What’s better than access to MyDoma interior design project management software and eDesign Tribe’s digital rendering software? Having access to them together in one place, which is now the case.
The brainchild of Sarah Daniele, MyDoma is business management software developed to manage and streamline interior design projects from inception to completion. Daniele began MyDoma in 2014 as a tool to manage her own interior design business, but quickly realized if she was facing these challenges, so might other designers, so she built out the platform to deliver the planning tools for others. The community-sourced software has streamlined repetitive tasks such as contracts, invoices, payments, mood boards, estimates and purchase orders to vendors. MyDoma’s goal is to provide its designer subscribers with an easier, digital way to deal with much of the digital side of the business, so the addition of eDesign Tribe made sense.
When Jenna Gaidusek started eDesign Tribe, also in 2014, her focus was originally on supporting a community of like-minded designers. Fast-forward five years, and Gaidusek saw a need for her eDesign Tribe rendering and design software. It was a way to help designers not get bogged down, instead giving them more time to do what they excel at. With eDesign’s tool, designers can digitally create floor plans, 3D renderings and more, streamlining their workloads even further.
Merging the two platforms was a “match made in Heaven,” says Daniele. Designers who are already on the MyDoma platform will have access to eDesign Tribe. “We are invested in a designer’s success, both on and off MyDoma, and that is why we believe heavily in investing in community, content and continuing education,” she continues. “With this acquisition, and adding Jenna’s experience and expertise to the team, Mydoma will be positioned to offer its customers a full suite of business tools and resources unlike anything else on the market.”
And Gaidusek isn’t going anywhere except back to what she loves, the reason she started eDesign Tribe in the first place — education and community building. She will join the MyDoma team as Director of Community and Communication. “I get to go back to what I wanted to do. Develop a community of like-minded designers, and educate and bring people together that wouldn’t normally get together,” Gaidusek says of her changing role.
While eDesign Tribe will still be a Facebook group, there will also be a community feature on MyDoma. Gaidusek adds, “Bringing our communities together will create enormous value in the industry as designers now have access to the most powerful combination of innovative tools for interior designers.”
The acquisition of eDesign Tribe combines that company’s Facebook community of approximately 4,500 with MyDoma’s 3,000 community members, more than doubling the size of a community dedicated to supporting interior designers.
As the eDesign Tribe software, now called MyDoma Visualizer, has been rolled into the platform, MyDoma customers can use the tools at their current subscription levels. There will be tiered levels that will allow for additional functionality. While eDesign software has been modified to fit the MyDoma platform, eDesign customers, and now MyDoma subscribers, will continue to have access to the programs they have become used to, such as digital renderings, 3D plans, walkthroughs and more.
For those MyDoma customers who like the tools they’re using, the company has created specialty plans to allow them to use the parts of MyDoma they enjoy while continuing to use the tools they are comfortable with. “If you still just want that piece of eDesign Tribe that you’ve been using, you can stick with it. If you are using a competing software, you can stick with that too,” says Daniele. At some point, she hopes these clients can see the value of having everything in one place. “Our designers can come and see what’s there. They can access and play with the tools that are outside of the project management piece.”
In addition to supporting and educating its current customer base on the merged companies — welcome webinars, FAQ pages, and other educational tools — MyDoma/eDesign Tribe is launching a showhouse-style virtual design contest using the company’s platform. Voting will be done by MyDoma’s vendor and industry partners, and the contest will include mentorship, community involvement and a High Point Market celebration.
While the acquisition of eDesign Tribe has been a big shift for MyDoma, there is more coming, says Daniele. “We’re not anywhere close to being done. We have an aggressive roadmap over the next 12 months,” she says. Stay tuned!
