Ex-Lancaster man launches new business aimed at making home-working more comfortable

Marcin Lewicki, who previously lived in Lancaster for 13 years but now lives at MediaCityUK in Manchester, has set up OfficeMind Ltd, an online shop selling office desks and chairs - specifically focusing on an ergonomic range.

Marcin launched the new venture with his partner Jacqui, who is studying to be a chiropractor, late last year after discovering for themselves the difficulties of working in cramped spaces.

The idea came while Marcin was renting a room in a seven-bed flat.

"We didn't quite know what kind of business to start but we knew it had to be something that would mean something to us, something we are passionate about, something that would actually make an impact and something we can make a true story out of," he said.

"That day, on my bedroom floor with a whiteboard and a laptop, we came up with this idea. Four months later, we are a registered private limited company with almost a completed e-commerce website and hundreds of products available.

"The pandemic happened and with millions of people working from home we knew this product would be in demand.

"With over 200,000 searches each month on Google with the keyword "office chair", it was a no brainer. We also did some research and polls on social media including Reddit and the results confirmed our research.

"Not only people now working from home, but also there was a huge increase in new startups in 2020 so we knew this was also something we can target."

Marcin has worked the digital marketing industry for more than four years, and has had many clients who owned e-commerce stores.

"We have plans to partner up with a chiropractic clinic which I think will work really well," he said. "We both have a huge passion for what we do and this is a business model where we can both use our day-to-day expertise on our own business!

"Also, we've noticed a gap in the market. We saw a huge opportunity to do things differently and we strongly believe this will be a success. The demand is huge for this type of product and we're ready to go for it!

"We sell office desks and chairs, however we don't just sell products - we genuinely think the idea of this business will help hundreds if not thousands of people in the UK.

"Our focus for the business is on ergonomic furniture. We have height adjustable sit/stand desks and ergonomic chairs specifically designed to improve posture and boost performance during long working hours, especially now during the pandemic where the majority of the population is working from home.

"We've done the research and a lot of people are currently working either on their bed or on their sofa which could potentially lead to long term health issues.

"We want to become the place for people who seek help and support for their bad backs, neck pain, bad posture and any other work related symptoms.

"We both wanted to combine our knowledge together and start something together using both our knowledge and expertise."