For those on the hunt for that perfect—and perfectly affordable—chair, “it feels like you have three choices, and that everyone is shopping from the same store,” says Nidhi Kapur, the founder of Maiden Home Inc., a furniture startup that launched in March.
A 30-year-old entrepreneur who runs her business out of an understated but charming showroom in Manhattan’s Tribeca, Kapur began her career at Google before becoming head of business development at beauty subscription service Birchbox Inc. Then she got married and discovered a gap in the home décor category.
“When I got my first place with my husband, we wanted to invest in a nice set of furniture,” she says. They could afford to spend “$2,000-ish” on a sofa, “not $6,000. We weren’t hiring a designer.” But that price point lacked options. “I knew people above me were fine, because designers are taking care of them,” she says. “And below, I had been there too and felt it was very well-served. There are not that many brands serving this particular market. You feel it when you’re shopping.”