Search-and-comparison website for home furniture and furnishings ufurnish.com has announced that Rob Pierre, co-founder and former CEO of digital marketing specialist Jellyfish, has joined the business as an advisor and investor.
ufurnish.com was founded by Deirdre Mc Gettrick and Ray Wright to simplify searching for home furniture and furnishings by bringing products from multiple retailers together on site. The business has grown rapidly and now boasts 100+ retailers including John Lewis, Wayfair, Heal’s, Benson for Beds, Dunelm and OKA.
ufurnish.com has raised over £5m since launching in late 2020, with prominent investors including Rosaleen Blair (founder and chair of Alexander Mann Solutions) and Tony Smurfit (CEO of paper and packaging company Smurfit Kappa Group).
The business is now strengthening its advisory board ahead of an investment round planned for this year in which ufurnish.com aims to become the ‘go-to platform’ in the UK for home furnishing.
Pierre will join the advisory board, leveraging his media expertise to scale ufurnish.com, and is investing £500,000 of capital into the business alongside his advisory role.
Pierre notes: “After meeting Deirdre and Ray, I felt they were creating something incredibly innovative that will change and enhance the way in which people furnish their homes. I’ve always been excited about innovation and ufurnish.com absolutely solves a major consumer problem. This is a particularly interesting time in the market for digital businesses who can lean into a rapidly growing retail media space.”
Pierre co-founded Jellyfish in 2005, and as chief executive grew the business to 38 offices worldwide, employing more than 2000 people. In June 2023, Pierre completed the sale of Jellyfish to The Brandtech Group.
Commenting on Pierre’s investment and advisory appointment to ufurnish.com, Deirdre Mc Gettrick explains: “Rob Pierre is a media visionary, he is an entrepreneur and creative talent with a deep understanding of consumer behaviour, media markets and value creation. Above all, Rob is a passionate problem-solver and loves creating and scaling solutions that solve problems.
“If you want to be the best, you’ve got to work with the best, and I’m really excited about working with Rob to take ufurnish.com to the next level in our growth journey.”
Rob says: “I am delighted to be investing in and joining ufurnish.com. The business has achieved so much already and I’m really looking forward to working with Deirdre and the team to help it reach its full potential.”
Pictured: Rob Pierre, Deirdre Mc Gettrick and Ray Wright
