Home Design Online Resource Houzz Opens Japan Office

Houzz, the home design and remodeling website, has opened its first office in Asia, according to TechinAsia.

The company, which was recently valued at $2.3 billion, chose Japan as their first Asian location. This is the sixth market following the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France and Russia.

Houzz started in 2009 and from then on, it became the leading source for the home design profession. It currently has 25 million unique users monthly. From being just a website of design inspiration, it now continues to grow as a full-service platform.

During the “Open Houzz” event, co-founder and CEO Adi Tatarko explained that the Houzz community is greatly expanding and that the website has helped transform the face of 21st century design.

“There is also a global interest in the Japanese market," Tatarko said of the company's decision to open in Japan. "Many searches on the platform are for Japanese design, Japanese gardens, tea rooms, zen rooms.”

Tatarko believes that the Japanese market can grow as much as it did in the United States. “The Japanese market is very big. Japanese professionals are very interested in getting this exposure from both this local market as well as the global market.”

The Japan Houzz team initially starts out with 15 people, led by Aiko Katoh. Katoh is a Goldman Sachs veteran, an INSEAD graduate and has an experience in running a startup company.

Tatarko and her Houzz team will be using the same approach for the Japan franchise when it comes to revenue. “At the beginning, we are not monetizing. Exactly like we built it in the US, we’ll focus on product and user experience first and then monetization. It’s all free.”

Tatarko pitched the company’s services to a community of Japanese corporation during the New Economy Summit held last April 7.