Today we’d like to introduce you to Kyle Bainter.
Kyle, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
With backgrounds in real estate, my co-founder Dan Slaven and I saw an opportunity to provide a service based model to self-storage. As many people can relate, I (Kyle) needed storage when my wife and I had our kiddo back in 2015. I realized first-hand how difficult the process is to rent a storage unit. From the multiple phone calls to find the right sized unit, to renting a truck, to finding friends and family to help, I realized how cumbersome the process is and what a time-suck it can be to a weekend. I even compiled a homemade video inventory on my smartphone so I wouldn’t forget what I was taking to storage. This got me thinking, why isn’t there a storage company that would do the heavy lifting, inventory my stuff, haul to storage, and then provide online account management so I could get as little as just one box back with just a click (unlike PODs which does not provide packing help or granular inventory).
Dan and I then put our heads together, light bulbs going off. We knew that the industry was about a $30 billion a year business and that it was 80%+ fragmented. These industry fundamentals are exactly what you want when setting out with a disruptive concept. Plus, we knew the storage market since we had made investments in self-storage from our real estate backgrounds. Our goal with Callbox Storage was to make an antiquated industry smarter, easier to use, with more growth and scale potential. So, we created Callbox Storage to make this difficult process…. simple.
Here’s how it works:
1) Free doorside pick up (we do the heavy lifting!)
2) Photo Inventory
3) Haul to our Callbox Storage facility and placed in a storage location (imagine a nice Sams Club or Costco with racking, barcoding, tracking, etc. so items are never lost.
4) Return delivery with just a click – we will bring back up to 5 items per month for free with nominal charges after that.
Our customers have been raving about the service as you can see on our review sites. When you can make a very difficult process simple you will have happy customers…. we are seeing that. Based on our success in DFW we are now expanding to Austin within 30-60 days and we have our sites on two additional markets that we hope to announce soon.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been as smooth as you could hope, but not without its struggles. For us, we found that educating a market on a completely new concept that has never been seen before is not easy. Then, after customers understand the concept their initial gut reaction is that there must be a catch. We hear things like “it must be more expensive” or “where are the hidden fees” and such. The truth is, we challenged the status quo and created a better process, with more efficient real estate, with better customer service, all at a price point that is extremely competitive with traditional self-storage. However, educating the market on all of this takes time.
Callbox Storage – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We have set out to make storage simple. Usually, the need for storage arises during life events such as getting married, having a baby, or building a new home. Then, there are the unfortunate ones such as death and breakups. Whether the need for storage comes during a happy moment or a sad moment, they are always points in life where there is an increase in stress. These are moments where time is extremely valuable. We like to say we give customers their time back. What is normally a 6-hour process or so to load and haul your things to storage now becomes a 5-minute signup process. We do the heavy lifting. We do the loading. We do the hauling…and we bring it back too!
What is also very unique is we have carefully developed proprietary software that determines exactly the plan size that a customer needs based on what the customer is storing. We provide the customer with an estimate, but then we right-size customers at the end of a pickup based on what they are actually storing. If the customer needs less space than originally expected, then we put them in the smaller plan automatically. If the customer needs more space than expected, then we alert the customer immediately and give them the option to upgrade prior to loading. This is also important as customers use their storage over time. If they take half their things out, then we right size them based on what they are storing. Or, want to add more stuff, no problem we adjust their plan based on their needs.
The biggest things that set us apart though are the free pick up, photo inventory, and the return delivery service.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I think the thing I will look back on and remember the most about my career are the memories I have made through the relationships of those I have worked with over the years. These relationships, coupled with the experiences I have lived with my family and friends, is what I will remember the most.
Launching a startup is not easy in so many different ways. Between the multiple hard decisions that happen along the way, to the stress of making deadlines, and the pressure of launching a new concept, the emotional toll is far greater than I ever imagined. Not to mention, the challenges I had with a newborn at home while we launched the company.
I have such a newfound respect from entrepreneurs who have started and built companies because they at one time experienced the same challenges I have. Not because they are special because of their success, but because they have all encountered similar trials that tested their ideas.
The journey of Callbox has definitely taught me that these trials and the perseverance through them, is continually making me a better husband, father, co-worker, and friend. I hope that is what I look back on and remember the most. Not just the end result, but the relationships encountered along the way in building a great company.
Contact Info:
- Website: callboxstorage.com
- Phone: (833) WE-STORE 833-937-8673
- Email: info@callboxstorage.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/callboxstorage/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/callboxstorage/
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