![]() | |
Founded | 2008 [1] |
---|---|
Founder | Chuck Gordon & Mario Feghali |
Headquarters | , USA |
Key people | Chuck Gordon, CEO
[2] Mario Feghali, COO [2] |
Number of employees | 160 [3] |
Website |
www |
SpareFoot is an Austin-based company that provides listings for self-storage units. The company was originally a person-to-person model, similar to Airbnb, that later developed into a marketplace for self-storage. The company now facilitates self-storage rentals between consumers and storage operators. The company was profiled as one of America's Most Promising Startups by Bloomberg Businessweek in 2011. [4]
SpareFoot lists storage business around a particular area to show available units and prices. Customers are able to view available units, real-time price quotes, view photos and make reservations. [5] The company currently works with more than 10,000 storage facilities across the nation. [6]
In 2016, SpareFoot added valet-storage operators to its searchable database. [6] This on-demand option, called Full-Service Storage, takes care of pick up, storage and return delivery on demand. As of 2017, SpareFoot's Full-Service Storage is available in almost 50 markets across the U.S. [7]
The company has also expanded its offerings by partnering with providers of other moving and storage services. Current moving-related offerings include moving supplies, [8] moving truck rental, [9] and full-service storage with moving labor. [10]
SpareFoot was founded in 2008 by Chuck Gordon and Mario Feghali while both were attending UCLA. [11] The concept was developed a year prior when Gordon was attending UCLA and left to spend a semester in Singapore. [12] Gordon used space in Feghali's residence as well as space in girlfriend's garage. While away, Gordon came up with the concept which he pursued with Feghali. [11] SpareFoot was originally formed as a person-to-person website with the concept of facilitating the rental of extra storage space in private residences to those looking for storage.
Original funding came from family members and friends. [11] The site failed to gain traction with a person-to-person model. The founders noticed that there were more storage companies signing up to sell space as opposed to homeowners. [11] The site was re-branded (along with a name change from Homstie to SpareFoot) and began allowing customers to find, compare and review potential storage providers. [11]
Additional funding for SpareFoot came in 2009 when the company was accepted into an incubator program at Capital Factory in Austin, Texas. [13] They were awarded $20,000 seed capital as well as mentoring from the program. [11]
During a second round of funding in 2010, the company received $2 Million in investment from Silverton Partners and Floodgate Fund. [14] The following year they raised $1.5 million in capital, bringing their second round total to $3.5 million. [1]
In 2014, SpareFoot raised $10 million in a Series C round of venture funding from Insight Venture Partners. [15]
On March 11, 2015, the company announced a Series D round of $33 million from Insight Venture Partners as well as Monkfish Equity and Revolution LLC. [16]
In 2011, Chuck Gordon and Mario Feghali were named to the list of 30 Under 30 by Forbes. [2]
In 2013, SpareFoot was the winner of the Austin Startup Games, a competition that paired 15 startup companies against each other in games like ping pong, flip cup, and shuffleboard. SpareFoot received $30,000 for winning which they donated to the charity Kure It Cancer Research. [17]
The company ran a campaign in 2012 where they donated $3 in school supplies for users of their Facebook and Twitter pages who posted items they have kept since they were in grade school. [18] SpareFoot also gave $100 vouchers for self-storage space to Washington D.C. residents affected by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. [19]
SpareFoot was listed as one of 7 Awesome Dog-Friendly Companies for National Dog Week by Career Bliss in 2012 for allowing dogs at their headquarters in Austin. [20]