Inside the Storable and CallPotential Deal

The big news within the self-storage industry yesterday was word that Storable, the leading provider of technology solutions for the self-storage industry, had acquired CallPotential, a prominent provider of tenant engagement and performance management solutions. 

Following the announcement, MSM reached out to Chuck Gordon, CEO of Storable, and Phil Murphy, Founder of CallPotential, to learn more.

“We felt we’d be stronger together,” Gordon says, emphasizing that the acquisition was a mutual agreement between the two parties. “Our combined efforts will enhance the integration between our two products to provide more functionality than ever before, with both working even more seamlessly together.”

Murphy agrees. “Storable had been talking to us for a number of years, and we finally got to a point where the stars aligned and we decided it was time to do something together.”

Murphy and his entire team will be staying onboard, and Gordon says he’s excited to have them. In an email to all CallPotential customers, Murphy gave assurance that the move was the right one. “Our entire team will remain in place, and you shouldn’t experience any disruption or changes,” the email said.

So, instead of a big shakeup, the Storable and CallPotential teams will be working together to “empower operators with the tools they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving market.” By combining their strengths, the two will be able to deliver even greater value and innovation to customers.

“Mutual customers of Storable and CallPotential will now get to enjoy all new innovations, capabilities, and efficiencies,” explains Gordon. “In addition, we can now bring the CallPotential product to far more people who currently use the Storable ecosystem.”

Integrations Intact

When the announcement was made, some operators were concerned about the impact to their current CallPotential integrations, such as DoorSwap, Hummingbird, Sitelink, StorEdge, and Self Storage Manager. 

Gordon states that no one will be cut off from using CallPotential if they’re not a Storable customer. “CallPotential customers won’t see any difference in their service. Of course, they’re welcome to join the combined ecosystem of CallPotential and Storable if they want to unlock more opportunities.”

Murphy echoes this. “We’re continuing to develop and provide for all the property management systems we’re already integrated into. The idea is not to have a Storable-centric product, but something that is in line with everything we’ve been doing up until now, and to continue to innovate and build on it.”

Continues Murphy, “There’s no mandate to change to Storable. If an operator is using Storable, that’s great. If not, that’s fine too. It’s the same approach and philosophy to the industry, just a change in ownership.”

In other words, CallPotential is still CallPotential, just under the Storable umbrella.  

“We’re staying agnostic with CallPotential,” confirms Gordon, “We’re still maintaining the integrations they have with other software platforms.” 

While the announcement took some self storage owners by surprise, others in the industry saw the writing on the wall. “We had assumed this transaction would happen for a while,” says Lance Watkins, CEO of Tenant, Inc. “It just made sense. I believe it’s a great deal for both parties.”

Watkins says that Murphy reached out to him personally (as he did with others) to reassure him that this was good news. “He was excited about it, said he’s still at the helm, and explained that it’s going to be business as usual.”

New Innovations

With the new partnership in place, what’s next on the horizon? Both Gordon and Murphy hint at some exciting new innovations. 

“Both of us had individually been investing in AI-driven projects,” Gordon says. “Now, we can combine our expertise to do some really interesting things.” 

While he can’t divulge too much yet, Gordon says that Storable and CallPotential have invested in a new AI Labs team focused specifically on AI innovation in the self storage industry. “Expect to see some cool developments from us in the next 6-12 months,” he says.

“Working together on this project, we’re going to be even stronger when we take it to market,” adds Murphy, who encourages people to come by the CallPotential Labs at the SSA 2023 Fall Conference & Trade Show in Las Vegas, September 5-8. “We’ll be showcasing a lot of new great tech that’ll be coming out soon.”

Of course, one big question remains – the size of the transaction. As expected, both parties remained mum. “Nope, nothing I can share,” laughs Murphy. “But it didn’t hurt you to ask.”

Read the official press release here.

—

Brad Hadfield is a staff writer and news researcher for Mini-Storage Messenger. He also manages the Mini-Storage Messenger website.