Paris-based YouStock raises €3.7 million

The French storage digitalisation startup YouStock just closed a new funding round of €3.7 million led by AMAVI Capital, a fund specialising in European PropTech, Région Sud Investissement, BPI and the Business Angel Jean-Luc Haddad, founder and CEO of Grospiron International.

Founded in 2015 in Monaco, YouStock, led by Alexis Bouresche (CEO) and Pierre Charvet (COO), aims to meet the need to optimise space. Their flexible and affordable solution makes the storage of personal items more democratic.

YouStock was born out of the simple observation that the self-storage market has many issues, including inadequate pricing, but also logistical constraints. YouStock aims to resolve them with an on-demand solution based on two key principles:

• Reasonable and fair prices: Thanks to an algorithm that calculates the volume of storage required, YouStock can offer a surface area that meets its customers’ needs and can thus offer rates that are up to 40% cheaper than traditional self-storage.
• Simple, customised organisation of storage: Thanks to an online solution, YouStock allows its customers to directly manage the organisation of storage from start to finish: the YouStock team picks up the items from your home, and you can manage your personal items directly yourself. The YouStock solution allows you to have the desired items delivered back to your home within 48 hours thanks to an online inventory using QR codes.

The fresh capital of this latest funding round is coming at a crucial time for YouStock’s development. Despite the context of last year, YouStock achieved impressive growth and now has over 1,200 active customers, representing a 90% increase compared to 2020.

The success of its launch in Paris during the lockdown also confirmed the relevance of its strategy. The inflation of the price per square metre in cities has considerably reduced habitable floor area, obliging many people to find new solutions for storing their personal belongings.

The startup now wants to the fresh capital to speed up its development, with the integration of automation processes for delivery and storage. YouStock is also aiming for national and international expansion, for example by opening a branch in Lyon in early 2022 as well as a location in a European capital in 2023.

These ambitious projects are in line with the objective of its founders to become the European leader in urban self-storage within 4 years.

YouStock CEO Alexis Bouresche stated: “Our success in Paris, Monaco and Nice confirms the relevance of a service like YouStock in big cities. By offering city dwellers the fairest, simplest, and most affordable model, we aspire to quickly become a key player. This raising of capital offers a real opportunity for us to gain a foothold throughout France over the next few months.”

Frederic Van den Weghe, Managing Partner AMAVI Capital, commented: “Ever since its launch, we’ve been impressed by the digital platform developed by the YouStock team, as well as the growth they’ve generated. Supporting YouStock in their ambitions to grow in France and in Europe is perfectly in line with the PropTech focus of our investment strategy. YouStock revolutionises the way you can manage your belongings on demand, short or longer term, and at a very competitive rate. All on an intuitive digital platform.”