If you live in New York, you’ve seen the subway ads. MakeSpace wants to free your apartment of clutter.
And now the self-storage startup is getting $30 million to execute on their vision. This follows another $17.5 million raised last year.
Venture capitalists from 8VC, Upfront Ventures, Harmony Partners and Summit Action believe that there’s a $30 billion market opportunity for clothing and furniture storage, and that startups like MakeSpace will continue to take their share of it. Celebrity investors like Carmelo Anthony and Nas have also bet on MakeSpace.
“The growth has been impressive,” said Mark Suster, managing partner at Upfront Ventures. “I love backing startups in large markets where there’s been no innovation.”
MakeSpace wants to make it easier for people to access their storage items and has built an on-demand app, where you can pay to have select items delivered. If you’ve ever made the trek to a creepy storage facility, you’ll understand why this is a convenience.
“Gone are the usual limits of square footage, vehicle accessibility, and moving muscle strength – MakeSpace covers it all so customers don’t have to think through these details,” said Kimmy Scotti, partner at 8VC. She’s joining the MakeSpace board.
It also saves MakeSpace money because they don’t have to pay high rents in prime locations. Instead they have storage facilities in less desirable areas because they are the ones that bringing items back and forth.
CEO Sam Rosen said that they’ve learned storage is an “average middle class problem.” And it’s not just for people with space constraints, “death, downsize, divorce and disaster” can all be motivators.
Based in New York, MakeSpace is just focused on NYC and a few other markets. Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Chicago also have MakeSpace.
They will not be using the funding to expand to new regions. Instead, they plan to double down on the cities they are already in. They currently have “tens of thousands” of customers, said Rosen.
MakeSpace aims to be affordable. New York pricing starts at $59 per month.
But MakeSpace is not the only storage startup looking to shake up the space. Clutter, based in Los Angeles, is also making headways. Trove recently launched in beta in San Francisco.
Rosen says that they may eventually expand beyond storage and help with other related tasks, moving and selling furniture are possibilities.
They also are trying to brand themselves as a “thought leader” in home living. MakeSpace’s website has a blog about home organizing.
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