1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I always knew that I wanted to follow the creative route – that’s just the kind of person I am. My father was involved in the shipping business, but I always knew I was best suited for the creative line of work. I preferred the idea of building things up from scratch instead. In order to follow my passion, I moved to London after passing my O’ levels from Sunnydale School and stayed there for ten years, four of which I spent working for British Telecom.

2. What were your first business ventures?

After completing my Masters in Strategic Brand Management and returning to Bangladesh, I decided that it was time to try my hand at business. I started two ventures – Crepe-au-Lait and Panini – and was fascinated to discover that I could gain much insight from the diverse group of people who frequented my restaurants. The opportunity of getting to design the interiors of my restaurants ignited a spark within me. I had always been interested in interior designing and the joy I experienced while decorating my restaurants only made me surer of my passion.

3. Why did you choose to leave the restaurant business?

Well, when you tend to be a part of many things, you have to learn how to prioritize. Being the Director of a pre-school ‘Stepping Stone’, the Country Director of ‘Marketing futures’ an International knowledge sharing platform, the Chairman of ‘Office Suites’ one of the first shared office space solution in Dhaka and on top of that, being associated with multiple businesses at the same time has helped me to learn how to divide up my time. Additionally, my past experiences have also made me realize that in order to gain some, I must lose some.  That is probably why I slowly extricated myself from the restaurant scene of Dhaka. My abilities were of much greater use elsewhere.

4. What projects did you work on as an Interior Designer?

Soon, the offers started flooding in. In the past, I have been fortunate enough to work with big names such as Grameenphone, Olympic Group, Amber group, Saiham Group and many more. While working on those projects, I realized that the number of the stores one can source home décor items, lights and decorative pieces from is pretty small in Dhaka. That is when I developed the idea of Casa Deco – a store for high-end furniture and home décor items. Casa Deco is a sister concern of Increation, which is the parent company, founded and owned by me. These ventures work hand-in-hand, acting as a one-stop for all kinds of interior solutions.

5. From where do you source the furniture and decorative pieces available in Casa Deco?

In addition to sourcing our décor items from abroad, most specifically China and the UK, we also make customized, in-house furniture. When I first started Casa Deco, the competition from other furniture brands was immense – I knew that I had to give Casa Deco a flair and offer unique services to stand out. That’s exactly what we did. We created a category which is ‘Made to order’ and developed a digital catalogue which would involve our clients in every step of the process in building their own customized furniture. From choosing the fabric to the color – our clients get to be part of every bit of the decision-making process.

6. Is there something new in store for Casa Deco?

Casa Deco is set to launch its very own app which is going to be very simple and user-friendly. It will allow our customers to directly contact us through the chat services on the app. Moreover, all of our sale items will be showcased on the app along with their respective prices, enabling our clients to have better access to information about Casa Deco. We are planning of opening another branch of Casa Deco at Chittagong since a huge number of our clients are from there; So, we felt like getting closer to them would be a nice idea.

7. What is the secret behind Casa Deco’s success?

Alongside maintaining a high standard of quality, meeting delivery dead-lines is also a matter of dire importance for me. In my opinion, if I have already committed to something, I should see it all the way through.   Moreover, the main reason why Casa Deco has garnered such a large clientele over such a short period of time is because we always try to think outside the box. Some of our best-sellers are mirrored furniture – items that Casa Deco specializes in. Apart from all this, the top-tier craftsmanship that Casa Deco has been blessed with truly helps in setting us apart from our competition.

I would credit our gradual increase in sales over the last five years as the change in the mind-set and interest of the market which has slowly grown out of traditional ways, instead opting for a more modern approach. Also, it goes without saying, how blessed I am to have talented people like Zeba (Our Principal Architect and Interior Stylist) and Fahim (architect) in my team, they make my work a lot easier.

Nowadays, offices and restaurants have separate funds for their interior setup. This didn’t used to be the case a few years ago. In my opinion, this change is very good, not just for my business but for the Bangladeshi economy as a whole.

8. How did you meet your wife, Sahar Rahman?

I met Sahar for the first time back in London. Being quite captivated with her at first sight, I knocked her on Facebook and that is essentially how our relationship began – with me pursuing her, and her ignoring me (not for very long though). She has her own company – Sahar Rahman Couture – and I’m incredibly proud of her. The fact that we’re both creative individuals is what I would say makes us click. We share a lot of common interests and are very compatible. By the grace of God, we have been blessed with two beautiful children who we can’t get enough of. I am indeed very thankful.

9. What are your future plans for Casa Deco?

In terms of future plans, I have a dream of expanding Casa Deco to Casa Fabrics. I think the addition of textiles as a selling commodity to our business would propel it to greater heights. Additionally, I would also like to introduce a line of bedding, bedspreads and mattresses as I think there is a huge potential in this market which is still untapped. When I speak of mattresses, does any brand name pop into your mind – any brand that can be immediately associated with the production of mattresses, here in Bangladesh? If not, then that should answer your question about my vision for Casa Deco. I want the name of Casa Deco to come to people as a reflex thought upon hearing the term luxury décor.

10. What would be your advice to young entrepreneurs?

Casa Deco has reached its current position through lots of hard-work and perseverance. We put forward the needs and desires of our clients above everything else and are hard-set on delivering grade-A products. That, I suppose, is the message I would like to relay to the new generation of entrepreneurial minds out there – do whatever you want, but do it well. If you can make a living out of your passion, then, in my opinion, you’ve already won.