This Startup Could Be The Uber Of Self-Storage
In fact, it pegs itself as the Uber for self-storage. (Uber being the trendy car service app that's competing with on-street taxis in many cities now.)
Here's how it works. Open up the Clutter app, request as many reusable storage boxes as you need to be delivered to your home, take a photo of the items, and then schedule them for pick-up.
Once you want your boxes back, just tap "Bring Me My Boxes" in the app. Clutter will bring them to you the next day.
Clutter, which is trying to tap into the $22 billion self-storage market in the U.S., charges $10 per box per month. It charges a $15 flat rate to retrieve boxes out of storage.
"I came up with the idea because I was frustrated with existing self-storage solutions," Clutter founder CEO Brian Thomas tells Business Insider. "I found myself just letting things rot away."
What differentiates Clutter from other solutions, Thomas says, is that it owns the entire storage process. So instead of hiring third-party couriers or relying on a pre-existing storage company, Clutter takes full responsibility and control over every aspect of the process.
Clutter stores everything in a secure warehouse, which is monitored around the clock. It also does background checks on every potential courier, provides tamper-proof stickers to customers, and insures each box for up to $1,000.
For now, Clutter is only serving west Los Angeles, Venice, and Santa Monica. In the next couple of months, Clutter plans to launch on Android and add a web-based version. Once Clutter perfects its operations in Los Angeles, it plans to roll out to other cities.
Clutter has raised some money from friends and family, but wants to raise a $500,000 seed round soon.