Self Storage Lab

Transforming Urban Spaces Into Profitable Storage Facilities w/ Peter Smyth from White Label Storage


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Company Overview & Background

  • Founded by Peter and Alex (met at Harvard Business School)
  • Started as Local Locker in NYC - urban storage platform focused on unused spaces
  • Evolved into White Label Storage - third-party management service
  • Alex just had second boy (now 5 kids between the two founders)
  • Currently operate 30 stores under management platform
  • 50+ stores in pipeline
  • Growth from 15 to 30 stores in past year


Business Model Evolution

  • Local Locker: B2C model focused on urban storage
  • White Label Storage: B2B management service


Operational Philosophy

  • Client-first approach at every level
  • Built own website to reduce client costs ($500/month industry standard)
  • Focus on stripping out unnecessary costs
  • Improved onboarding process based on Rippling’s milestone approach
  • Emphasizes building partnerships vs being fee provider
  • Treats single-asset owners’ properties as retirement plans


Technology & Innovation

  • Recently launched streamlined payment collection system
  • Developing proprietary revenue management tool (Q3 launch target)


Team Structure & Management

  • 30 total employees
  • ~20 in operations (split between facility level and customer service)
  • Separate sales/marketing and local teams
  • Implemented specialized roles to reduce “cognitive burden”


Market Outlook & Industry Trends


* Seeing demand normalization post-COVID correction

  • Extra Space potentially returning to smaller markets
  • Major challenge: “slash rate” promos creating pricing confusion
  • Focus on maintaining steady rates vs chasing promotional pricing
  • Under-investment in assets remains common industry problem
  • Expects institutional buyers to return to remote markets
...more
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