Omni — On-demand itemized physical storage

this seems like an awesome idea! Just so I understand everything correctly (I couldn't quite understand from looking at your FAQ), the pricing is $0.25/month per item. Pickups and drop-offs of the items are free. Is that correct?

I have been lucky enough to watch @tmcleod and @adamdexter build this from an idea (holy crap have they lived iterate, test and push) to what it is today. I am an advisor, so take every word past this point with the appropriate amount of salt. There are many services out there, technical and otherwise, that will pick up your stuff, put it in a warehouse and bring it back to you. Many have gotten a fair amount of funding and press. There are even AirBnb for your storage spaces. Lots of fun stuff in the space. Where I think Omni is doing something interesting is in the redefinition of storage. Rather than it being something you put away, almost never to get again or only on specific occasions (christmas decorations), Omni is focused on rapid cycling of items. So, those golf clubs you use every weekend, but have to step over all week? Boom. Or what about that one thing, you dont have place for, but need to make sure is out for mom when she visits? Done. Where I have been most impressed with their technology is not in the app itself, or the management of logistics of getting your stuff, but in how they can rapidly catalog and store individual items. Its amazing ...

The company is trying to build an on-demand warehouse for bags of items that users ask to be picked up. Omni will then unpack boxes or bags of items that it receives, itemizing every item and cataloging a high-resolution photo of it. Once items are in Omni’s database, users can withdraw them on two hours’ notice. The company charges $0.25 per item per month for items that weigh less than 25 pounds and fit within the form factor of a standard airline carry-on bag. Items larger than that cost $2 per item per month.

Hey everyone, I'm the CEO of Omni, the only on-demand physical storage solution giving you item level control. We are taking physical storage to the next level. We pick everything up, so you barely have to move a finger. Then we catalog your items individually, with high quality photos and descriptions, that gives you the ability to have your items delivered back when you want, in as little as 2 hours. What started as wanting an easy, convenient way to access belongings in storage has transformed into a personalized, on-demand experience. So whether you are a traveler, occasional kite-board surfer, a sneakerhead or even a small business owner — Omni puts your closet in your pocket so you can manage your belongings from anywhere and Live Lighter™. Go ahead and check us out!

It wasn't apparent to me until I delved into the FAQ, but it looks like you are in the San Francisco area only - or am I missing something? Just a thought but, if you could handle slightly larger items, this would be a good way to store Expo related items if you happen to do a lot of shows in SF and save on having to ship stuff back and forth.

Just learning about this today, but I have been impressed by everything @tmcleod3 has touched. This guy wont give up until it works. Congrats team!

@tmcleod3 I love that you are doing this! I've wanted this service for a long time. Congrats on delivering! I hope you eventually expand your service into the "Organize & Declutter" market and the "recycle, reuse and sell" market. Imagine a future where a person could order a team to visit their home 1. The Omni team packs and picks up all non essential items in the bedroom, living room, garage, etc. 2. The items are cataloged and priced 3. The user is able look through their whole collection of clutter and make decisions a. Donate / recycle / throw away / recycle for scrap metal value b. Sell (based on the price estimate you give they can make this decision - with smart algorithms you could recommend if it is better to sell and buy later or store) c. Keep stored d. Deliver back to their house (if the value of the item isn't worth storing with Omni, or it is actually a regularly used item) 4. For items that are delivered back to the house, your team brings in a set of storage bins or drawers and organization system that works with your phone app. 5. When a user wants to find an item that is stored at their home they use your app to find the box it is in. 6. When a user wants an item stored off site, they use your app to have it delivered (just as now). 7. Omni becomes the biggest marketplace for used items in the world. Most people's items are cataloged by you (whether in home or at your storage facility) at any time they know the re-sell value of any item they own and have an easy way to sell it (through you). a. The used items market becomes much more liquid. You could actually consider your used items as liquid assets. a. This completely disrupts Ebay, craigslist, consignment stores, etc. Also disrupting the purchasing of new items. When it becomes this easy to buy and sell used items, why buy new? b. Everyone can now effortlessly have a clutter free home. This is the future I want.

Looks like a great service, but the pricing seems really, really low. Will it stay that way or is that a launch pricing scheme?

Omni is one of the quickest times a product has ever changed my habits. I love having infrequently used stuff out of my space, but still accessible. I can't recommend the product highly enough. After a month, half my closet was in the app - I have more space at home and couldn't be happier. I'd love to see the app evolve to support bundles (so I can pull out all my camping gear at once, or more easily clear out my closet when hosting a guest in my house and then get it all back after). There are things like this in the future I'm excited about, but even with just v1 - it's pretty amazing.

Hey @tmcleod3! I’m a little confused between the storage and the rentals but let me just say I’ve wanted a way to rent any item to and from people around me for a long time, so much so that I almost built the damn service myself. If this is indeed what this service does, thank you! However I have not been able to make heads or tails of the app. Is there no location based function? Where are the items I see? In any case, keep up the good work and good luck!

Tom, was there single moment where you were so overloaded with stuff that you knew you guys had to build this? If so - what were you collecting/hoarding?

Use cases this seems to be awesome for: • Seasonal clothing • Skiing / snow boarding supplies • Hiking and camping gear for longer trips

I was lucky enough to tour the Omni facility in Dogpatch a month ago. I gotta say, the intake process and item processing fastidiousness alone is a worthy case study for any start-up. They are militantly dialed on access, analytics and content. A remarkable job. As Tom extends the vision to shared stuff, I think this will pay off in customer glee and enhanced margin for the business.

Once you see your stuff itemized in the Omni app it's magical. Instead of storage being akin to banishing your belongings - it's more like cataloging them for future use! That's a huge difference. So excited to see this go live on the app store! :)

@tmcleod3 and @adamdexter TAKE MY MONEY! Are you sharing your queue of upcoming city launches?

Do you see makespace.com as a competitor?

GENIUS. When will you be in New York? (Where we badly need you.)

awesome 🙌🏻 . i need this in my life - when will it get to London? 😃

It would be great if "NOT AVAILABLE IN YOUR AREA" was made obvious prior making an account, searching for items, setting up profiles, and so forth. I had invested quite some time, including preparing to photograph items to add to the database, before the app thought to tell me I couldn't use it. Please, for god's sake, ask us for our zipcode as part of registration and have mercy.

Pros:

Unknown

Cons:

Unusable

Super excited to show this to everyone. We'd love your feedback!