Australian self-storage start-up Spacer has put its planned expansion into Asia on ice to jump into the world's largest economy first.
Spacer - which founder Mike Rosenbaum calls "Airbnb but for storage" - began connecting Australians eager to cash in on their spare space with those in need of more in 2015.
Now the Sydey-based group has acquired its American counterpart Roost to move into the US.
Mr Rosenbaum said grabbing a slice of the US storage market - which he says is 33 times the size of Australia's - took priority over the company's previously planned expansion into Asia.
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"The US is a massive opportunity. So we'll take that as our first foray into international waters and we'll certainly keep Asia in our sights," Mr Rosenbaum said.
"We're not trying to bite off more than we can chew."
Mr Rosenbaum said Roost wasn't on the table when Spacer began work on its foray into Asia last year.
"(The market) is still very much in its infancy in Asia, whereas the US invented self-storage," he said, adding that about one-in-10 Americans used self-storage.
Roost currently holds less than one per cent of the US market but Spacer aims to boost that to up to 10 per cent in Chicago, Washington DC and San Francisco - where Roost already operates.
"They're still an early-stage business and that's why we've come to agreement with them to acquire the business, to acquire the assets ... and really scale it up to what we believe it can be," Mr Rosenbaum said.
Those assets include Roost's tech platform, database and customers, as well as its partnerships with various car rental companies.
"People want to rent storage within their local neighbourhood, so we really have to acquire supply quite quickly in each of the neighbourhoods ... and then roll out from there," Mr Rosenbaum said.
It's the same challenge Spacer faced in Australia, one that Mr Rosenbaum said the company had mastered since its launch, with month-on-month growth currently at 30 per cent.
Hosts in Australia range from retirees to businesses, while renters ranging from apartment-living professionals to people running eBay businesses.
Mr Rosenbaum said people were renting space for items as large as boats, caravans and cars.
"We have people who need more space living in smaller environments like apartments. And, then, you've got the empty nesters, where the kids have left home, and they have spare bedrooms and garages," he said.
Spacer has financed its US expansion with nearly $2 million dollars raised from its Australian arm but wouldn't disclose the price of the acquisition, citing an agreement with Roost.
"We'll be looking to tap our investors and potentially new investors to take the business to the next level, but that won't be until the second-half of 2017," Mr Rosenbaum said.
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