Now, looking at it back like looking back from where I am at, I can see that I was a creative even then. I just didn't know that I was a creative. And so, I finished high school. I finished high school very young. I finished high school when I was 16 years old. So, it was a child.
But as a result of being a child of teachers?
Yes.
Okay.
Definitely. As a result of being a child of teachers, my mom took me to to school with her when I was very young because our house girl at that point decided, I think, to steal stuff. And so, my mom was like, "No more house girls. Let me just take you to school." And so, she would take me to school. And at that point, she was teaching class one. My sister was in class one. And she would take me to a nursery school, and I wasn't understanding, "Why

2:17 am I in this class? That is different. But you guys are in that class. So, make a lot of noise." And the nursery school school teacher would just carry me and take me to where my mom is teaching. And so, that's how I started in class one when I was about like 3 and 1/2 years old. So, actually, my records don't start in I don't have nursery and all those peeping things that people do now, which are cool and interesting. My record starts from class two. And so, I finished school early, 16 years old. And at that point, I wanted to be a cabin crew, and I wanted to be or a cabin crew or a model. That's what I wanted to be. By the time I was finishing from form four, my mom was long gone. My mom passed on when I was in form three, at the end of form three that December. And I used to spend a lot of time watching the Miss Miss Kenya, Miss World

3:07 competitions, and I would make my dad sit there and watch it with me. We used to have a solar at that time. And so, we would save all power just so that I get to watch the Miss International at the night when the competitions would be going on. And so, I remember when I told my dad that I want to be a model, he was just like, "My daughter doing these bikini things? That's not happening." And so, we had a candid conversation with my dad, and he told me, "I will let you be a model. I will let you be a cabin crew, or whatever it is that you choose to be at the age of 21. If at the age of 21, you still want to do this thing, I will pay for it. But for now, choose something else that you can do with your life. Choose something else to go to school and study." At that specific point, remember I'm coming from a family of five girls. At that specific point, we had a salon, a

3:57 business, a salon business in Sagana town that my dad had opened. I guess he was just like, "Okay, I have five girls. I can't keep paying salon bills." So, he's just like, "Okay, just go and make your hair in that salon. And I can make money from it anyway." And so, because now there was already the a business that was existing, I was like, "Let me just go study, you know, cosmetology, hairdressing and beauty, and come and run this business as I wait to be 21 years old so that I can I can go and be a model." Um and so, I came to Nairobi at the age, I think, of 17 and 1/2. I didn't even have an idea at that point. Uh actually, I think even younger than that. Um did pursue my diploma in cosmetology, went back to Shags, uh run the the business, not very successfully, but

4:44
[laughter]
run it anyway. I remember at some point my dad retired, and he took all the money that he had. He built like an extra like we So, it was like Sagana town, but where I was born is it's not like Sagana town. It's like about 4 km from Sagana town. So, we had like a home, and then we had the plot in in Sagana town. And so, he extended the plot. Um he even helped me open a business, a beauty a cosmetic business with the money, which I don't think was very wise of him. But it really, really helped me, and I think he could see that I wanted to be an entrepreneur, that he could see that I could become an entrepreneur even though I didn't see it in myself at that specific time. And so, I run the salon, I run the beauty shop, not necessarily very well doing it, but I learned some pretty good lessons there. And then I left Sagana. I decided I want to come to Nairobi and uh

5:37 pursue whatever it is that I was going to pursue until the age of 21. Remember, I still have a dream at the back of my mind that I want to be a cabin crew or a model. And so, I come to Nairobi, and because the only skills I had that at point was beauty and hairdressing and that's the only job I could get. And so I looked for a job. As a matter of fact, even how I got my first job in Nairobi was very It was It wasn't I didn't wake up and go looking for a job. I came to Nairobi to visit my sister who was taking her course at Kenya Poly at that time in hospitality. And she told me, "Let's go to Westlands. You help me look for attachments." I was like, "Okay, fine. Let's go." And so we went to Westlands. So now we came to Westlands and we were like hopping from hotel to hotel just looking for attachment. And then we saw this signage on Unga House like at the building at

6:24 the entrance that beauticians needed. And she was like, "Okay, let's go and try out try out this one for you." And so we went into Unga House, went to that salon. I was made to do like a few practical like, you know, interview like do manicure on this person, do pedicure on this person. And that's how I got a job. And so I told my dad my dad to say that I'm not coming back to shags. I've now become a Nairobi mondos.
[laughter]
And so I stayed in Nairobi earning a whole 5,000 shillings a month. But I
Where where are we from a timeline perspective? What year is this?
This is in the year 2005.
Okay.
This is I 2005 or 2004.
Mhm.
And so I'm in Nairobi working in Westlands, living in Madaraka.

7:11
Mhm.
Um most likely walking to Westlands
[laughter]
daily and walking back uh to earn my 5,000 shillings. But I really loved the industry. I really loved I know I think for me I've always loved transformation. I've always loved you know, raw material to something beautiful or you came with your nails looking a certain way and then you went home with them looking a certain way. You came with your hair looking bad, but you went home with your hair looking beautiful. And so I stayed in that space. Um for a while um from the year 2005 all the way to all the way to the year 2009. It was about 2008. And I was in the hair industry. I worked in a gym at some point. I worked at, um, at a college that used to offer tourism and foreign languages some place in town. And then in the year 2007, my dad passed on.

8:04
Okay.
So, in the year 2007, at this point I'm 21.
Mhm.
But now, the financier of my dream
Yes,
[laughter]
has left.
has left the scene. And I was like, okay, fine. Do I still I need I needed to sit down and actually have some serious cons- cons- conversations with myself. Do I really still want to pursue this? Do I still want to be a model? At that point, Nairobi has shown me things. I'm just like, wow, it's it's tough. It was tough being in Nairobi, but I still really enjoyed being in Nairobi.
Okay.
At that point, the business in Shags has already closed because it's not even being run well.
Right.
And so, I stayed on. And in the year 2007, if you remember 2007 December 2008 January, that's the post-election violence.

8:50
Yes.
And at that point, I was working in this college that offers tourism and foreign languages.
Mhm.
And so, in that period, nobody really wanted to study tourism cuz tourism was really bad.
yeah.
And so, the college doesn't have students coming in. I am a receptionist at that point, and we were two receptionists at that point. And so, I remember the boss calling us to the office and telling us you have to decide who stays and who goes. But I was the youngest. I didn't have children. And so, I was like, okay, fine. Let me just let go. I mean, it would be easier for me to fend for myself.
Yeah.
And so, I left and I went home. I didn't have a job at that point, and I was just like, okay, now what what next? Uh, I'm still grieving my dad at that specific point. And so, I looked for a job and I just couldn't find. The next job I did was I found a distributor who was distributing SIM cards. At that point, I think it was Kencell.

9:44
Yes.
Before it became Zain, before it became everything else that it has become.
[laughter]
And so, I became a distributor of SIM cards. And at that point, what a distributor of SIM cards would do, you would go to the company, get a bunch of SIM cards, and literally go hawking them.
Yes.
[laughter]
And so, I can say I have been a hawker in this in this Nairobi. I I think I have honestly entered most of the buildings in Nairobi, apart from Chai House. Chai House has serious security.
Okay. [laughter]
Even today, I'm just like, "Hmm, this building." It is so really, really difficult to enter that building, especially if you don't have anywhere specific you're going. And so, we would enter buildings, would, you know, when you enter the building, of course, there's that signage that shows you the like the offices that are there. So, we would claim we're going to the one that has a is at the toppest floor. And then, we would go there, and then we

10:37 would walk stair by stair,
Mhm.
floor by floor, just selling SIM cards.
Yes.
Then, after selling SIM cards, we started selling I think it was Telkom at that point, but they were bringing they were coming up with almost like the phones for Kitambo, but no, they didn't have wire, so they were wireless, but they were still I don't know what to call them. What are they called? I forgot the
still desktop
They were still desktops, but they didn't have wire, so they were wireless, so they
Wireless desktop
Wireless desktop phones. And so, we started selling those. And now, at least I'm making some little bit more money than selling SIM cards, because I mean, how much money can you make from selling a SIM card? And so, uh we started we started doing that. And so, I did that from the year 2008 all the way to the year 2009.

11:24
Okay.
That's about actually 2010. Let's say 2010. And at that point, um I I living in South B. I was living by myself. Um would I would walk to town to I mean I don't have funds to be there.
To sell my phones or SIM cards. The longest trip I've ever made, today I'm just like where did I get that strength from South B to town and from town all the way to to show grounds in Dagoretti. I'm just Every time I'm looking at that and I'm just like
All this and all that I'm selling your things.
Selling my things. I mean you know we would walk as a team so it's fun. We would stop at some point in Kenyatta to eat at to have lunch at what I I forgot what it's called but at KMTC
Yes.
they had like this hall where students could eat at really really low prices. And so we would go and pretend to be students. Eat cabbage for seven bob.

12:18
[laughter]
I know I sound I sound very old that I'm saying that but that's how much food used to cost at that point especially the at the university or KMTC's and then proceed to sell our SIM cards and then walk back all the way to town and walk back all the way to South B. And so that continued up until 2010. And so in 2010 what changed or rather what made me move to the next scene of my life is that I joined Mavuno Church. So I went to Mavuno Church and then in this Mavuno Church there was a a discipleship program called Mizizi. It's just basically the basics of salvation. And so I sat in that class. There were many people like in every class we'd have like maybe 10 to 12 people even sometimes more. And because I'm just this bubbly girl I remember a lady telling me I should poach you and have you work for me. I'll be like poach me from where? The

13:11 streets? Like [laughter] just employ me if you're employing me. And so she employed me.
And what was she doing?
And now what what she was doing is that she was selling branded items. So she was doing t-shirts, polo shirts for organizations business cuz like the whole the whole branding uh space.
Mhm.
And so I enter that space. I'm not a graphic designer and all I could do was marketing. Remember I have my my sales background.
Yes.
[laughter]
Yeah.
I'm used to rejection. So really it it doesn't bother me like going to a company and asking them to give us business. And so that's what I did. I was in the marketing. I was I was literally her only marketer.
Mhm.
And so I would now go to companies now and start telling them about, you know, whether they have any branding needs. And then we would get the orders and supply that. And so she was an agency. She was a creative agency. And then I moved from that creative agency. She was focused more on the branding branded items than the graphic design.

14:10
Mhm.
Then I moved to another space that was doing more of the graphic design. And now I was the accounts I was managing the accounts. I was managing clients.
Account executive.
Account executive. Yeah, even had business cards. Let me tell you, from the streets to business cards and say account executive, let me tell you, that was a big switch. And so I'm exposed to this industry now of graphic design and I love it. Though even now I'm not a graphic designer, but I just love the fact that I can walk into a client's office, they can give us a brief, I can go and give that brief to a graphic designer and they can create something great with it and that always just used to mesmerize me. And so I stayed in that space for a while. We also were doing a lot of like branded items as well. So I would go to companies that do like printing, companies that do branding, companies that stitch like t-shirts, polo shirts, banners where they are printed and all that. And that was just a whole new world for me.

15:07
Yeah.
And then from that, remember this was still a creative agency, I moved to a company that actually does the manufacturing.
Mhm.
And this is where my introduction of manufacturing
So manufacturing of the branded like the t-shirts
And yeah.
So they get like the raw materials or fabrics and actually stitch t-shirts. And I was like, "Mm, this is interesting." So, I was no lo- We are no longer now in the middle. We were actually the people who are doing the manufacturing. And for this company, I was a marketing manager. And I was also doing um coordination of production. Because once you get an order, you have to see it through until the day you deliver it. And so, most of the time I'm either in the field or I'm in the production. I'm in the factory. And it was a pretty big factory because we had night shifts, day shifts. This is industrial area. The road is called in Nairobi in Nairobi industrial area. And so, I worked there for about like 2 years. Uh and I remember just thinking, "Oh my goodness. Like how did I come from wanting to be a cabin crew to this to now what I do and

16:18 managing production and being able to, you know, just be able to see where raw materials are bought, be able to even have conne- connections and rapport with the suppliers, and be able to have like people you're managing, you know, human resource. And this is not like two people. It's about like 30 people at a go. And so, I did that for about like 2 years until one day one of the clients that I was managing in my previous job calls me and says, "Emily, we need you to" It was It was an NGO. So, calls me and say, "Emily, we need to design We need you to design our annual report." I'm like, "Hey, I'm not a graphic designer at all. I know nothing about graphic design. I can't be a graphic designer." And he says, "Um you know, you're you're the one we are used to. You're the one who used to come to the offices." But I'm like, "No, I can send you to the owner of the

17:09 company. I can give you the graphic designer's number, the one that actually used to do your work." Cuz all I used to do is to come receive the brief. And he says, "No, I want you to do it." And he was very adamant. And he said, "I've given you a month to learn how to do graphic design. Cuz you're actually going to do this annual report for us." I was like, "Okay, cool. I'm going to be a graphic designer, I guess." I said, "Fine." I took up the challenge. And so, remember, I'm still the marketing manager. I'm still doing production in this company. And there were night shifts, but I was not working the night shifts. But now, what I would do is that I would remain and actually work the night shift. Because remember, I don't have a laptop. I don't have internet at home. So, this is the only place I can actually sit and teach myself how to do graphic design. And so, that's what I

18:02 did at night.
And how are you teaching yourself?
I would go to YouTube. Yes, I would go to YouTube. Or sometimes I could just collect like flyers on the road and say, "This is exactly what I'm going to make. It needs to look exactly like this." And so, that's how I taught myself. YouTube, a lot of tutorials on YouTube. And I taught myself how to be a graphic designer in a month. I could, um, you know, use InDesign, use Illustrator, and use Photoshop. And I was like, "With these three, at least I know I can do something."
Yeah.
So, I went back to the client and said, "You know what now? Let's let's try this thing out. Give me the brief now. Let me try this." So, he said, "We're going to just start with something small. We're going to start with a policy brief, which is about like four pages, as opposed to an annual report that had like many pages." And so, he gave me the brief for the policy brief, and I designed it. And I sent it, and it was approved. And

18:55 I was like, "What? It's been approved for print. And now I have to take it to print." But remember, I still have like contacts of this printer.
yeah.
And rapport with them. And so, I took the job to print. It was printed, and I was paid. And I was like, "Allah!
This [laughter] can be done.
This can be done. I can actually do this. And so we continued. So remember I'm still doing So this specific company that I'm working for does not do graphic design. All they do, as in as much as how much graphic they do is someone has sent a logo, do a mock-up on how how it's going to look on a t-shirt. Not a book or something like that. And so it wasn't really like a conflict. And also because now I'm working at night.

19:39 But also that means I'm not very productive during the day because I mean you can't work full day and night and still be productive. But I continued nonetheless. One day this client same I only had one client. That one client. The client calls me and says, "Oh Emily, you know we cannot continue paying you under the name Emily Wangui because now the donors think I'm paying my cousin. Can you please open a company?" I was like, "Okay, that's interesting." And then he says, "So what shall we call the company?" I was like, "Oh, we can call it as a Let's just call it Em's Creations." He said, "It's fine. Come for your check." I'm like, "What?"
[laughter] [gasps]
So he wrote a whole check. I had not registered the company and those are the days when registering a company used to take a month or even more than a month. So he gives me he gives me a check. This was the biggest check I'd ever received. It was I think about 700,000. And that was like just half of It was 50% of the order that he was giving me cuz I'd quoted for it. It was some annual report I was supposed to print

20:38 and to design and print. It was like many a lot of booklets that I was supposed to design and print. I was like, "Okay, so now I have money but I can't even use it cuz it's a check for a company I've not even registered." And so I start the process of registering a company. And I remember going to Is it Sheria House? Is it Sheria House? You go to Sheria House. And I remember telling this lady, "This is the name and we have to find this name. I'm not giving you the names to search. This is the business name. So, please let's try and find that this one is there. And so, luckily, the business name was there. And so, that is how I started my very first business, at least in Nairobi, not counting the one in Shags.

21:21
[laughter] [gasps]
So, that's my creative agency about like this is the year 2012.
Do you then leave the other business where you were working and now focus on M Creations?
Yes, I left the business where I was working. I I left not I didn't feel prepared to leave, but I had to leave. And so, I left at that point when I'm leaving, I still don't even have a laptop. And so, finally, now I have to be like, "Okay, fine. I have to buy a laptop." But you know, remember I have a check that I can't really use. And so, I go to my sister and I'm like, "Please help me buy a laptop." She cashes me the money, I buy a laptop, and now I'm I'm actually working from the house. But I'm working nonetheless. And the company is still being registered. I'm designing these things, and the design is approved, and now I need money to print, but the company is still not registered. That means my check

22:12
You can't cash it.
I can't cash it. And then also, those days are the days when it took a month to register a business and a whole like 2 weeks to open a bank account. As in money, it took so long. And so, within these 6 weeks, the designs had been approved, and we need to print. And so, I remember going to one of those printing places. And I remember talking to a guy called Barat. I'm willing to be kind. And that's when when I told Barat, cuz I had I had dealt with him before, and I told Barat, "I need these jobs printed, and I don't have money. But I still need to print and deliver within the next 2 weeks." And then he said, "No, Emily, how am I going to help you?" I told him, "Do this. You keep this check. The day my company is registered and the bank is registered, I say I'll need to bank this check. So, of course, I'll come for it. Then you will know that in the next one week, I'll

23:03 have money. So, that's what he did. He kept my one check, printed my stuff, I delivered, and I got the other check. And so, what I did is I came and I exchanged the check with Baraka. I told him, "Okay, give me this older one. Let me go and bank it before it becomes stale. You keep this one." Now, the
[laughter]
the bank has been opened, the account has been opened. I banked that one check. And then now, I came but the next time I'm coming to collect the other one, I had already like gotten even a checkbook, written Baraka's check, and he gave me the other check. And that is how M's Creations was born.
Okay.
[laughter]
Very interesting.
Yes.
And um where do we move from there?

23:44
So, from M's Creations, this is 2012.
You continue running it.
running it.
you look for other clients?
I look for other clients. My friend was very, very I have a I had a friend who was very, very helpful
Yes.
in that season. He was do He was a He was an agency He was running an agency as well, but he was doing a lot of like the branded items because he didn't have a graphic designer. And so, he told me, "So, for every time I'm going for a meeting to discuss like branded items, I'm going to carry you. You talk about graphic design. Then we can actually get both businesses. Why not get businesses for things that need to be designed and printed and things that needed to be branded? And so, he would actually pick me, take me to every meeting, would receive I would receive briefs, come and work on them like in the night. It was just like a long process, but it was very, very helpful. And so, I after that, I did the the in the the creative agency. That business still goes on up to date. But at some point in the year 2018, this is from 2012. So, up to the point from

24:43 the year as of year 2018, I decided I wanted to get into the furnished business, furnished apartment business, Airbnb's business. And so, I rented a house. Again, even that business, how I got into the Airbnb Airbnb business was by luck, let's say that. I rented a two-bedroom house. I had moved up places from NSQ to one bedroom all the way to two bedroom. I was like, "Okay, now I can rent a two-bedroom house." So, I rented a two-bedroom house. But at the back of my mind, I was renting a two-bedroom house because I thought my niece, who was in uh form four at that point, would come to Nairobi and get a university in Nairobi and I would live with her.
Yes.
And so, I rented a two-bedroom house. I furnish it. And then my niece goes and be admitted at Maseno University, which is like

25:32
All right.
I'm like, "Okay, now I have a two-bedroom house that I can't afford.
[laughter]
What am I supposed to do with this?" And so, my sister, the one the same one for the laptop, her name is Winnie, she tells me, "Oh, you know, you can actually rent out your space to to guests." I'm like, "Like random people? Like actual random people that I don't know? Strangers are going to come and stay in my house?" She's like, "Yeah. It's called Airbnb now." So, she introduced me to this Airbnb platform. She shows me how other people's how other people are doing it. She's in the hospitality industry. Still is. She was working for another hotel at that point. She told me, "Do you know, by the way, people are making a lot of money with this Airbnb? Just style up your car room, and then, you know, let's put a guest there." I was like, "Okay, fine. Are you going to I asked, "Are you going to find me a guest?" And she said, "Yeah, I'm going to find you a guest.

26:19 There's some people who come to the hotel and they want to stay for longer and they don't want to stay for in a hotel. They actually want to stay in someone's home." I was like, "Okay, I'm open. Let's see." And she sent me have my first guest. So, my first guest comes um she was an Italian lady. She was a teacher, and so she was working online. She was teaching English and I think Spanish. And so, she comes and she sits she she stays in my house for all of 45 days. And that was an interesting an interesting season. First she she paid me 4,500 per night. Let me tell you, that was a lot of money. As a matter of fact, I remember I think I paid my rent for 3 months. Like I was like, yeah, I can pay rent for 3 months all at a go. And then she was such a rich she was a really really nice lady. And so she helped me soup up the house. She had like a proper camera, so she took photos

27:13 for my house. We put it up on Airbnb, and that was it. That is how my Airbnb business was born. And so from 2018, I'm still running the creative agency, and now I have this Airbnb business where I'm hosting total random strangers
[laughter]
in my house. And so I did that
rented house?
In my rented house. In my extra bedroom in my rented house. And so I do that for
Oh, in your extra bedroom?
Yes.
You're not renting out the whole house?
Mhm.
Okay.
extra bedroom. So I took I took the master
Yes.
and then now this extra bedroom, the guest bedroom now. I'm fitted I'm fitted it out and I'm renting it. And so I'm making some really good money from it, and I'm very excited about that. And then also at that point, because of course Airbnb was very foreign. Um most of the most of the guests I used to get were foreigners that were coming to this country. The foreigner who's coming for like a night, and the following day

28:10 they are probably going to Masai Mara, and they also probably need another night when they are going back. So it would be one night, two nights, three nights. I don't think I think the 45 days was the longest client I ever had. And so I get to meet meet interesting people from different countries, and it was just interesting because you you actually make them meals, you have like maybe either dinner or breakfast together, you pick them from the airport, you drop them at the airport. And it was an interesting space, but I was exhausted.
[laughter]
Cuz remember I'm still doing the branding business, and if you know anything about Kenyans, they are last minute. So, they'll come for t-shirts when they have an event tomorrow. So, you're running helter-skelter in this Nairobi trying to brand t-shirts for a company. Maybe that night you're picking someone from the airport at 3:00 a.m. And maybe at 2:00 a.m. a company is coming to pick them at I don't know 6:00 a.m. So, you'll be up early to make

29:06 breakfast so that the guest can have breakfast. So, it was a stretching season. In that season still, I decided to study interior design.
Okay.
So, I'm a graphic designer now.
your learnings with the apartment?
This is from my learning and also from just a lot of passion that I had for beautiful spaces.
Okay.
Even when I used to live in an in the in an SQ, I actually really had transformed that SQ. I had tiled the whole bathroom. I had repainted the walls. I had done much with someone's small room. And so, I've always believed in elevating spaces. I've always believed in in whether it's a small space, whether it's rented, you have to live in a space that you love.
Okay.
And you shouldn't be afraid to spend money to give yourself a space that you love.

29:53
Mhm.
And so, every time someone would come to my house be like, "Oh, your house looks good. You know, you could be an interior designer." I'd be like, "Okay, yeah. I know I can, but you know."
[laughter]
And then one day I was like, "I'm just going to study this thing." So, then I know that I know this thing, and I know that I know it not just because it's a passion, but I know it because I've also studied it. And so, I went in school. I was doing an online course for interior design and decoration. So, I'm I'm studying. I am working, and I'm still running the Airbnb at the same time.
of the digital of digital learning.
I know.
on YouTube. I think it's only your cosmetology [laughter] course that you

30:32
that I didn't
that you went to school.
that I went to school.
Otherwise, your graphic design you learn on YouTube. This other one you uh huh?
And so, I do that. And now when I'm I'm learning I'm learning this. So in 20 in 20 actually the business the Airbnb business I started in 2015. 2018 is when I'm starting I'm starting to study now interior design. By 2018 at the end of 2018 I'd rented another apartment and set it up. So I have the one that is my extra room and I have a whole three-bedroom house that I've rented out in the same estate that I'm doing this business. And because of how I how I'd furnished it, that's how people are like "Oh yeah, you can be a really good interior designer. Your space looks beautiful." And so my sister, again, this sister I think I owe her a lot.

31:19
[laughter]
Goes and starts talking about me and my interior design to one of my other relatives almost like a cousin. And so this cousin has a house a five-bedroom five-bedroom townhouse that has been rented. But she now wants to turn it into an Airbnb or into a furnished house. She's tired of having tenants. But she doesn't live in the country. And so she tells me "Come Emily, come look at my house. I was told you're a really really good interior designer." Um so come look at my house. I want to renovate this whole house. I want to re-tile. I want to I mean you change the plumbing. Change everything. And I want you to do everything in this house. I want you to make sure that it will be conducive for someone to come and live in it. And I want you to buy even to furnish it to even the spoon that is going to be in this house. So remember it's a completely empty house.

32:09 And so I walk into this place. I start by even finding people who can actually I can actually work with to give me quotations. How much is re-plumbing this place going to cost? How much is re-tiling going to cost? How much is, you know, like painting going to cost? How much is the outside like landscaping going to cost? Cuz it's a an own compound house. And so I get all these quotations. I compile them together. How much is furniture going to cost? How much is beddings going to cost? I mean electrical appliances, actually like everything going to cost. Photography for us to actually be able to put it on Airbnb because she was like, "I want you to renovate this house. I want you to refurnish it. I want you to furnish it, and I want you to put it up on Airbnb and manage it." I was like, "Okay." So, I give her this whole budget of how much it's going to cost. And you know

32:56 those quotes you quote and you're like, know, you're like, "Can this work actually come through?" And so, I present her the budget, and she tells me, "Oh, this is This is perfect. So, this is what I'm going to do. Here is the money. Me, I've gone. You figure this thing out. In the next 6 months when I'm coming, I want this thing to be completely done and listed on Airbnb." And so, remember I'm in school and getting practicals. Like literally in interior design school and interior design project at the same time. And so, I start the project. Start to renovate the house. Start to re-tile the spaces. Start to It was a lot of work. A huge project and learning on the job. Inside looking for people who to do like now furniture, who will do what, who will do the painting. And I finished the project, and I set it up on Airbnb. And it was a beautiful project, and it

33:53 started to actually get business for her. And she was making more money than she was making when it was a rented space. And then she introduced me to different people, her friends now who have houses, apartments that they have rented, and they're like, "We're done with tenants. We want to make these spaces like now Airbnb." And so, that's how my interior design journey started. So, I'm still a graphic designer. I'm still doing branding. I'm still doing, you know, all that. I am still hosting in my house. I am still running now my my other apartments, and now I am furnishing for other homes, and I am managing their apartments as well. So, that's all that I had on my plate. So, I took up other projects. I started to re- renovate people's homes and set them up as Airbnbs. And so, now in this process of, you know, waiting people's house and furnishing, I started to see gaps,

34:51 especially in the furniture industry.
Mhm.
[laughter]
Zing, zing, zing.
that has been the longest intro.
Intro, yes. That's why I
[laughter]
asked you how much time you have.
but it's great because you've given us context.
Mhm.
And I assume that's how Furniture Zoo Limited is born.
Yep. That's right.
Because of the gaps that you're seeing as you're fitting out people's house.
Mhm.
So, tell us about those gaps. What were they?
What were the gaps?
Yeah.
So, in this in this uh space, what I see is that there are people who want some really, really nice quality furniture that is customized. For instance, like this chair we are sitting on, it's great.

35:31
Mhm.
This you cannot find This is actually wine red. You can't find it anywhere else. You can't find it in a shop.
Mhm.
And so, they want the customization, but they still want good quality and they still want professional interactions.
Mhm.
They want to be treated like this is an actual uh pro- professional process
Yes.
in the ordering.
Mhm.
I realized there was a lot of chaos in the process between imagination, how you imagine your space to be,
Yes.
and execution.
Yes.
A lot of chaos in there. And so, it's like there's a really big gap. So, let's say let's assume like in that space, if you wanted to furnish a house, most of my clients who are looking for something that sets them apart, especially because you're setting up an Airbnb, you want it to be different from other Airbnbs that have been photographed because you want it to actually, you know, stand out stand out stand out.

36:21
And so, what options do you have in this country? You have the option of either walking to a shop that sells imported furniture.
[snorts]
Or that is on the one extreme. And the other extreme, you have the option of going to a small scale carpenter to make for you the stuff. So, let me tell you the pros and cons of both. So, if you walk into a shop that sells furnished sells imported furniture, yes, you get high quality, but you won't get it in your wine red. You're limited in the You're limited in selection. You won't get it in the size that you want. You won't get it in the stain that you want. And sometimes you will not get it in solid wood. You might get it in MDF.
Yes.
All right. So, those And then the the the pros of that is that you will get quality. You will be treated well. You have receipts. I mean, you might even have an ATM's receipt and all that. The conversations will be professional, proper customer care. You won't be afraid that your money is going to get lost in this. And so, those are the pros. When you go to a small scale carpenter, the pros are that you will get customization. But even that could be

37:30 butchered. What you order versus what you what you receive could be a completely You're not guaranteed even on quality. There's no guarantee even on customization, which is the thing that has taken you there anyway. There's no guarantee that when you pay a down payment, especially for a big project when you're hosting your your furnishing a whole house, that the person is not going to disappear with your money. There's no guarantee of timelines, when it's going to be ready. You're going to be told 3 weeks and then 2 months down the line, you're still chasing the delivery of this thing. Um there's also the fact that even the space that you go to is not a a space you can take your client, especially as an interior designer. Most of my clients were high end. There are spaces I can't take them to because now they will even lose trust. They'll be like, "Eh, but Emily,

38:19 even you are coming here. How are we even going to trust you with our money? You could also just as well disappear with our money. So, there's that and I was just like, "Okay, how do we bridge this gap? That you can get quality, you can get professionalism, and you can still get customization and quality, you know? You can still get uh proper delivery times that are well communicated. You can get proper documentation of receipts, invoices. You know, like how do we put How do we pull these things together and actually zip everything up. And that is how Finetouch was born.
I mean, very interesting, but I I have a question.
Mhm.
Who teaches you the system of the business? Because there's one thing to make the thing,

39:03
Mhm.
but it's a total other thing to understand the process
Mhm.
of manufacturing.
Mhm.
To understand invoicing, to understand tax compliance, to understand So, where do you get that knowledge from?
All right. So, remember that I at this point I have run a business by the time to it as creations has existed. So, I've learned how to do bookkeeping even for I've This
[clears throat]
There's a software I use, it's called Manager. It does my bookkeeping. I call it accounting for dummies, like me like me. Like I have no understanding of accounting whatsoever. But just being able to learn on the job. So, I've taught myself how to do bookkeeping. In the In the many years that I've been in business, I've taught myself how to separate finances that are personal and and business finances. And those are not

39:52 lessons that you learn because you are trying to learn them. You learn them the hard way.
True.
You realize, "Oh, if I don't record even a banana I bought on the road, it could This could be detrimental, especially if my my finances are mixed up, personal and business." So, I learned that I wanted to scale up a business my business. I knew that I at some point I mean, I'm not going to get employed again. That's hopefully. I never get employed again. So, I needed a business that can I can retire in.
Okay.
So, I needed a business I can scale.
Okay.
And so, I had all this experience of Ms. Creations and how I'd run it.
Yes.
The mistakes I've made, and I was like, I don't want to repeat those.

40:33
Okay.
Mhm.
But now, let's talk in detail about Furniture Zoo Limited because it's it's it's a business you're currently running.
Mhm.
Manufacturing of furniture.
Mhm.
Even bespoke. Yeah? There's significant capital expenditure if you're going to do it well.
Yes.
If you're going going to do it to the the the quality standards. You need two things. You need great people.
Mhm.
Uh artisanal people who are the artisans, the carpenters, the joiners, and so on. Yeah? Um but you also need the right machinery. Yeah? The good machinery for for uh woodwork doesn't come cheap.
[laughter]
So, how does that evolution Maybe walk us through how you set up the Furniture Zoo factory where you now manufacture from?

41:19
All right. Um so, at the very beginning of Furniture Zoo, I had wanted to start this with a joiner.
Yes.
Someone who'd done work before. I'd seen their work, and their work was good. And so, I was like, let's start this thing together. Let's start this.
you used to work with?
that I used to work with. Cuz I was like, he understands production. He understands machines. Me, I understand clients. I understand design.
Yes.
And so, let's work together. And so, we started this whole journey of trying to work together.
Okay.
But that partnership fell through so quickly
[laughter]
because I think I'm a big dreamer. And so, I'm talking about oh, let's rent this godown. And he's working in literally as as small space as this. And he's just like, wow, this girl is going to

42:03
You're going to finish [laughter]
He's going to finish us.
us. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
[gasps]
I remember there's once we were having a conversation about how much it would cost us to pay like trade license. and I was telling him trade license is going to be something between 70,000 to 80,000 and I could just see in his mind he just went blank. He was like, "What? This guy is going to finish us." All right, so that partnership fell through. But remember that even that partnership wasn't the the thing that he was going to bring is of course his experience and the machines that he already had. So we still didn't have money for the space anyway. But I knew that I wanted to start big. I knew that I didn't want to start in a small space because remember the back of my mind I'm trying to be in a space that a client can come to and be able to trust that you're not going to disappear with their money. And so I borrowed money from my friends.

42:54 I took a little bit of what I had saved. It wasn't even that much. I think it was 200k. I was trying to save to go to Dubai. And so I was like, "Okay, Dubai can wait. Let's start this thing." And so I rented the space. So it was my friends and my family. Let me tell you a a small backstory. There was a time I had a different business idea and I approached the bank to finance it.
Yeah.
[laughter]
How did that go?
Oh my goodness. And so when I went to the bank the representative tell representative tells me, "Oh, you know we don't finance business plans. This for this you have to go to your three F's." So let me tell you at that point I didn't even know what three F's means and because I didn't want to ask because I don't want to look stupid. I just said, "Okay, fine. I shall go and look for my three F's." And then I go into

43:38 the car I sit there and I was like, "What is three F's in banking?" I'm Googling. And then I realized it actually means family, friends, and fools. And I'm just like, "Okay. I shall go and look for my three F's." And so now when I'm starting Furniture Zoo I knew for a fact I can't go to the bank cuz they don't finance business plans. I have to look for my three F's. And so family came through for me and friends came through for me. And the little money that I had saved I put it together I rented a go down. And so now I I this go down. I don't have machines because the person I was supposed to
Partner with?
To partner with has fell has fallen through this. And so I remember getting my first order, I didn't even have machines for the first order. But because in this process of quoting, we were still doing the part I was still we are still in the process of trying to figure out this partnership. So when we are quoting for the first order, it was actually that guy that was quoting for the first order. And because he could hear how much how many dreams I

44:34 had and how big I wanted this thing to be. So the quote was actually well quoted for. And so what I did, I would source the job
To him?
Not to him. Because now things have apart, I can't even go back to him. So I would source the job to someone else. And all the money that I made from that order went into buying machinery. And it wasn't like even a lot of machinery. There's still a lot of machinery that I need, Leonard. A lot. But it I was like, if these are the things that he uses to produce what he he produces, then this is what I need. And so that's what I bought. That's what I started with. And so that's how I got my first machines.
from a timeline perspective?
This is I started Furniture Zoo in the year 2023. Yes, January 2023. But I started setting it up in December 2022. Yes.

45:24
And how
So that's 3 years. It's been It's been a beautiful journey. It's been a beautiful journey of learning things that I didn't know. At the very beginning, when I was just an interior designer, I knew that I go, I take a design to a fundi, I speak to one fundi, and he does the job. I thought that that's It takes one fundi to do the job. I didn't know that even just a simple chair like this needs about four fundis. Four different fundis that have different skills. It needs a framer, someone who frames the skeleton. And that's all they do. You need someone who does the does the foaming and the upholstery. That's a different fundi. The legs have been made by a joiner. That is someone who does do does only wood joinery. The staining for it to look the color the legs to look the color they are. That's a wood finisher. Those are four different fundis.

46:17
And of course there's the the fabric.
That's the upholstery.
is going to do the same. Okay, excellent.
The foaming and the upholstery is the same person. But you see the thing is I didn't even know that. So I thought that I just need one fundi.
So who taught you that?
I learned on the job. I learned on the job. So I'm like okay so we need to make this sofa. And then so now because I had one fundi, now I had gotten one fundi, he used to tell me but I'm not the fundi who does the framing. I'm not the fundi who does the wood finishing. So I was like okay. So I just don't need one person. So I kept getting okay so we need a wood framer let's get one. We need an upholstery guy let's get only one. So we

46:54 started with one of each. Yes.
And where are we now? How big is your team?
Right now
Yes.
Right now we have 24 people on payroll. But in total I work to about we work with about 40 artisans. Because there are people who don't are not employed on payroll because they come as by the project. Someone who does welding, someone who does carving, someone who does weaving. Those are not things that we do on a daily.
Yes.
So those ones come by project. Because of customization.
customization you get a weaving request, you bring in a weaver, and then you attach the weaving to the to the piece that
Yeah.
you've done.
Yes.
And who are your customers?
Currently our customers, I would say that 44% of our customers, which really shocked me, is foreigners living in this country.

47:41
Really?
Yep.
Okay, tell me more about
shocked me. But I think the reason why that is is because they have such an appreciation for quality. And they also want something that is handmade in their homes. And they want something that they can be able to say we support local artisans. And that's the only way to do that. And then also I feel like they have an understanding that good things take time. Because our production time is not 2 weeks. Our production time is sometimes 8 weeks. But they have an understanding that it takes 4 weeks to dry timber. Because when you buy timber, you have put it in a kiln. It takes about 4 to 5 weeks to just dry that timber before I even start working on it. And so they have this understanding. Maybe because also maybe like even just where the countries they come from like maybe Europe and you and you and you. Sometimes it takes long when you order

48:29 stuff. So they already used to it. Yes.
Okay. Hey, this is this is interesting. So you now have your 24 staff. Maybe just to connect the dots around the customization using the the the example of weaving. Yeah? Let's assume that I want this chair. Yeah? And I want it to have a woven finish. Just for the sake of the audience to contextualize how that would how the level of your customization, what would the journey look like?
Okay. Let me give you Let me actually talk about something that has like maybe three or four different aspects.
Excellent. Yeah.
So let's talk about a chair that has legs that are steel.
Mhm.
So that means welding.
Mhm.
Then it has some wooden parts. And part of it has weaving. And of course it has a cushion that you're sitting on. So that's upholstery.

49:25
Yes.
So this what that looks like, the journey from the journey from your
from concept to finish.
to implementation is that you will probably just chat me on WhatsApp and say, "Oh, we are looking to make this piece." And then you will send me the design of what you're looking at. I don't just go ahead and say, "Okay, fine. That's what you're looking for. Let's make it." I want to see your space. I want to see the space you're putting it at. So I will ask to come for a site visit. So we'll go for a site visit. And a site visit what we do at a site visit, we look We look at details as as small and big as how big is the doorway to where you're putting this thing. Cuz you could be wanting such a big thing, but there's no doorway to fit it. So, that we know, are we going to make this thing in pieces and come and join it at your space? I come and look at maybe like your floor. Is your floor wooden or is it tiled? If it's tiled or wooden, what

50:17 stain is it? What other things are in your room? What dimensions do we really need to use? Cuz sometimes you can imagine that your house can fit an eight-seater dining table, and it can't. So, I'll come and actually do the dimensions, or we send a team to come come and do the dimension, come and be able to visualize your space. And then once that is once that is done, we will send you what design we think would fit your space. It can be borrowed from what it is that you sent. And then we'll find out, what do you like about this design? Is it that it has woven details? Is it that it has a steel? Is it the wood? Like, what exactly do you like about this? And so, we'll come up with a design that works for you. And then from that designs design stage, the the next thing that happens, of course, after you've made the commitment to make this by placing a down payment,

51:06 is that we'll buy the wood. And the wood will be will go into drying. Once the wood has
in house?
We don't have a kiln in house. We outsource.
You outsource it.
Yes. And so, once the wood is dry, then we'll start by what we call wood cutting. Wood prep. Making sure that this thing is cut into size. We do the planing of the wood. And then all the wood joiners will continue by joining whatever wooden pieces need to be joined. In the process, when the kiln is is doing its thing by drying the timber, the welding parts have already been done. If it's anything the legs that needs to be welded, they'll be welded. And then so, the welding will By the time the wood is coming, the welding is already there. And so, we do the joinery. We put the piece together and see how does it look even before we proceed. Like we attach it to see how does it actually look when it's a complete piece. And then now we start the wood finishing. Wood finishing is basically sand papering, varnishing, staining it to whatever stain it is that

51:59 you want. After that now the weavers will come in because you you can only weave when it has been stained and completely stained and varnished. So the weavers will come in. By that time they've already seen the design. Like they already know that this job is coming up. So they've already like allocated like space in their calendar to know that at some point I'll need to be at Furniture Zoo doing weaving and this will take me two three two or three days depending of course on how big the order is. And also at that time they're able to see how many people do I need to bring in cuz a weaver sometimes can come with four people. Sometimes will come with two people. Sometimes it just be himself if the order is not that big. And [snorts] so the weaving will the weaving will be done at the same time the upholstery is being done because the piece has already been put together. So

52:44 the fabric the fabric selection has already been done at the area at the space of site visit because now I've seen the fabric colors that are in your space. What other things are happening in your space and so fabric selection has already been done. So weaving is done. Upholstery is done. After that we level. We sit I I tell people I spend so much time sitting on chairs because I want to see is it comfortable? Is it deep enough? Is it Do we need to add the deep depth? Do we need to reduce it? Do we need to add a throw pillow at the back? Is this cushion comfortable enough? And so we'll do that a lot of quality control in every stage. And then after that we will level making sure that it doesn't come and wobble at your place. And then we will take photos, wrap it, and deliver it.

53:32
Where Where does the future take you, Emily?
Where does the future
It? Or will we be
[laughter]
meeting in three years and you'll have become a contractor?
you. I cannot PROMISE YOU ANYTHING.
[laughter]
WELL, LET ME MEET YOU. Cuz we started studying cosme- cosmetology and now we're we are in furniture. So, what what what does the future hold for you?
For me, the thing that I am very passionate about is making a mark in this industry. We cannot continue thinking or we cannot continue in a space where our furniture and our quality of furniture is not trusted globally. So, until we're in a space where Kenyan can be trusted and desired globally, then this is I'm here. I'm here to stay. And so, for me, how I am I'm thinking about even getting like women who are in this

54:23 industry and let's coach each other. Let's not looking at stop looking at each other as our competitors, but look at each other as collaborators. How can we grow this industry? What can What mark can we make in this industry? And how can we make our brand as Kenya be trusted?
So interesting that you mentioned that because in my daily life, I'm in hospitality.
Yeah.
And so, I think very many people underestimate what goes into a property opening.
Oof. Yes.
what happens, which saddens me to a large extent, but many of the hotel owners hop on a plane, go to Turkey, hop on a plane, go to China, and that's the standard
Yeah. That breaks my heart. Yes.
[laughter]
But I think it's because of our lack I think one of the reasons why we do this podcast is because also to showcase what is available. Because I find, which we also find, we've had some doctors in the in the medical field on the podcast. And they are Africans who execute excellently. But people are rushing to India because they say that service is not available here. But we haven't even stopped to look.

55:33
That's true.
And a lot of people are scared of scale to the level where if I cannot give you my home or my three-bedroom home, I'm not going to give you my 150-room hotel.
That's true.
And the only way we'll build businesses like yours is if we, for example, on the hospitality side, build hotels that are locally owned and have a local ethos that want to work with local partners like you. Otherwise, we will we will limit you, you know, because a global brand will come with global standards. Global standards probably won't be around a Kenyan manufacturer. You know, they have their standards globally. So, it really excites me to hear what you're doing. So, Emily, what a fabulous fabulous story. I think I'll now give you a chance to to speak to the audience. Tell them where can they find Furniture Solutions Limited? What are your handles? So, if they want to follow you, so that they can follow you on Instagram and see what you're doing and where can they find your furniture? And do you do only bespoke work or do you do off-the-shelf items? So, that the public can know where to

56:42 find you.
All right, before I get to that, actually would like to say a big big thank you to all the all the people who have set up like restaurants and hotels and they have trusted us to do furniture. In the last 3 years, we've furnished more than 28 restaurants in this country. Maybe I should have mentioned that. [laughter]
[gasps]
I should have mentioned that and it's been beautiful, including Baraza Media. We've furnished Baraza Media, the the one at Industrial Area. And it's it's great to be trusted with someone's brand. Someone is trusting you with their vision of their space. We've done a lodge in the Mara. It looks so beautiful. I love it. I love it love it love it. And so, first, a great great thank you to each and every person who's trusted us with their brand and trusted

57:30 us to be able to deliver quality. And that is what will make um our brand be trusted. The more of The more people who trust us, the more our brand gets trusted. And so, that is to just say that there's still people who still want things that are Kenyan Kenyan-made. And the more we start to show that we can actually do it, the more trusting people will become. Yes. And it's actually really beautiful to go to a space that I have furnished and sit and be like, "Hmm, we did this. My team did this, you know?" That is usually such a beautiful experience. So, we can be found on Instagram, Furniture Zoo. Just that. We can also be found on our website, which is www.furniturezoo.co.ke. You can also write us an email, which is on orders@furniturezoo.co.ke, and also on WhatsApp at 0717593049. Yes. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate that. Mhm. Mhm. That's true. Mhm.

58:58 Mhm. Yeah. That's true. Mhm. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Interesting Mhm. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you so much and thank you for bringing people to this space so that we can show that African can actually do it. We don't have to be consumers. We can be manufacturers and we have everything that it takes to manufacture.
Thank you very much.
And manufacture things of quality.
Exactly.
Mhm.
Excellent. So ladies and gentlemen, there we go. That was episode 65 of the African Do Podcast where we feature excellent Africans executing excellently. That was Emily Wangoi of Furniture Zoo Limited. Check them out on Instagram, on their website, at the address that you've been given and we look forward to having you in the next episode. Asanteni sana.