This Australian start-up is capturing the P2P marketplace for self-storage

Spacer received A$1 million in funding which will give the start-up 18 months of runway, reports Tech in Asia

The sharing economy is growing. We’ve seen peer-to-peer marketplaces for a lot of things – from rooms to offices, cars to motorcycles and bicycles. Spacer, a startup that just launched in Australia and raised some funding, captures another vertical: self-storage.

Like others in this business, Spacer poses this one question to its users: why shell out big bucks for something you can rent cheaply from others?
 

Spacer bills itself as the solution for consumers looking for indoor and outdoor storage that could accommodate a variety of items –boats, caravans, machinery, cars, clothing and furniture.
 

“Space is the new tradeable commodity in the sharing economy. That’s not surprising given the high-density living in Australia’s capital cities, which has resulted in some people having space and many others needing additional space,” notes founder Michael Rosenbaum, who’s a former director of online shopping store Deals Direct.
 

Spacer has struck a chord with local governments, where street congestion is a big issue.
 

“We are currently in discussions with Warringah, Manly, Marrickville, and Kuring-Gai councils about partnerships to support their local community needs, as well as a number of sporting clubs and industrial real estate providers to secure listings of large commercial properties on the platform to support users that have bigger storage needs.”
 

Michael wouldn’t say how much revenue they’ve booked so far, but he did say that their recent funding of A$1 million ($725,400) would give Spacer 18 months of runway.
 

The company will use the money to acquire more clients and expand into other types of space such as commercial and other venues as well as farmland. 

This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here.