MakeSpace, the fastest growing on-demand storage company headquartered in New York City, and Iron Mountain Incorporated, the global leader in storage and information management services, announced a new partnership to bring consumer storage services to 24 markets.
As a part of this transaction, Iron Mountain will join a $30 million financing round for MakeSpace, and MakeSpace will acquire Stashable, Iron Mountain’s full-service, valet consumer storage business. This partnership combines MakeSpace’s technology platform for consumer storage with Iron Mountain’s storage, transportation and logistics operations.
According to Venturebeat, the new capital comes after MakeSpace’s $30 million raise in April 2017 and an $8 million raise in April 2014, which included individual contributions from NBA star Carmelo Anthony and rap legend Nasir Jones. This brings MakeSpace’s total raised to $103 million.
Additionally, MakeSpace will become a storage customer of Iron Mountain and deliver an initial 2.1 million cubic feet of consumer storage.
Iron Mountain’s network of facilities and operational resources give MakeSpace the opportunity to bring its best-in-class, scalable technology to new markets without the time and capital investment required. Iron Mountain’s capabilities will accelerate operational efficiencies for MakeSpace’s existing storage service locations in New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, as well as position MakeSpace to quickly scale into new markets in the future.
While one in 10 Americans currently uses self storage, each year about 40 million Americans move at least once, and much of that includes moving to major cities. With urban apartment sizes shrinking by 5 percent, the need for storage will only continue to increase.
MakeSpace utilizes data and machine learning to provide a convenient and seamless self-storage experience. Through AI-driven algorithms, customers are able to store and retrieve their items on-demand, receive optimal pricing, easily schedule appointments, track their pick-ups in real time, leave reviews and tip through the app, and view a secure photo inventory of stored items. When applied to Iron Mountain’s extensive resource network, MakeSpace’s proprietary routing and workforce optimization technology will radically transform the growing $38 billion consumer self storage industry.
One of their mottos: "Full-service storage. Self-storage prices." However, MakeSpace employs a large workforce that tenders and transports items to camera- and alarm-outfitted storage hubs. Customers choose from one of several storage plans — ranging from a 2x2 space to a 10x20 — which vary in price depending on locale. In New York City, pricing ranges from $69 up to $459 per month. MakeSpace handles pickups and deliveries, similar to the business model of Clutter.
“Iron Mountain provides a massive global storage footprint, along with decades of operational experience. When combined with our industry-leading proprietary technology, customer service and scalable go-to-market strategy, we have the opportunity to be operationally superior to competitors and exceed consumer demand for hassle-free storage.”
-Rahul Gandhi, CEO, MakeSpace
“We’re thrilled to work with the leader in information management and secure storage as we work to achieve MakeSpace’s mission of making more space easily accessible to everybody.”
MakeSpace, founded in 2013, creates an affordable storage alternative to traditional self storage that allows consumers to store their belongings without lifting a finger. Customers can select a storage plan that suits their storage needs and manage items remotely through their digital catalog to easily view stored items and manage pick-ups and returns.
“We’re excited to join forces with MakeSpace on a consumer storage offering that will help change the market landscape.”
-Deirdre Evens, executive vice president and general manager, Records & Information Management, North America, Iron Mountain.
“Iron Mountain’s storage business has been built on securing and protecting valuable records and assets, a value proposition that can be extended into other categories and markets, from artwork, film and music assets to areas like consumers’ valued personal items. The combination of MakeSpace’s consumer storage brand and front-end customer platform with our operational scale, expertise managing the world’s most valuable assets, and brand promise of trust and security will allow us to deliver even more value for across our storage network.”
Iron Mountain Incorporated, founded in 1951, is the global leader for storage and information management services. It services more than 225,000 organizations around the world, and with a real estate network of more than 90 million square feet across more than 1,450 facilities in approximately 50 countries, Iron Mountain stores and protects billions of valued assets, including critical business information, highly sensitive data, and cultural and historical artifacts. Providing solutions that include information management, digital transformation, secure storage, secure destruction, as well as data centers, cloud services and art storage and logistics, Iron Mountain helps customers lower cost and risk, comply with regulations, recover from disaster, and enable a digital way of working.
In recent news and unrelated to self storage, Iron Mountain renewed its support for papers of Abraham Lincoln Project, preserving and protecting the writings and legacy of President Lincoln.
