Renof: Linking homeowners to home experts

• Founding team realised there was no such specialised services platform
• Seeking to raise RM500K seed funding, eyeing Singapore market

 
WHEN it comes to renovating your home, finding a suitable expert is no easy task.
 
“You’re about to spend a chunk of money for someone to renovate your house, your permanent home, and you need to find the right person to do so – someone who understands what you want and can tailor their services according to your budget,” says Renof Holdings cofounder Yap Kim Seng (pic above).
 
That’s the gap Renof hopes to fill. Founded in October 2014, it is an online services provider platform that connects interior design firms and renovation companies to homeowners, after Yap and his cofounders realised that no such specialised platform existed in Malaysia.
 
“I found this missing link between the interior design and renovation business, so I wanted to create a trusted platform for homeowners to connect, share ideas, and to interact with home experts.
 
“More than that, this platform helps contractors build an online presence – not all companies have their own website, and they can reach out to potential customers via Renof,” he says, speaking to Digital News Asia (DNA) in Kuala Lumpur recently.
 
According to Yap, Renof has about 270 companies listed on its website, most of them based in the Klang Valley.
 
He also claims that Renof receives about five quotations daily, and receives at least 20,000 unique visits a month.
 
Unorthodox revenue model
 

 
Usually, service providers take a cut out of successful transactions done via their platforms, but that’s not the case with Renof. It generates its revenue from selling advertising space, according to Yap.
 
“It’s a way for us to encourage them [renovation companies) to keep using our platform because as a concept-sharing website, we need these companies to share pictures of their designs to attract consumers.
 
“If we charge them, they might not list on our website anymore,” he adds.
 
Yap says Renof also plans to have an e-commerce store where it will be selling home furniture from several companies that the startup has engaged with.
 
“But this goes back to our funding as we really need the capital to grow our business,” he says.
 
Renof is seeking to raise RM500,000 (US$116,591) in seed funding to build a marketing team and enhance its platform. It also hopes to expand to Singapore.
 
Yap started Renof with an initial funding of RM100,000 (US$23,318) from himself and his three cofounders.
 
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