Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share An Affair in a Storage Unit!? (Katharine of Stuf)
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
An Affair in a Storage Unit!? (Katharine of Stuf)
Sometimes, startups are about a magic moment where the right founder is staring at the right thing – in this case, empty, unused commercial real estate – realizes there's a different way to leverage that thing, that an arbitrage exists, that if you do just a few things differently, there's opportunity for everybody.
And that's definitely the story with Stuf and Katharine Lau. Stuf is a next-generation self storage startup, and Katharine is its founder. Unlike the self storage solutions of yesterday, Stuf is reimagining how we think about space. It's tech-enabled and modern, but the best part is the business model innovation: she signs deals with commercial landlords who have unused space (nowadays, this is a lot of them!), then outfits these spaces to become a "home away from home for your stuff."
For landlords, it's a monetization opportunity at a time when they could really use it. For consumers, it's a more modern storage experience – and it comes at a time when people are living in less than space than ever, want to put some of their stuff away, and want to access that stuff on-demand and at their leisure as an extension of their daily or weekly life.
Stuf is bringing a new-age vibe to an old-school product. And that's the conversation we have here on Episode 012 of The Sherveen Show!
We also talk about the nitty-gritty of convincing landlords to try something new, the challenges of building a team, and the surprising (and sometimes scandalous) things people store behind those metal doors.
Whether you’re a curious founder, a real estate buff, or someone who just wants to know what goes into reinventing a simple concept, this episode is packed with insights. Stick around for an honest chat on raising VC money in a tough market, the importance of brand experience, and why staying focused matters — even when faced with endless opportunities.
UNRELATED/RELATED
In a job search in tech? You've seen Sherveen talking about the latest in business and society on The Sherveen Show, on stage giving startup founders feedback on The Feedback Loop, and having deep dive tech and foundership conversations on Three Course Founders...
But he's also the founder/CEO of Free Agency and, since 2019, has helped hundreds of candidates in tech win over $400M in offers – he knows job search, and now you can learn it from him, too. For those in an active search (or who will be in the next 6 months), Breakthrough Job Search is a cohort-based course for tech industry professionals looking for an edge in this historically challenging job market. Enroll: https://www.freeagency.com/breakthrough
Follow Sherveen on X: https://www.x.com/sherveen
Follow Sherveen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherveenm
Follow Katharine: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katharinelau
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
View all episodes
By Sherveen MashayekhiSometimes, startups are about a magic moment where the right founder is staring at the right thing – in this case, empty, unused commercial real estate – realizes there's a different way to leverage that thing, that an arbitrage exists, that if you do just a few things differently, there's opportunity for everybody.
And that's definitely the story with Stuf and Katharine Lau. Stuf is a next-generation self storage startup, and Katharine is its founder. Unlike the self storage solutions of yesterday, Stuf is reimagining how we think about space. It's tech-enabled and modern, but the best part is the business model innovation: she signs deals with commercial landlords who have unused space (nowadays, this is a lot of them!), then outfits these spaces to become a "home away from home for your stuff."
For landlords, it's a monetization opportunity at a time when they could really use it. For consumers, it's a more modern storage experience – and it comes at a time when people are living in less than space than ever, want to put some of their stuff away, and want to access that stuff on-demand and at their leisure as an extension of their daily or weekly life.
Stuf is bringing a new-age vibe to an old-school product. And that's the conversation we have here on Episode 012 of The Sherveen Show!
We also talk about the nitty-gritty of convincing landlords to try something new, the challenges of building a team, and the surprising (and sometimes scandalous) things people store behind those metal doors.
Whether you’re a curious founder, a real estate buff, or someone who just wants to know what goes into reinventing a simple concept, this episode is packed with insights. Stick around for an honest chat on raising VC money in a tough market, the importance of brand experience, and why staying focused matters — even when faced with endless opportunities.
UNRELATED/RELATED
In a job search in tech? You've seen Sherveen talking about the latest in business and society on The Sherveen Show, on stage giving startup founders feedback on The Feedback Loop, and having deep dive tech and foundership conversations on Three Course Founders...
But he's also the founder/CEO of Free Agency and, since 2019, has helped hundreds of candidates in tech win over $400M in offers – he knows job search, and now you can learn it from him, too. For those in an active search (or who will be in the next 6 months), Breakthrough Job Search is a cohort-based course for tech industry professionals looking for an edge in this historically challenging job market. Enroll: https://www.freeagency.com/breakthrough
Follow Sherveen on X: https://www.x.com/sherveen
Follow Sherveen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherveenm
Follow Katharine: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katharinelau
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.