Storefront operates an Airbnb-like marketplace that lets owners of retail space rent daily, weekly, or monthly storefronts, shelves, and other high-foot-traffic locations to merchants. The platform supports everything from full pop-up stores to shelf space in boutiques and unique locations like subway stops and hotels. Since launching about a year ago, Storefront has signed up a few thousand spaces and more than 1,000 merchants have used the platform in New York and San Francisco. Merchants using the service have generated $40 million in sales through those locations, and Storefront reports merchants make $7 in retail sales for every $1 spent on rent. The company is AngelPad-backed and led by co-founder and CEO Erik Eliason. With new funding it plans to expand into Los Angeles and grow headcount from nine employees to about 25 by the end of the year. Storefront operates an online marketplace that matches sellers with short-term commercial real estate for pop-up shops and temporary stores. Launched last fall out of AngelPad in San Francisco, the company has listed over 3 million square feet of retail space and helped more than 100 brands open pop-up shops in its first six months. It generates revenue by taking referral fees on purchases it facilitates after leases, such as furniture, fixtures, temporary staff, signage and insurance, rather than charging commission on rentals. Storefront's team currently consists of six full-time staff. The $1.6M seed funding will be used to expand geographically beyond San Francisco—Storefront has already launched listings in New York City—and to add hires. CEO and co-founder Erik Eliason frames the vision as reducing offline friction to make opening a brick-and-mortar store as easy as opening an online shop.

Total raised

$9M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Apr 2014