openunit raises a $1m seed round to be the online face of self-storage

The Challenge for Independent Self-Storage Facilities

Independent, locally-owned self-storage businesses often face difficulties in competing with the technological advancements offered by larger, national chains.

OpenUnit addresses this issue by providing a solution where facility owners can leverage a comprehensive website, secure payment processing, and essential backend management tools.

OpenUnit's Recent Progress

OpenUnit has successfully completed a $1 million seed funding round and simultaneously acquired intellectual property from another Y Combinator company.

Since its initial development, the platform has expanded its reach across the United States and Canada, currently maintaining a waitlist exceeding 800 facilities.

Strategic Partnerships and Industry Expertise

According to co-founder Taylor Cooney, this seed round is strategically focused on establishing key partnerships in addition to securing capital.

Neither Taylor Cooney nor Lucas Playford possessed prior experience within the self-storage sector until an unexpected encounter sparked their interest and investigation.

As previously reported, the investment round included participation from over 20 investors, with six originating directly from the self-storage industry.

• This includes current and former facility owners.
• The director of the Canadian Self Storage Association also invested.

These investors bring valuable industry knowledge and potential beyond just financial contributions.

Acquisition of Affiga's Technology

The OpenUnit team has expanded from its initial two founders to a team of five and continues to seek further growth.

Furthermore, the company has acquired the intellectual property of Affiga, a fellow Y Combinator company from the W20 batch, which focused on providing automated customer insights following transactions.

Taylor Cooney explains that as self-storage operations transition online, maintaining customer understanding becomes more challenging.

Integrating Affiga’s technology aims to help operators bridge the gap between online interactions and the personalized service traditionally offered in-store.

Affiga's Background and Value

Affiga had previously ceased operations in 2020.

OpenUnit opted to acquire the technology rather than develop a similar solution internally, recognizing the expertise of Affiga’s founder.

According to Taylor Cooney, the founder possessed a decade of e-commerce experience and a superior approach to the problem.

Future Plans and Opportunities

OpenUnit’s immediate focus is on onboarding facilities from its extensive waitlist.

The company is also exploring additional services, including the potential provision of loans for facility expansion or renovation projects.

By functioning as both a management platform and a payment processor, OpenUnit gains valuable insights into facility performance, including revenue and payment punctuality.

Leveraging this data, combined with insights on revenue-enhancing improvements, presents a compelling opportunity.

Investment Details

This funding round included investments from Garage Capital, Advisors Fund, Insite Property Group, Jonathan Wasserstrum (co-founder of SquareFoot), and various angel investors.