Sharing is trendy. More and more startups are tapping into the share economy, and a lot of them do so quite successfully. New Dutch startup Storage Share is the latest addition with their peer-to-peer service of storage space. ‘Together, we have space’ is their motto, in which they address the sharing aspect as well as the possibility of using space to the max.
Stating the obvious: we need space!
Bringing the supply and demand of storage spaces together, founders Niels van Eck and Julian Doorten came up with a solution to a problem they were also experiencing themselves. “When I moved to Amsterdam for my first job, I only had six square meters to live on. Not even enough space for my beloved mountain bike, that had to stay at my parents’ house. Without realizing it at the time, back then the idea for Storage Share was born”, Doorten explains.
Traditional Storage vs. Storage Share
According to van Eck & Doorten, traditional storage rental services are not meeting the wishes of the customers, especially in the bigger cities. They are often located outside a city center and quite expensive. With Storage Share, you can find a space in your own neighborhood, what comes in handy if you want to finally do that mountain bike trip and you don’t want to lose your valuable time (and motivation) to cross half the city to pick up your bike. Doorten is confident about the possibilities their platform offers:
‘In my opinion, Storage Share can become the platform which offers all available storage spaces. Both real estate holders and consumers can make use of all the space that is available and both can benefit. Specifically we aim to rent out 1.000 storages by the end of 2017’
How does it work?
The platform, which works similar to that of AirBnB, shows a list of all available spaces. Right away you see the available square meters and a photo of the property. With a personal message on each and every ‘advertisement’ there is a feeling of informality. When you found the right place to store your summer clothes, Christmas stuff or that sentimental furniture you still can’t get rid of, all you have to do is contact Storage Share. They will take care of the payment details.
Heading into the future
The sharing platform is a B2C and a B2B in one. When Storage Share launched its idea, professional real estate parties saw the potential as well, as the concept of turning empty offices into useful resources appealed to them. Partnerships with office real estate companies Merin and Annexum have already been made and some other investors are looking into the possibilities of a pilot.