Delightful Interiors, Made To Live

Casa Interior Design Pte Ltd – Mr Jason Tay 

As a relatively new player in the highly competitive Interior Design and Renovation industry, Casa Interior Design Pte Ltd has already made quite a name for itself for its attention to clients’ needs, and sincere service. 

We spent some time with founder, Mr Jason Tay, to find out more about his entrepreneurship journey so far, and his plans for the future of the company. 

Q: Good morning Mr Tay, thank you so much for your time. Can you tell us more about the beginnings of Casa Interior Design Pte Ltd and the nature of your business? 

A: I had a great experience working in the industry as an employee where I learnt a lot and accumulated experience. Through my observations, I felt that there are better ways to do things, and I could possibly offer more value to the market with my ideas. That’s when I decided to strike out on my own. Unfortunately, my first attempt did not work out so well and we had to start over again from scratch with the lessons we learnt. 

My current senior management team has a combined experience of almost 30 years in the industry, we have a better understanding of how things work, and we are better able to apply our own ideas to better serve our clients. 

We now provide services from the design stage to fabrication and touch-ups. Covering everything from space planning, design conceptualization, project management, all the way to final project handover. Our clients can come to us with just a floor plan and an empty house, and they can be assured of receiving a dream home when we pass the keys back to them. 

Q: Can you share with us some of the biggest challenges in running the business? 

A: As a relatively new company, building trust in our brand was a big challenge, but over time, our excellent craftmanship and dedication to details speak for themselves. As such, we are getting more referrals from our satisfied clients. Building a team, and instilling a sense of camaraderie is also a challenge that we face. I deeply believe that the company is only as strong as the bonds that hold the people working in it together. Nobody can accomplish anything of value alone, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and we need to be able to complement each other for the whole company to move forward smoothly. 

Q: How does Casa Interior Design Pte Ltd stand out from the crowd? 

A: We have a very strong reputation for our competitive pricing and sincere service. But, people return to us, or recommend their friends to us because of the relationship that we built. We take a real interest to know every single client that come to us, to find out their preferences, their needs, and their desires. We see it as our mission to build our clients’ dream homes for them with as little hassle as possible. When our clients hand the keys to their houses to us, it is their trust that they put into our hands. We take that extremely seriously, and will do whatever it takes to repay that trust with the best work we can do. 

Q: What are some of the biggest sacrifices you have had to make on your journey so far? 

A: Time is the biggest price to pay to achieve any goal. I currently work between 10 – 12 hours every day, seven days a week. The hours were even longer in the early days, but even today, the business is on my mind every waking moment. The only regret is that I don’t have any time now to spend with my family or loved ones. Hopefully, that will change when we have a bigger team and I can delegate more to them.  

Q: What are your plans for Casa Interior Design Pte Ltd in the coming years? 

A: At the moment, we are still trying to build a core team of solid leaders. Over the next few years, we plan to expand to a team of maybe 50 or more members, and expand our operations. We are also going to proactively upgrade our capabilities and certification levels to have the ability to handle bigger and wider ranges of projects. But, the main focus now is to build a solid foundation for ourselves to serve as a platform for future expansions. 

Q: Who or what are your inspirations or motivations? 

A: I am deeply inspired by Microsoft founder, Bill Gates. His unique way of thinking out of the box, his idea that there is always a better way or better solution to a problem, is what inspired me to start Casa Interior Design Pte Ltd. Now that I have started my own company, I would like to emulate his spirit of perseverance. He did not give up his dream of building the biggest software company in the world even though he met with many setbacks and failures along the way. 

Q: What are some of your core principles personally and in running Casa Interior Design Pte Ltd? 

A: We will always deal in a fair and transparent manner with our clients and vendors. We will always have a sincere and real interest in our clients’ preferences and benefits. Within the team, we believe that no one is above the company, we all strive to do what is best for the business, and for the benefits of everyone. 

Q: How would you define success for yourself? 

A: Success is a never-ending pursuit of excellence. Whenever you achieve a goal, there will always be a bigger, and greater target waiting for you. There will always be room for improvement and better solutions to problems. At the end of the day, we can only put in our 120% effort and do our best to conquer those goals and milestones, the spectators will be the ones to judge if we have been successful or not. 

Q: What do you enjoy most about being in the business? 

A: I have a passion for this industry and what I do, I love the fact that we can turn ideas on paper into reality. It is also extremely satisfying to see the looks of our clients faces when we deliver their dream homes to them. Of course, the relationships built over time, and the sense of camaraderie within our team is something I treasure very much. 

Q: Finally, what advice would you give to young aspiring entrepreneurs? 

A: Firstly, they must have the confidence in their own abilities, they need to be firm in their visions and be able to make their own decisions without being affected by what others say. There will always be people who do not believe in what you can or want to do, you need to ignore those voices and be firm in your conviction. Having said that, you also need to be able to give yourself an honest assessment of your own strength and weaknesses, then build a team that can complement your weaknesses and encourage your strengths. 

You must also be persistent, do not be afraid of failures. Failures are the best things that can happen to you, always remember that, you did not fail, you only accumulated experiences to do better the next time.