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§ Private Profile · New York City, NY, USA
The Inside is a company.
The Inside has raised $7.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Key people at The Inside.
The Inside has raised $7.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
The Inside operates as a direct-to-consumer home furnishings brand specializing in custom furniture and decor. It offers extensive personalization, allowing clients to select from a broad array of unique prints and fabrics, often in collaboration with heritage design brands. This empowers customers to craft bespoke pieces suited to their aesthetic and living spaces.
Christiane Lemieux and Britt Bunn founded The Inside in 2018, recognizing a consumer desire for accessible, personalized home decor. Lemieux, leveraging DwellStudio experience, partnered with Bunn to democratize distinctive design. Their approach bypassed traditional retail, making custom furniture directly available to a wider audience.
The Inside targets individuals eager to express personal style within their homes, providing means to create unique environments. The company’s vision centers on making decorating enjoyable and deeply personal. It aims to empower customers to design a space authentically reflecting their identity, fostering attainable bespoke design for all.
Key people at The Inside.
The Inside has raised $7.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
The Inside's investors include Corigin Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, 125 Ventures, 14W, Audrey Capital, Bam Ventures, BBG Ventures, Bombas, Bond, BoxGroup, Divergent Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group.
The Inside has raised $7.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $5.0M Seed in September 2018.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2018 | $5M Seed | Corigin Ventures, Lerer Hippeau | 125 Ventures, 14W, Audrey Capital, BAM Ventures, BBG Ventures, Bombas, Bond, BoxGroup, Divergent Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group, Forerunner Ventures, Future Perfect Ventures, General Catalyst, Gennx360, GE Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Highland Capital Partners, Hoxton Ventures, Inspired Capital, JAZZ Venture Partners, Jenny Friedman, Lightspeed Venture Partners, LUX Capital, OAK HC/FT, Sequoia Capital, Supply Change Capital, Target Global, Teamworthy Ventures, Volition Capital, Anne Wojcicki, Colin Carrier, Jeremy YAP, Julie Mcdermott, Mark Gillespie, Steve Aoki, Alexa Tobel, Jennifer Fleiss, Jerry JAO, Susan Lyne, Canaan Partners, Forerunner Ventures | Announced |
| Sep 1, 2017 | $2M Seed | Kirsten Green | BAM Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Mark Gillespie | Announced |
The Inside is a direct-to-consumer (DTC) furniture brand that enables customers to design and order custom-made upholstery online using basic templates and over 100 fabric patterns, including from heritage brands like Scalamandre and CW Stockwell. It serves millennial-focused consumers seeking personalized home decor at accessible prices, solving the problem of high-cost customization by leveraging digital printing and on-demand U.S. manufacturers—no showrooms, factories, or inventory required.[1][2][3] The company achieved nearly 600% growth in the two years prior to its 2022 acquisition by Havenly, an online interior design platform, which integrated The Inside's assets, IP, inventory, and most of its small team (around 26 employees) to expand custom product offerings like furniture and drapery.[1][2][3]
Founded in 2017 by design industry entrepreneur Christiane Lemieux and co-founder Danielle Walish, The Inside brought a DTC model to custom furniture, emphasizing frictionless online personalization with features like complimentary swatches, a Design Tips Concierge, free shipping, and 30-day returns.[1][2][3] Lemieux later departed, but the idea emerged from identifying barriers to affordable, made-to-order home goods, filling a gap in digital-first customization historically limited to luxury markets.[1][2] Early traction built on this model, with rapid scaling—nearly 600% growth by 2022—and strong demand from designers, including Havenly's team, one of its largest customers, leading to the acquisition that preserved its core operations under Havenly.[1][2]
The Inside rode the wave of digital-first home goods and DTC disruption in furniture, capitalizing on millennial demand for personalized, affordable decor amid e-commerce booms post-2017.[1][2][3] Timing aligned with rising remote work and home renovation trends, amplified by supply chain strains that favored agile, inventory-light models over traditional manufacturers.[1] Market forces like consumer shifts to prints and custom fabrics worked in its favor, influencing the ecosystem by proving scalable online upholstery—paving the way for consolidations like its Havenly deal, which unites design platforms with production to digitize the full home experience.[1][2]
Post-2022 acquisition, The Inside operates within Havenly, accelerating custom offerings into drapery and beyond via integrated teams and supply chains, with Danielle Walish aiding the transition.[1][2] Trends like AI-driven design, 3D tech (e.g., Havenly's Occipital integration), and sustained DTC home spending will shape its path, potentially expanding to more categories amid ongoing personalization demands.[2] Its influence may evolve from standalone disruptor to core engine in a unified ecosystem, blending e-design with manufacturing for broader accessibility—echoing its original mission to democratize custom home goods.[1][2]
