When Ivan and Kaya Yiu went looking for storage, they never imagined they’d end up reinventing an industry where little has changed since the 1950s.

After overpaying $300 a month to store a single couch, the couple realized how broken the self-storage model was, especially in Vancouver. For decades, the city has followed a system that sets the highest prices in Canada with hidden fees and builds on land that could otherwise be used for housing or employment. It had become such a problem that the City of Vancouver amended its zoning bylaws. But new reports show that the regulations didn’t curb development in Vancouver. It pushed it into the city’s southern neighbourhoods—where many facilities already existed—adding to B.C.’s supply far exceeding demand.

So Ivan and Kaya tested an idea: what if people only paid for the space their belongings actually take up, instead of being forced to pay for units with unused space? To find out, they created a simple landing page and posted ads on Craigslist. That experiment became Cache Depot, a self-storage service that operates from a renovated climate-controlled warehouse.

Imagine IKEA: extremely organized, clean, and modern, but private from the public and equipped with security cameras and sensors throughout the space. Every item is categorized, QR-coded, and placed on industrial shelves, racks, or pallets, then wrapped if needed. Customers can choose between paying per item, starting at $30/mo, or for the space their belongings actually take up, starting at $100/mo.

This is the story of a former warehouse director for brands like Canada Goose and Arc’teryx and a game designer behind a top 10 App Store hit are reinventing the storage industry, and their journey of having to find customers on Craigslist and convincing them to meet in back alleys, to now growing its users by over 150% and monthly revenue by over 152% compared to last year, while maintaining five-stars across all its Google Reviews.

00:00–4:14: Show, episode, and guest intro

4:15–5:00: What is Cache Depot?

5:00–7:40: The aha moment that inspired Cache Depot

7:41–10:47: How Ivan and Kaya Yiu’s career pivots prepared them to start Cache Depot

10:48–15:34: How Ivan and Kaya Yiu created and tested their MVP before going all in on the idea

15:35–16:47: How Cache Depot’s first customers helped them identify what was needed to build trust

16:48–19:30: How Cache Depot has garnered and maintained five-stars across all its Google Reviews

19:31–21:22: How exactly does Cache Depot differ from traditional self-storage providers?

21:24–23:17: Why the City of Vancouver investigated self-storage facilities and what its amended zoning bylaws entail

23:18–23:58: The hidden fees imposed by traditional self-storage providers

23:59–25:12: Why Ivan and Kaya Yiu believe no one had yet to provide an alternative like Cache Depot

25:13–26:54: Nearly 70% of Cache Depot customers are first-time storage users who say they wouldn’t have used storage otherwise

26:55–28:41: The trial-and-error process of developing a pricing structure that was simple and easy for customers

28:42–30:41: How exactly Cache Depot’s system works once customers bring in their items

30:42–35:02: The biggest problems that Cache Depot is solving for cities, customers, and even businesses

35:03–39:45: Early lessons pivotal to Cache Depot’s growth, from driving website traffic to finalizing branding

39:46–42:08: Cache Depot’s development plans for its app and expansion throughout Vancouver

42:09–43:41: Advice for other early stage founders