How a Charlotte tech startup is helping U.S. companies through the COVID-19 crisis
A 31-year-old Charlotte man’s tech startup is helping companies nationwide through the coronavirus crisis.
Lance Theobald is CEO and one of three founders of SecurSpace, headquartered in a converted warehouse on Jay Street just west of uptown Charlotte.
Through its web application, SecurSpace links companies whose truckers and goods need temporary parking with companies that have unused available space.
Truckers normally drive their goods from ports on the East and West coasts directly to retail stores, distribution centers and other businesses nationwide.
Many of those retailers and other companies haven’t been able to take the goods to their businesses and stores because of government coronavirus stay-at-home orders, Theobald told The Charlotte Observer in an interview this week.
SecurSpace finds where those companies can park and store their goods until they can once again be delivered.
Theobald, a Navy veteran from southwest Missouri, said he got the idea for his startup while working in sales on the West Coast for a Charlotte-based transportation equipment and leasing company.
“My former clients used to struggle growing their businesses, due to the cost of real estate in markets like L.A., Seattle and New York City,” he said. “And I thought we could build a solution leveraging private real estate across the U.S.”
He and three friends started the company as an Airbnb for the transportation industry, he said.
About 2,500 companies have since used its services, Theobald said.
Those companies include “both host locations and transportation companies looking for a place to temporarily store goods,” he said.
SecurSpace, which has storage locations available in 43 states, generated over $10 million in marketplace revenue last year, he said.
Eight of the company’s 11 employees work at the Charlotte headquarters. Because of the pandemic, they are working temporarily from their homes.
“We use Zoom, Slack and text messaging to communicate throughout the day,” Theobald said. “We’ve even brought our Friday recap ‘Happy Hour’ onto Zoom, where we all enjoy a beverage of choice while doing the week in review.”
In February, SecurSpace experienced a sudden downturn in business because of COVID-19, Theobald said, as goods stopped heading to U.S. ports from Asia.
“In March, we saw a huge boom in business,” he said, adding that his company added an employee last week.
“Until COVID-19, the core of our business was servicing small- and medium-sized transportation clients,” Theobald said. “But since COVID, we’ve added to our roster of blue-chip brands.”
He said confidentiality agreements preclude him from naming the companies, which he said include Fortune 100 firms, but he anticipates being able to release names by later this year.
Business grew in March, he said, because “non-essential goods are now coming back into America. But in industries like retail, they don’t always have an immediate place to call home.”
Regarding expansion plans, he said, SecurSpace leaders have been in contact with venture capitalists and major transportation companies about possible partnerships.
As for the here and now: “While we live in crazy times, I’m thankful for the great team we’ve got here in Charlotte,” he said, “doing what we can to keep the economy going, by making sure goods are safely stored while in transport.”
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 3:28 PM.