We recently connected with Dylan Harkavy and have shared our conversation below.

Dylan , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, let’s imagine that you were advising someone who wanted to start something similar to you and they asked you what you would do differently in the startup-process knowing what you know now. How would you respond?

Oh man—if I could go back, there are so many things I’d do differently.

Wesley (my younger brother) and I started Harkavy Furniture in 2015. We were both fresh into our twenties with zero experience running a business. Our only goal at the time was simple: build the furniture we loved and sell it.

What we didn’t realize was that reaching that goal would require dealing with a thousand other tasks and problems we hadn’t even considered. Thankfully, we were surrounded by some pretty incredible humans who helped us navigate the chaos without crashing and burning right out of the gate.

In hindsight, we needed to run into all those problems to grow—not just as entrepreneurs, but as business partners and humans. It was hands down the best education I’ve ever received. But if I were starting over, here are the three things I wish I’d known from day one:

1. Being proactive is always better than being reactive –
Make a clear plan. Think through the steps. Communicate openly with your customers. Be transparent. And assume you’ll hit roadblocks—because you will.
This mindset alone would’ve saved us countless sleepless nights and stress-filled days.

2. You don’t need to be a pro at everything –
There was a time when Wesley and I believed we had to do it all ourselves—welding, bookkeeping, marketing, you name it.
The result? A whole lot of failure and wasted time.
The second we started outsourcing the things we weren’t good at, everything leveled up—quality, efficiency, even our own creativity.

3. Being “good” is more important than being “right” –
This mindset has totally changed how Wesley and I work together.
It’s shifted our dynamic from a silent competition to a true partnership. We’ve learned to prioritize kindness, curiosity, and collaboration over needing to “win” a disagreement.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been addicted to creating. My parents gave me and my siblings free rein and the space to explore any creative endeavor that fascinated us. Abstract painting, photography, and basic carpentry were the ones I really settled into.

My brother and I would spend hours in our basement workshop building skateboards, then head out with our friends to stage photo shoots of us ripping around the neighborhood. It was epic.

Over time, we started taking on more complex carpentry projects and began collecting tools of our own. If we needed a desk for our bedroom, we’d sketch it out, buy the materials, and just go for it. I can’t really pinpoint why, but we were both drawn to furniture design. What started as a fun hobby slowly became a full-blown obsession during our later teen years.

At some point, our friends and family started asking us to make furniture for their homes. And once we saw that people were actually willing to pay for our work, the dream of Harkavy Furniture really started to take off.

So, at 23 (me) and 21 (Wesley), we decided to launch a proper furniture collection under the name Harkavy Furniture. Equipped with a humble lineup of two coffee tables and two dining tables, we set out to build a name for ourselves in the furniture world. With our limited knowledge of marketing, we built a simple website, started an Instagram, and photographed our collection on a painter’s tarp in the back of our shop. It was all super scrappy — but it kinda worked.

One week after the shoot, I decided to email the photos to a few design blogs we loved. By some miracle, they were stoked on what we were doing and decided to post about our work just a few hours after I sent the email. Our newborn Instagram account gained 1,000+ followers in the first 24 hours, and we started receiving order inquiries from around the world.

We had just started this thing and had zero systems in place — no way to take orders or white-glove ship furniture to customers. It was overwhelming, but insanely exciting.

It took us a bit, but eventually we started to figure things out. Systems were developed, shipping partners were found, and relationships were established. Starting the company at such a young age definitely had its upsides and downsides. We were young and had no fear of failure. It was full commitment from day one, with a huge amount of passion behind what we were doing. Mistakes were made, egos were bruised, and our relationship as brothers and business partners hit some low points. But looking back, it was one of the most incredible life journeys I’ve ever been on.

Fast forward to today — I’m 33, married to the love of my life, and a father to two beautiful girls. During the COVID years, Wesley and I partnered with our dad to launch a youth mentorship startup called SetPath. Way different from our work with Harkavy Furniture, but another insanely valuable learning journey.

Wesley and I are still in the shop weekly, making furniture and designing new products. The dream and passion for HF is still alive — and we’ve got some exciting plans ahead.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

We’ve leaned heavily on our story — two brothers and best friends designing and building furniture in the Pacific Northwest. And the best part? It’s all 100% true. We’re not pretending to be something we’re not, or trying to fit the mold of what a “furniture designer” is supposed to be.

Getting comfortable with who we are and embracing our journey has allowed us to build real, authentic connections in the market. There’s no branding spin — just a genuine love for the work and a deep commitment to doing it well, together.

Have you ever had to pivot?

2020 was a rough year, as we all know. During that season, Harkavy Furniture was in the hurt locker, and things weren’t looking good. My wife and I had a kiddo on the way, and I felt like it was time to make a serious career pivot.

My dad and I had been cooking up an idea for a new startup called SetPath. The dream was to give young adults around the world access to Life Planning tools and mentorship — completely free of charge. It was an exciting vision, and thankfully, there were some incredibly generous folks who believed in it enough to help fund the nonprofit startup.

So, I made the pivot — from full-time furniture to part-time SetPath and part-time HF. It was a wild shift for me, but it pushed me, taught me a ton, helped me provide for my family, and hopefully made a real impact in the lives of young adults along the way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.harkavyfurniture.com, https://setpath.org, https://www.dylanharkavy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harkavyfurniture/, https://www.instagram.com/dylanharkavy/