“We do everything from start to finish,” says Wellensiek. “Our interior designers design according to the needs of the client and then we source and procure it all. We have suppliers for whatever is needed.”

When the recession hit in 2009, Moritz Wellensiek’s student nightlife company took a fatal blow. It was Wellensiek’s second entrepreneurial venture since leaving school, and marketing budgets shrivelled overnight. “I saw it coming,” says Wellensiek. “I knew I needed to start something else.” Eight months before the business shut down, he was finding clients who needed furniture made and began acting as the broker. He then opened a retail furniture shop, Haus, in Cape Town. “The idea was to bring the Ikea concept to SA, with low prices and medium quality.”

But when Wellensiek had secured two investors for the project, he realised he couldn’t take the leap without the passion. Retail was “too slow and boring”. He went back to brokering and developed the Haus turnkey projects, which not only link buyer to seller but add value. “We do everything from start to finish,” says Wellensiek. “Our interior designers design according to the needs of the client and then we source and procure it all. We have suppliers for whatever is needed.” It’s a unique model: the biggest competition comes from interior designers who have design flair but little business or management skill. Having focused mainly on residential projects, Haus is moving into the hotel and restaurant sector and plans to include countrywide franchises. Wellensiek says he has learnt that having the right product is only the first step to a successful business. “If you don’t have the right approach, the product won’t fly. The most important thing is to concentrate on one thing at a time,” he says. “You don’t want to be a jack of all trades and master of none.”

Entrepreneur – Moritz Wellensiek

http://www.fm.co.za/Article.aspx?id=133306