What if we told you you never again have to set foot in an IKEA, unless you have a serious hankering for Swedish meatballs? Dkora Box, a startup founded by Babson MBA candidate Isabella Soto Rivera, lets you buy boxes containing curated decor and home essentials for each room of your place. And it’s recently launched just in time for Boston’s September 1 mass moving day.
“Home is always important for me, especially to set it up nicely,” Soto Rivera told us. “Decor can influence how we feel when we get home. You want it to be neat, comfortable, with nice colors. That can help our mood.”
At the same time, Soto Rivera, who has personally moved six times throughout the world for job opportunities and school, knows that when people are rushed for time, combing through an overwhelming number of decor options to furnish your home isn’t pleasant.
With Dkora Box, you don’t have to browse websites trying to determine what you need and what you don’t. You just click the room you’re looking to decorate and choose the color scheme that suits you. Instantly, you’re presented with all of the items you need to replicate a look. That includes everything from mattress pads to accent trays for your bedroom, from shower curtains to toothbrush holders for your bathroom and from dinnerware sets to oven mitts for your kitchen.
“We invert the shopping process,” Soto Rivera explained. “Instead of searching thousands of products, we give you a full shopping cart with all of the products you need to get a certain look in each room. It’s straightforward and simple.”
You can then customize your Dkora Box, eliminating the items you don’t want and adding multiples of the products you do. The site keeps a running tab at the bottom of your item list, which updates in real-time, so you can make adjustments according to your budget.
“It’s for people who don’t want to look, don’t know how to decorate, or, as is the case with many men, don’t care or don’t know where to start,” Soto Rivera said.
Taking a note of the growing shared economy, Dkora Box also wants to accommodate hosts on sites like Airbnb and HomeAway with a box specifically designed with them in mind. The “Rental Host” box lets this group deck out their rental places with curated items for their whole house, as quick fix to making their listing more appealing to potential renters.
And, looking ahead, the venture plans to expand its offerings to include seasonal boxes consisting of decor for different holidays throughout the year.
The site recently launched and, from now through September, Dkora Box is offering free shipping codes to first customers because Soto Rivera recognizes so many people will be moving into new digs. After September, she said shipping costs can go up to $20, depending on the box ordered.
Dkora Box has raised a friends and family round of about $60,000 to get the venture off the ground. As it grows, Soto Rivera explained, she will be looking to raise additional capital when the business is in a good position.
