Spacer Secures $1M in Funding to Build Australiaâs Largest Marketplace For Space
Sydney Australia: Spacer, Australia’s most comprehensive peer-to-peer and B2B marketplace for space closes $1M in funding from angel and private investors to support its Australian launch and expansion.
Sydney, Australia – November 16, 2015 /MarketersMedia/ —
• Founded by ex-Deals Direct CEO Michael Rosenbaum
• Monetizing space, the new tradable commodity in the sharing economy
Sydney Australia: Spacer, Australia’s most comprehensive peer-to-peer and B2B marketplace for space closes $1M in funding from angel and private investors to support its Australian launch and expansion.
Founded by ex-Deals Direct CEO Michael Rosenbaum, the marketplace, which launches today, seeks to tap under utilised assets in the community to solve consumer’s storage challenges. Unlike other peer-to-peer storage providers, Spacer offers a complete space solution for users that encompasses both indoor and outdoor needs. From boats, caravans, machinery, cars – to typical household items such as sporting equipment, clothing and baby items. Spacer also offers a solution to businesses and community clubs that too struggle with storage of bulky items.
“Space is the new tradable commodity in the sharing economy which is 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,” said Michael Rosenbaum, co-founder and CEO of Spacer.
“Through Spacer we seek to better utilise these unused space assets that exist in our community, whilst providing space sharers – or hosts – with additional income, and space renters with more affordable and convenient storage in their neighborhood.”
Spacer has struck a cord with local councils where street congestion is a big issue for local residents.
“Many councils are looking at ways to get boats, cars and other large items such as trailers off the streets to reduce congestion within local communities. 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,” said Rosenbaum.
The self-storage market is a $750M plus industry with a 1.9% growth rate. Despite this, high fees, hidden costs and inconvenient locations and access make it a sector that is ripe for disruption.
“Australians are being ripped off. The average storage period is 2.5 years and a single garage space can cost $700-900 in Sydney suburban self-storage facilities. Boat storage in particular is an issue, and boat ownership is growing at 4% p.a. and caravan ownership is growing at over 5% p.a.
“Spacer’s prices are typically 50% off what you would pay at traditional self-storage facilities, plus it has the added advantage of no-lock in contracts, pay month-to-month and no hidden fees,” explains Rosenbaum
Like with any peer-to-peer network, building trust and confidence is essential. To this aim Spacer verifies every host and renter, manages the billing process on behalf of hosts to ensure timely and regular payments and offers a property and goods guarantee – essentially insurance, to protect both parties.
With the recent investment used to fast track Spacer’s growth as well as user experience, Rosenbaum signals that expansion into other types of space such as commercial, farmland and venues as well as international expansion is on the cards.
“Our vision is to build the number one marketplace for space. While currently our focus is a peer-to-peer offer, there is great potential to take this into new categories and markets,”
For more information about us, please visit https://www.spacer.com.au/
Contact Info:
Name: Michael Rosenbaum
Organization: Spacer
Release ID: 96734
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