Starting a new business + Blockbuster

Starting a new business

I run a startup, Stuf, that’s disrupting the self storage industry, and I’ve spent most of my career in commercial real estate. What does that have anything to do with Blockbuster (#rip)? Well, you’ll know soon enough.

I’m a mover and a shaker, so it’s hard for me to sit down and review / reflect (shoutout Robyn Ward), but let me share a few learnings and observations to help other entrepreneurs, landlords, or anyone who’s ever needed storage before.

Everything is operations. Operations is everything. When you’re disrupting a traditional industry like self storage, and your members visit once every few months, you have few opportunities to wow them. That cadence is great in some ways, but it poses its own challenges and requires best-in-class quality standards to surprise and delight our members. My team has done a tremendous job in partnership with Neighbor (our exclusive demand partner), and we average ★★★★★ customer ratings at both locations!

You don’t know everything. Listen to customer feedback. In the early early days, our research told us that Stuf would need to deliver on multiple value props — proximity to home and work, friendly service, technology, and ease of use (not to mention the basics, safety and cleanliness). In launching our second location in Brooklyn, we found members needed speed. They wanted to book and be in the space within 15 minutes. We quickly reconfigured our security access control systems to provide immediate access while also implementing new security monitoring standards to match customer experience and internal operations.

Ask for help. Everyone wants you to win. I’m a fiercely independent older sister, and learning to ask for help is something I’m always working on. I’m fortunate to have a great support network and incredible friends, family, advisors, and investors who want to help Stuf win. I’m constantly in awe of the guidance, resources and generosity when everyone’s pitching in to refer potential customers (everyone needs storage!), share innovative ideas, or remind me to take a breath. This is less of a learning and more of a thank you, so thank you!

Don’t be Blockbuster

My co-founder and investor, Adam, often tells landlord LPs: “don’t be Blockbuster and hand over your lunch money to Netflix.” In the spirit of reflection…many people don’t know this about my family, but in the 90’s, my parents jumped on the movie rental wagon, opening several Blockbuster-like stores. You can imagine how that ended.

After announcing Stuf’s seed round in December, we’ve seen tremendous momentum and learned so much about our storage users, commercial landlords, and growing a business. I love real estate because it’s real and tangible, and it’s become a personal and company mission to transform real estate into a service and make sure it doesn’t become Blockbuster.

Commercial real estate has evolved faster in the last few months than it has in the last 5 or 10 years. Right now, most real estate owners are proactively planning, researching new concepts and asking themselves about the future of real estate. That’s great, but this group splinters off where it really matters — when it’s time to take action.

When research and planning must evolve into action, owners either dive in and experiment, or watch how it plays out for someone else. I share this observation not to criticize but to encourage landlords to reflect on what will make the difference between winning, losing, or just getting by. Don’t be Blockbuster.

Stuf monetizes underutilized commercial real estate to drive new cash flow opportunities to owners — see our one pager here. Please send us any projects with basements, garages or other unused space. If we can’t help directly, we probably know another group or concept that can…so either way, reach out (realestate@stufstorage.com)!