- Second Closet announced it has raised $13.2 million in a Series A funding led by Whitecap Venture Partners with participation from existing and new strategic investors
Second Closet announced that it has raised $13.2 million in Series A funding led by Whitecap Venture Partners with participation from existing and new strategic investors, including Michael Hyatt, MIG Group, Dream Maker Ventures, and Cowie Capital Partners. And Whitecap Venture Partners partner Shayn Diamond has joined the Second Closet board of directors.
Launched by Mark Ang (CEO), David Ang (COO), and Heindrik Bernabe (CTO) in 2017, Second Closet is changing the self-storage market industry. And with operations in Toronto and Vancouver, Second Closet’s online platform is used by consumers to facilitate the pickup, storage, and drop-off of items at its secure and temperature-controlled warehousing facilities.
With this round of funding, Second Closet will be using the funds to expand its reach, accelerate the development of its technology platform, increase its focus on customer experience, and further build out its operations.
In the past year, Second Closet’s revenues have seen triple digit growth and its team has grown to over 70 employees. Plus the company has expanded its operations to Vancouver.
Ever since the company first launched in 2017, Second Closet has addressed the self-storage needs of thousands of consumers through its technology-enabled solution for coordinating all aspects of the pick-up, storage, and delivery of personal items.
“Over the past two years, Second Closet went from an idea to a solid business that is now profitable and primed for accelerated expansion,” said Second Closet co-founder and CEO Mark Ang. “We have an incredible group of investors to support us on this next phase of our growth. They each bring a tremendous amount of value to our business, and we look forward to working with them as we begin executing on our strategic plan for 2020.”
The inspiration for Second Closet was personal for Mark Ang (CEO) and David Ang (COO). After moving into a shared condo with very little closet space, the brothers determined that storage was expensive and the process of securing space was tedious. Traditional storage companies only offered standard-sized storage lockers, charged minimum monthly rental fees despite the amount of space being used, and it is a challenge to hire a truck to move their belongings.
And so they launched Second Closet with Bernabe. Since then, the company has turned the self-storage model on its head.
Second Closet enables its customers to pay only for the space being used and provides storage boxes that customers can use to pack away their items. Plus the company takes care of the pick-up and delivery aspect of self-storage, ensuring all items are safely delivered and stored in Second Closet’s warehousing facilities. Plus when a customer wants to retrieve their belongings, the process is just as simple with all aspects handled by Second Closet, including the delivery of stored items back to their owners.
“By using technology and a customer-centric approach to disrupt the self-storage market, Second Closet has seen tremendous market traction in a short period of time,” added Steve Lau, partner at Whitecap Venture Partners. “With the company’s ability to rapidly and efficiently scale, the growth potential is significant.” As part of the funding round, Steve is joining the Second Closet board of directors.
