With a rich background in Sales, having pursued banking and finance in college worked for Barclays Bank Ltd as a Direct Sales Rep and  Madison Asset Management Lucas  Mwangi decided to put his skills to test. Lucas Mwangi is a successful businessman and the co-founder of Appropriate Designs Limited an Interior design firm.

In the beginning.

” In 2013, I started my Interior Soft Furnishing Business after quitting a Cash Officer Job at Equity Bank. Later on, I started doing more major Interior Design Fit – Outs like Partitioning and Ceiling Installation Works by Sub – Contracting other experienced players in the Industry. This is when I decided to partner with Raphael who had much experience in the Industry to assist me to deliver on big Fit – Out Projects. We have built the business with Raphael since 2015 and we believe even the sky is not a limit,” he acknowledged.

Transforming space into habitable settings.

Appropriate Designs majorly deals with the design and fit – out of Commercial spaces. They transform an existing or an entirely empty shell of a space into a nice and habitable setting be it an office, restaurant, school, bank etc.

“We start our design process by visiting the site with the potential client, get a brief of what the client wants to achieve with space and based on this information, we come up with a Layout/floor plan, 3D Visuals and Bill of Materials for the whole concept. If the client is satisfied with the Design and the Costings, we now embark on Implementing it at the site,” said Lucas

From Zero investment to Ksh40 Million Turnover annually.

Lucas had worked in Banks and Insurance Firms for the better part of his life. He joined Equity bank and quit after a year to pursue his passion in Interior Soft Furnishings business.

” I started with no money; not a single coin. I used to market my services on websites like Dealfish, Facebook and later on Olx which were free website to list products and services. When a potential client wanted a product or service from me, I would request them for a down payment. This is the money I would pay the suppliers to have the products fabricated,” he mentioned

” the suppliers were and are still very supportive people who allowed me to supply the products to my clients and once the client has settled the final payment, I would then settle the debt I owed the them. I still ask for a down payment from my clients even now. Our business annual turnovers are now above KES. 40 million but we have a goal of KES.100 million by the close of this year.”

Risk is a muscle that we love to stretch.

For Appropriate Design, having affection towards risk has enabled them to deliver on projects they would have shied away from due to inexperience. They strive to handle their operations well; keep their books right and choose the right business partners to reduce the learning curve and avoid making expensive mistakes in their business.

The struggle of balancing Cashflows.

“We had to learn how to ensure we have money in the bank for everyday operations and also ensure we are delivering on projects we have at hand. Balancing between the two is something we have had to learn to ensure the business is running seamlessly. Late paying customers have also messed our cash flow from time to time. We have significantly handled the cash flow problem to a manageable level thanks to our newly hired accountant,” he noted

Financial, constraint knocks in hard for Lucas’ business. How the most banks demand assets as collateral which they have not amassed has been really challenging. On the bright side, Appropriate Design has invested in investing in assets like plots to use as security to enable us access credit from banks.

The right team will take you places.

With the right team, Appropriate Designs has grown exponentially.

“When we started we operated as a two – men – show but now we have 3 Designers, Procurement Officer, a Customer Care Rep, Accountant, and a Rider,” said Lucas

“we are still working on building a bigger and more vibrant team. Some of the major clients we have had the privilege of working with include British High Commission, Alliance Francaise Nairobi, Standard Investment Bank, Dahabshil Money Transfer, Chai Sacco, Centum Investments Ltd among others.”

Entrepreneurship is a divine responsibility.

Lucas highlights that entrepreneurship is the hope of the world and young entrepreneurs  are the champions. He encourages upcoming startups to embrace the challenges and struggles because the beauty of entrepreneurship is when you win them

“My thanks go to your team, management and the thought behind recognizing upcoming young entrepreneurs. I don’t take this nomination rightly as it gives me the energy and motivation to push to greater heights in the entrepreneurial journey,” he mentioned.