Victor GROSU, the renowned creator of HoReCa concepts, architect, interior designer, entrepreneur, vlogger and TV host, founder of Grosu ArtStudio, who has been creating and developing successful concepts in the Hospitality Industry in Romania for 20 years, recently returned to his Alma Mater with a presentation for the students of the Department of Architecture within the UTM Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning. The lecture was both a lesson on how to build a successful career, as well as a Masterclass on the subject of Business in the Interior Architecture field, Mr. Grosu’s central message being: “I succeeded. And so can you!”.
As challenging as it is valuable, his message was a testimony of his career spanning over two decades, during which he completed 527 international projects with a total investment value of 600 million euros, created 211 restaurants, trained dozens of specialists in the field and won 22 awards. Architecture being the meaning of his life, he turned his passion into a business, and now shares his practical advice with those interested in how to grow and achieve success – this time, with the future architects and interior designers of UTM.
“I know very well what it’s like to do Interior Design in the Wild Wild East, where the code for interior architects was introduced in the COR only in 2021”, he tells the young people taking their first steps in the industry, speaking on the ideas he shared on the IDBS – Interior Design Business School platform of online courses.
It is, in fact, the first and only Interior Design Business course in Romania: “I created this course because I want to teach you how to practice this job in a proper and profitable way and to go from interior designer to Interior Design entrepreneur. You will learn to correctly apply the rules of this game, so that, together, we can generate positive change in the entire system”.
Mr. Grosu shares his advice with beginners and professionals alike: “Are you an architect or an interior designer? Are you aspiring to become one? Discover in the IDBS courses the business system that I use to generate an annual income of 1 million euros as an interior designer in Romania”.
Naturally, the idea also piqued the interest of the FUA-UTM students. Curious to find out who Victor Grosu really is and how they can succeed in reaching their professional goals, the future architects and interior designers from FUA crowded the lecture hall in an attempt to find out his recipe for success on the Interior Design market in Romania. Mr. Grosu told his story on how he started his own company; provided suggestion on how to build a Business, PR and Marketing strategy (“It all depends on your imagination!”); spoke about the purpose of the team and the role of a leader vs. manager; the rules they follow in communicating with clients and workers, and the importance of the first meeting – the beginning point that settles the foundation of the entire relationship with the client. The presentation also included aspects about bidding, specifications and the cost of services (“How do you end up asking for 50 thousand euros on a project?”); about working with suppliers; project flow and time management; stress management and what it means to have a successful business in Interior Design, etc., with a bonus: the rules for creating a floor plan…
Mr. Grosu revealed that, during the pandemic, he turned to online consultations, coming up with new survival rules for restaurants, helping operators in the HoReCa sector to reinvent themselves and overcome the uncertainties and pessimistic statistics of that period, suggesting solutions for reconfiguring their business, adapting to the circumstances and maintaining their business. This is how he came up with the idea of virtual restaurants and the adaptation of HoReCa business promotion strategies in the context of the pandemic, and more.
The UTM graduate Victor Grosu was applauded by the professors of FUA-UTM for his progress: as a specialist trained here, in the Republic of Moldova, who achieved career advancement in Romania, today, he has a number of successful international projects in Thailand, UK, USA, as well as subsidiaries in various countries.
