We were lucky to catch up with Jess Yang recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jess, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
At Tresi, my mission is to make quality living and interior design accessible to Gen-Zs and millennials while discouraging the use of fast furniture. We all have a horror moving story – whether it’s finding good quality and affordable furniture or getting rid of it when you have to move out. I experienced it when I moved to NYC and furnished my whole apartment through Facebook Marketplace because it had the best deals, but the process was super inconvenient and time-consuming. Afterward, many of my finance coworkers asked me to design their apartments. I would show them a grainy photo of a chair on Facebook, and they’d say they weren’t interested. Once I bought the piece for my own place, styled it, and posted it on social media, however, they’d immediately change their mind. I realized then that many people lacked the vision – offering a selection of good quality, affordable furniture doesn’t help them if they can’t visualize it in their own homes. That’s why Craigslist, Facebook, and the sidewalks of New York are filled with high-quality, heavily discounted items, yet people still prefer to buy fast furniture from IKEA and Wayfair simply because it’s easy and predictable. I aim to change that by curating a platform that combines quality, affordability, and vision—to make high-quality furniture inclusive, especially to my generation.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m Jess, the CEO of Tresi, an NYC-based e-commerce platform offering curated, luxury vintage furniture and décor at IKEA prices. After graduating college, I worked as an artist in London before pivoting to investment banking in New York. When I moved here, I noticed a gap in the market while furnishing my own apartment. High-quality pieces were either overpriced or lacked convenience in the resale market. Inspired by my own experience and a growing demand among friends and coworkers who struggled to find stylish yet accessible furniture, I became passionate about creating a curated space for luxury vintage pieces that are attainable for Gen-Z and millennials. I briefly joined LVMH’s beauty division to gain expertise in pricing strategies before launching Tresi.
What sets Tresi apart is not only our unbeatable prices but also our mission to make vintage furniture “cool” and inclusive. We target the younger generation who are often excluded from the interior design world and present each piece as part of a “scene,” influenced by high fashion and streetwear culture. This approach helps customers envision our curated items in their own spaces. We’re proud to offer a solution that bridges the gap between affordability and aesthetics, empowering people to embrace sustainable, high-quality furnishings without compromising on style.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
When I first started this company, I was still working full-time. I rented a warehouse, negotiated an unbeatable deal with a delivery driver, and started collecting furniture from estate sales with a U-Haul before and after work. Beyond being stretched too thin time-wise, I would deal with chaos weekly happening in the middle of my workday, such as my delivery driver getting into a screaming fight with a woman I was buying a dining set from and quitting on the spot. Each time one of those situations would arise, my immediate anxious thought would be, “oh no, I’m done for”. This was partially due to the stress of juggling a full-time job. I knew I had to fully commit to Tresi if I was going to be able to solve these problems with a level head, so quit my job. I was right – with more time and energy, I solved those problems I once though were catastrophic: I drafted my own driver and mover contracts, incorporating the pricing I had thought was just a lucky deal, cast my net wide, and was able to recruit many people willing to work with that rate. This taught me that problems that feels earth-shattering usually aren’t – it’s just your fear and inexperience taking over. Once you step back, write missteps off as “growing pains” and move on quickly, situations don’t usually end up being as bad as they felt in that moment.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
I think the best way to maintain morale is to be the inspiration for your team. Passion, positivity, and work ethic is infectious and will make your team want to show up and do their best. All of my summer interns I hired when I first started stayed on way past their term because they became dedicated to the company and wanted to help us succeed. I believe positive reinforcement is infinitely more effective than trying to lead with fear and criticism. I also delegate tasks based on each person’s strengths – that way everything is working as efficiently as possible and everybody gets to enjoy what they’re working on, which translates into their performance.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shoptresi.com
- Instagram: shoptresi
Image Credits
Dylan Pearce for the campaign photos.