I recently had a chat with Michael Rosenbaum (@mike_rosenbaum), CEO and founder of Spacer, an Australian marketplace for listing storage space. Two weeks ago, the company completed its trial period and has officially launched. Spacer helps people in need of storage find available space in their area from homeowners and businesses.

Rosenbaum’s experience can help those who are thinking about building a marketplace. His story is the perfect example of someone who already had expertise in an industry and used that to build and grow a marketplace for self storage. He had already established himself in the online marketing & ecommerce industry by co-founding Auction Brokers in 2000 and Deals Direct in 2004.   

His expertise helped him found Spacer last year, which officially launched November 16th. The company recently got a million dollars in funding from angel and private investors, positioning them as a frontrunner in the self-storage market. Getting funding is key and Rosenbaum recommends that entrepreneurs seek out financial backing to help them get to the next level. With the funding, Spacer can continue to offer services and expand its reach.  

When asked about the challenges he came across to build a marketplace, Rosenbaum explains that, because he was already established in the industry, it was fairly easy to get up and running. Still, it can be challenging to find people to list on his site, so hopefully this new phase of funding will help as well as the exposure from social media.

In a nutshell, here is some advice Rosenbaum offered for entrepreneurs looking to start a peer-to-peer marketplace:

• Identify a need in the market and meet that need with the best possible solution
• Offer a more affordable option: other companies offered space and storage services but were really expensive
• Get your product/service out there as soon as possible -- it’s important to get a sense of how people respond to it
• Have a vision, believe in what you’re selling and work hard everyday

Rosenbaum is creating his own path in peer-to-peer platforms by using social media and other networking to connect people with services such as room rental, self-storage, errand running, boat equipment rental and storage. He had a vision, built upon his previous experience and created a company that is helping people make extra income and others to store their valuables. A simple idea can go a long way if it meets an important need and offers people a superior service at a better price. We are excited to see how much Spacer is growing and look forward to what is in store for the future.