Storrage Inc., a Seattle-based business specializing in valet self-storage services, has changed its name to Livible Inc. and its app-based service to Livible.Space. The rebranding coincides with an escalation in service offerings beyond basic storage and delivery as well as an influx of investment that will help fund the company’s national expansion plan, beginning with Portland, Ore., according to the source.
The company recently raised $1.2 million from angel investors, including Geoff Entress, a venture partner with information-technology investment firm Voyager Capital, and Jeff Wilke, senior vice president of Amazon, according to GeekWire, a news website that focuses on technology. The company has now raised a total of $2.5 million, with much of the money coming from current and former executives connected to brands such as Amazon, Coinstar, Microsoft and Nordstrom.
"The ease and convenience of valet storage is quickly gaining favor among U.S. consumers, including 50 percent of women and millennials who already say they prefer it to traditional self-storage," said Terry Drayton, founder and CEO of Livible.
The valet-storage operator more than doubled its Seattle customer base during the first nine months of 2015 and established positive cash flow prior to the third quarter to enable expansion, according to a company press release. Livible launched service this week to 29 ZIP codes in the Portland area, a market that Drayton sees as a natural extension from the company’s Seattle roots. "Portland was our first choice to expand, as it's a terrific match for our company and services," he said.
The company has experimented with several value-added services since it launched in 2013. In addition to offering pickup and delivery of bins and large items in storage, Livible now has a shared-item service in which customers can have items dropped off and picked up at another person’s location for the purpose of borrowing. Customers who wish to sell stored items can also use Livible as a middle man for handling sales through Craigslist. Livible will handle the exchange and collect the money for customers. It will also assist customers donate, rent or trade items, according to GeekWire.
While Drayton anticipated customers would appreciate the company offering assistance to sell items, other services have come by way of customer requests. “That’s the best way to add services,” he told GeekWire. “Customers are always a whole lot smarter than you are.”
Portland is the company’s second major service market. Livible intends to expand to 40 metropolitan markets as quickly as possible, the source reported.
