Meet Firdaus Nagree, a visionary leader whose entrepreneurial spirit has left an indelible mark across diverse industries since 1999. As the CEO of FCI London, Firdaus embodies the essence of innovation, creativity, and relentless pursuit of excellence.
Firdaus’s journey began as a strategy consultant at Accenture, where he honed his analytical skills and strategic acumen. However, it was his early foray into the London property market at the age of 21 that ignited his passion for entrepreneurship. From trading properties to venturing into equities with investments in tech giants like Google and Apple, Firdaus demonstrated an innate ability to identify and capitalize on lucrative opportunities.
Since then, Firdaus has diversified his portfolio, actively engaging as an executive, board member, or investor across a myriad of sectors including hospitality, F&B, construction, interior design, retail, tradfi, defi, proptech, education, logistics, property, cloud kitchens, and blockchain. His versatility and foresight have propelled him to the forefront of innovation, driving success in each endeavor.
As the founder and CEO of FCI London, Firdaus has established a multi-award-winning interiors and lifestyle house with a global presence spanning the UK, UAE, Nigeria, and India. His commitment to excellence and dedication to crafting unparalleled experiences have earned FCI London acclaim and recognition on the international stage.
Beyond his role at FCI London, Firdaus serves as a special adviser to prominent firms such as Bridge Invest, Concept Ventures, LKN & Kanban, leveraging his expertise to drive strategic growth and innovation. Additionally, he is an active early-stage investor in startups, nurturing and supporting emerging ventures across various industries.
From Neat Burger to F45, Firdaus’s investment portfolio reflects his unwavering belief in disruptive ideas and transformative technologies. His passion for entrepreneurship, coupled with his adventurous spirit as a scuba diver, underscores his relentless pursuit of excellence in both professional and personal realms.
Below are highlights of the interview conducted between World’s Leaders and Firdaus Nagree:
Describe how you are as a person both inside and outside the workplace
I always try to be the same person wherever I go because my core values and guiding principles never change. However, in a professional environment, it’s important to gauge who I’m interacting with. So my methods of communication change to suit my role as either a husband, parent or business leader.
I also believe that one should learn to be curious, supportive and ask questions rather than just telling others what to do. It’s something I’ve learnt to embrace through experience.
Can you share a bit about your entrepreneurial journey from your early days as a strategy consultant to being a serial entrepreneur and angel investor?
From a young age, I’ve been attracted to the concept of “doing” and have always loved creating things and immersing myself in the processes and outcomes that go with it. And I’ve always taken on multiple activities.
During my time at Accenture as a strategy consultant, I began exploring the property market and have been trading equities since I was 19. So entrepreneurship is in my blood which made growing the family business and other projects into successful concerns a natural progression for me.
What key lessons have you learned as an entrepreneur and investor throughout your career?
As a young entrepreneur, I thought that I had to push myself to work as many hours as possible and the idea of downtime seemed very weak. But over time, I’ve realised that looking after yourself mentally and physically is key if you want to help others.
I have also learnt patience, that nothing is permanent and that making decisions and moving forward is preferable to procrastinating and over analysing.
It’s also important to build good teams and surround yourself with people you respect, like or even love. Then be their champion and their cheerleader.
Can you share a challenging experience that taught you valuable lessons?
Putting out fires and navigating unfamiliar territory is always a part of any business journey. But with the onset of Covid we had to make almost instant adaptations and figure out how to keep going without using our showroom.
This period taught me to trust and take support from the people around me instead of shouldering all the responsibility myself. And I was surprised by how many stepped up to the plate. I realised I underestimated their desire to support and they now form the leadership team of my company.
What has made you successful? What do you value?
I believe I’ve been successful because of my outlook. Around 10 years ago, I started actively moving towards a minimalist lifestyle and, because of books like The Power of Now and Goodbye Things, I’ve realised that this is my happiest state of being.
When I buy something new, I make sure that I reflect on whether it’s a want or a need. And if I do end up getting it, I know it will add value to my life, which gives me more pleasure than just having something for the sake of it.
For me, success is really about contentment. There are obviously life-related things that throw me off balance from time to time but living with appreciation means that they don’t have a lasting effect.
It’s a mindset that I try to share with the people I surround myself with as I really value that ability to gain and maintain peace of mind.
What are FCI London’s major services and how does the company stay ahead of its competition?
We are an end-to-end luxury lifestyle business aiming to transform spaces and impact lives. From a commercial point of view, it’s about listening and understanding what a client thinks they want and then creating interior solutions that push them out of their comfort zone and introduce new possibilities.
Whether it’s just furniture or a complete home refurbishment, we’re really good at relationship management and have an ability to nudge people into seeing, at the end of each project, where value has been added through something a little different.
In terms of staying ahead of our competition, we all work in the business of making people feel happier in their homes, and everyone does it very well. But, commercially, we feel that we do have a certain technological edge.
We’ve built our own platforms to facilitate our marketing capabilities and overall customer experience, so for a relatively small business, we punch above our weight in terms of the technology we leverage. I consider that to be our unfair advantage.
In your opinion, do successful organisations rely more heavily on individual heroes or team processes?
From my perspective, what makes an organisation successful it’s really more about team cohesion than team processes.
Alignment on a singular goal, irrespective of who you are in the business, and being able to understand both the mission and the difference between what good and exceptional looks like is what drives a company towards success. You don’t need individual heroes for that.
What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?
Serve the people you lead, allowing them to make mistakes until they become the best versions of themselves. When you encourage excellence, everything else flourishes, including your profit margins. And never forget that you’re not perfect – stay open, humble and always aim to improve.
How do you envision the future of FCI London and your other ventures?
In an ever-changing design world, we need to keep up with the times by staying abreast of technological advancements, especially in AI and VR. From SMART home automation to how we present our designs, it’s guaranteed to become an integral part of our brand offering.
