Alex Bezdjian (left), President of Design MyPouf, and Chiraz Kassardjian (right) VP of Sales at Design MyPouf, are two young, motivated entrepreneurs who envisioned bringing a new living experience to the furniture industry. Their aim is at once simple and unprecedented: to revive the Canadian furniture industry with a unique set of designs that combine quality, style and unparalleled comfort…
Elevator Pitch: Describe your job in a nutshell.
We at Design MyPouf are trying to recreate a new way of living, where old, sturdy furniture is no longer in play and where you have new, structure-free, stylish furniture that we’re bringing about.
Alex: As the President, I am the behind-the-scenes guy, coordinating with all aspects of the company.
Chiraz: As the VP of Sales, it’s fair to describe myself as the mobile face of the company where my day-to-day tasks involve interacting with a variety of store owners and potential clients. I also participate in trade shows and exhibitions to expose our product line.
Why did you start working at your company? What was the inspiration for this career route?
When we were in university, we were looking for a multi-purpose chair that could be used to lean on after a long day in class, after a hectic day at work or simply to relax on after a tiring week. It needed to be easy to move, to clean, and last but not least, it had to be stylish.
Shopping for one was a challenge and we soon realized that stores didn’t offer the combination of comfort, mobility and style. Upon graduating from university, we were inspired to design some samples according to these needs.
After venturing out to different countries, we finally made an agreement with Lazy-Bag Paris, a French-based company, to bring these designs to life! That’s how the Design MyPouf story started!
What is the best part of what you do on a day-to-day basis? The most challenging part?
The best part of my job is to constantly find ways to improve our business, the most important part of which is to exceed our clients’ expectations. Nothing beats seeing our clients satisfied when they’re able to notice and appreciate the qualities in our products that we were once looking for in furniture.
The challenge we face everyday is to make people realize what we are all about, our vision in bringing forward a new line of furniture and a new way of living!
I have a passion for sales and that makes me enjoy the challenges that come with it.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I can open up the business plan for you and start dishing out all the points we have set for the business, be it the 3-year, 5-year or 10-year plan. But in all honesty, do we even know what tomorrow holds for us? We live hectic lives where we start questioning if having 24 hours in a day might not be enough anymore. Therefore, I really think your day-to-day tasks and priorities have so much more importance than the long-term. Don’t get me wrong, we dream of expanding, getting our brand out, having stores across Canada sell our products, but the daily tasks we engage have more significant value to us.
What does success look like to you?
Success is when you are truly happy in doing what you do on a daily basis. Being brought up in a close-knit family, it is important for us to stay true to who we are and to stay humble. Being recognized in your industry as a leader by your peers must be the biggest success story one can write.
What is the most memorable milestone in your career?
Being in the relatively early stage of our business adventure, we can say that the simple idea we had back in university and making it a true reality today might be the milestone that would be memorable. Who would have thought that two close friends with a simple idea would be able to make a reality out of it and have a hand in the huge furniture industry.
Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
As cliché as it might sound, it’s a reality and we stand by it: “If you never try, you’ll never know.” If you have a dream, and you think it can work out, do your research and go after it. Nothing is given in life and nothing will come to you on a gold platter, therefore go out there and achieve it yourself. Be happy with what you are doing everyday and make today better than yesterday.
Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is that important to you?
Yes we do. Canadian Cancer Society is the charity we set to support since day one. Having a science background and having this disease affect people we know and care about, it was a no brainer to support the cause. If we can’t eradicate cancer, then let’s at least enhance the quality of life of people who are living with cancer.
What to you is notable?
You know when you meet someone for the first time, you don’t care how much money they have, how well they dress, how popular they are or what others think of them, but when you say to yourself, Wow, he/she is a genuinely great person, they are down to earth, humble and fun to talk to? that to us is worth noticing, and is ultimately notable.
Blackberry, iPhone, Android, or Other?
Having recently changed to the iPhone era, I often ask myself what took me so long. I am not ashamed to say that my MacBook, iPod, iPhone and I are inseparable.