ou may have heard of “shared economy” or “collaborative consumption.” These terms describe the growing trend of sharing goods, spaces, and services. Companies like AirBnB and Uber acted as pioneers globalizing this perception. According to different estimations, even in its early stages this form of economy is worth over twenty six billion dollars. Yet in Israel sharing is not new, in fact it has been part of Israel’s DNA form the early days of the kibbutzim.
Splacer’s Israeli co-founders, Adi Biran and Lihi Gerstner, have always been fascinated by space and collaboration. This passion was intertwined with their successful careers as architects and academics, in America, Europe and back home in Israel. In early 2014, Lihi and Adi came together to establish a new venture, based on their experiences as space experts. After countless coffees and four months at the Junction Accelerator Program (Genisis Partners) the duo started to shape Splacer. At its core, Splacer is an online platform connecting people who own unique/creative spaces and people looking to host events. Using local scouts and connections with real estate brokers, interior designers, developers and production companies Splacer curates a vast collection of spaces in Israel. Online users can search for spaces, list their own spaces, and link up to create events. In doing so Splacer, like AirBnB and many of the companies in this new shared economy solve problems.
The first problem Splacer addresses is underutilized space. As an architecture lecturer at Belazel, Adi asked her students to observe how much time they spent in their homes. They acknowledged that for most of the day their homes were abandoned, as they spent most of their time working to pay rent or attended classes. Homes, so they realized, are a type of space that is constantly underutilized. In fact, all spaces, whether a gallery, factory, or store are vacant at some point. Splacer helps space owners turn vacancy into a profit by providing a platform/marketplace for entrepreneurship. Through Splacer, space is re-imagined. Apartment rooftops become offices; parlors become art galleries and kitchens become off sites.
There is another end to this newly established scale. Splacer promotes creativity and originality for space users. Whether Companies, store owners or artists benefit by navigating and functioning in different space. For artists or retailers Splacer allows for a targeted event or pop-up shop without the hassle and price of a long-term lease. For companies off sites or conferences in new and inspiring spaces yield creativity and a break from the mundane.
Splacer has amassed close to 200 unique spaces in Israel and NYC since the preliminary launch of the website. In the coming months we will continue to grow the Israeli market and study how to better facilitate the connection between space owners, clients and events before global expansion.
The principles of shared economy ask people to rethink ownership and property. It has spurred creativity and versatility, since your home could become a hotel, and your car is transformed to a taxi, even your time can be converted to work. Splacer is building upon this wave of openness by asking you to rethink your space. Space is not defined by a title, or physical dimensions but instead by its use.
