EP 211: Chunker

Kevin Lawton

On this episode, I was joined by Brad Wright of Chunker. Brad is the CEO and Founder of Chunker which is the Airbnb of warehousing space. We discuss the origins of Chunker, how it is helping warehouse space being better utilized and why so much empty warehouse space has been going unnoticed.

Key Takeaways

• Chunker was founded after Brad connected with a friend who was involved in commercial real estate specifically targeted at warehousing space. They had a discussion on how it was difficult to find partial warehouse space because it was not typically advertised or visible. With Brad’s software background, he was able to come up with the idea for Chunker which is essentially the Airbnb of warehousing space. Their platform allows companies with unused warehouse space, no matter the size, to list it for availability. Companies are then able to browse the listings and secure the space through the entire Chunker platform. As Brad says, they are solving the warehouse space issue one chunk at a time, which is where the name Chunker comes from.
• One thing I was curious about was why has this space gone unnoticed for so long. As Brad explains, most brokers will get a lease signed up, and then they are on to the next deal. They are not necessarily staying in touch asking if they have partial amounts of space available. The other constraint has been time on the side of who has space available. For example, a company buys a 300,000 square foot facility as a move towards their future growth but only currently needs to utilize 200,000 square feet but they do not have time to market the other 100,000 square feet for lease since they are focused on their core business. No one would ever know that this space was not being used because it appears the facility is in use. Chunker helps to solve this problem by providing an easy platform for companies to turn their unused space into money.
• The idea behind Chunker is very simple but it is such a great resource for companies to utilize to generate additional revenue from their unused space. No matter the size, there is a demand even down to 1,000 square feet of space. Brad also says that in the future they will be working on providing current market rates and what could be expected revenue from your space. I am looking forward to seeing how this platform grows.

Listen to the episode below and let us know if you’ll be turning your space into money in the comments.