Design for Me is an innovative online platform matchmaking home-owners with the right architect, interior or garden designer for their job.

Emily Barnes, 31-year-old from London, launched Design for Me early last year and now has over 1000 users growing daily.

What is Design for Me?

It works much like an online dating site. Home-owners post their details about their project, which is then matched with the most suitable candidates for their specific needs.

They are then able to quickly see who’s interested in the project, and can choose up to three design professionals for a consultation at their home.

Home-owners needing assistance can use Design for Me to easily find the perfect person who can make any type of home renovation even on a strict budget.

How was it discovered?

I was working as an architect for a practice doing £1-million-worth of projects when I had the idea for Design for Me. I was surprised at the number of people who called up asking if we could work on their small home extension.

Design for Me champions innovative small/young practices or freelancers – It’s a way for those setting up on their own, and finding it difficult to find new clients, to get their work in front of the very clients that need them.

Your interest in entrepreneurship?

I never set out to be an entrepreneur and the decision to run my own business was almost incidental.

Design for Me was born out of my passion for my profession and wanting to create something that would be really useful in this market.

That said, it turns out I love running my own business. It certainly comes with it’s pressures, but it’s also exciting and incredibly rewarding growing something from the ground up.

Future plan?

We have over 500 design professionals registered with us in London. The next challenge is to drive a bigger marketing campaign to widen the scale of Design for Me across the UK.

Share your Start-up story with us and get the opportunity to promote your business to a wider audience – Email editorial@iamnewgeneration.co.uk