Branch, a New York-based office furniture firm, has spent the last two years focusing on furnishing everyone’s home office with its core items. It is now preparing to roll out several new items, including some for employees who are returning to work from home. Greg Hayes, Sib Mahapatra, and Verity Sylvester founded the firm in 2019 to allow individuals to buy high-end furniture without having to go through a dealer, saving them on average 50% above regular stores, according to Hayes.
We followed the firm from its origins with enterprise offices through its brush with the worldwide pandemic in 2020, which resulted in layoffs and a shift to home office equipment. Hayes told TechCrunch that the decision allowed Branch to rise and capture some macro tailwinds from individuals who worked from home for longer than projected. “We sold all of our inventory in about a month, spent 2020 trying to keep up, and went into 2021 wondering if there was a true business here,” he continued. “As it turned out, there was. In 2020, we grew 600 percent, and in 2021, we tripled that growth. We’re on track to treble it this year.”
Ergonomic chairs, standing desks, team workstations, file cabinets, conference room furniture, and space division are among the company’s furniture offerings. Chairs cost between $250 and $400, while desks cost somewhere between $500 and $1,000. Branch raised $3.5 million over two years, some in 2019 and some in 2020, with a run rate of up to the mid-eight figures, according to Hayes.
The firm has now secured an additional $10 million in a Series an investment, mostly to fund future product releases. Springdale Ventures led the round, which also included Maywic Select Investments, Group RMC, and Agya Ventures. A collection of private investors from the proptech and direct-to-consumer industries, including Ricky Joshi of Saatva Mattress, Ryan Simonetti of Convene, and Jiake Liu of Outer, are also taking part. Nine Four Ventures, Alate Partners, RRE, and Ben Zises’ SuperAngel.Fund were among the existing investors.
“We’d come a long way with our core goods, particularly for the work-from-home market,” Hayes explained, “but it was difficult to design new furniture products, and we wanted to do it well.” “The increase allows us to make fantastic hiring, introduce amazing items, and put technology around the furniture so that there is a new way to connect with it, as well as digital supply chain optimization.” Branch’s technology will interact in two ways, according to him: the first is on the consumer side, which will include ergonomics and a streamlined app experience that guides customers on how to set up their chair or workstation. It will also have improved engagement with customer service, product ordering, and gamification.
On the corporate side, the company noticed a gap in how office managers can manage their office equipment, such as reporting problems or adjusting floor space. Branch’s enterprise revenue increased 500 percent over the previous three quarters as more workers returned to work. Its sweet spot is between 20 and 200 employees, and much of its business is generated by clients informing their office managers about the furnishings. In addition, property landlords who want to pre-furnish their premises are contacting the company. According to Hayes, this sort of consumer accounts for 10% of Branch’s business, which was not the case before the worldwide epidemic.
Branch utilized the extra cash to fill a number of crucial positions, including a head of furniture design, marketing, sales, and operations. Previously, the squad consisted of less than 20 members. The firm is also concentrating on product creation and research and development, with a potential brick-and-mortar store opening by the end of the year. “We’re starting to have a reputation for our design and being a design-driven company,” Hayes said. “We’re going to step it up this year and next year.” This is a huge market, greater than most, but there are no Harry’s or Allbirds in the furniture industry, so we’re on our way to being a leader.”
