We all know how cumbersome trying to find affordable storage space can be, and this can prove even more challenging if you are trying to find somewhere nearby. This is where Stashbee comes to the rescue! The mission of their startup is to provide a marketplace that makes it easy and hassle-free to find trusted storage hosts nearby, and with no hidden fees. We spoke with the co-founder David Mantle, about his inspiration, experience and possible challenges running Stashbee.
What was the inspiration behind Stashbee?
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The inspiration for came from a shared frustration at not being able to easily find affordable storage space nearby.听After not being able to find anywhere local to store my bike, I ended up building my own shed 鈥� which seemed quite听excessive, especially in the sharing economy era!听My co-founder, Anthony, had a similar situation and felt frustrated听at the complexity of comparing prices and struggled to find somewhere that wasn鈥檛 awkward to travel to. We both thought that there must be someone nearby with unused space and wondered if there was a simple way to find and connect with those people. There wasn鈥檛, and so the idea for Stashbee was born!
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What are the founders鈥� work backgrounds prior to starting Stashbee?
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We have a similar background in Management听and Technology Consulting. I spent several years in management consultancy, working with the likes of Jaguar Land Rover听launching听their Connected Car Service, InControl.听Anthony has a background听in technology consultancy, and he used to help clients like ITV and TUI Travel navigate technology change.
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What was the process of starting a business like for the Stashbee founders? Any surprising challenges that came up?
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As soon as we had the idea, we started working on Stashbee from an attic bedroom to build some of the foundations for getting the business up and running. In the early days, you have to do lots of heavy lifting e.g. going out yourself and flyering areas. We got picked up by a bunch of press (The Sun,听Times听and Daily Mail) all on the same day,听which听drove masses of traffic and 1000鈥檚 of signup.听This听really proved to us that we were onto something. We raised funding one year later and started to hire developers and a customer team, continuing to grow Stashbee from there.听I鈥檇 say the most challenging part of getting started is having to balance funding, finding great people and running the business.
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What makes听Stashbee听different from its competitors?
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Stashbee is a marketplace, so we don鈥檛 own any physical premises. Instead, we see ourselves as the single place where people can find, compare and book storage space and long-term parking. The main difference听with听Stashbee听is that it听gives听people and businesses an easy way to monetise their empty space. In that way, Stashbee is supporting the听rise of micro-entrepreneurs whilst also enabling small businesses and existing self-storage companies to听utilise听their spare capacity.
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Is there anything the founders wish they knew before starting Stashbee?
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Don鈥檛 underestimate both the challenge and the positive impact of hiring great people. It鈥檚 more tricky and takes longer than you think, but the positive impact on your business of finding the right people is incredible.
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What does the future look like for Stashbee, plans for expansion?
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To put it simply, we鈥檙e on a mission to become the number one destination for finding and booking storage space. At the same time, we want to continue to support our Hosts to make the most of their empty space. Our plan is to continue to grow and scale Stashbee across the UK and globally, whilst maintaining our 5-star Trustpilot score and delivering fantastic customer experience.
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What piece of advice would Stashbee give someone looking to start a business in this industry?
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When starting a business in any industry, it鈥檚 vital that you take the time to truly understand your customers and who they are. It鈥檚 important to know which specific problems you鈥檙e trying to solve, and then remain focussed on building a product/service that matches those specific problems. In the early stages of Stashbee, Anthony and听I听got to know our customers by helping them clean and take photos of their spaces. This really taught听us what our customers wanted and how best to serve them.
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