Temporary Space Company ootBox Raises $900k Seed Funding Round

ootBox, a company that builds and leases temporary spaces manufactured from cargo containers, announced that it raised $870,000 in seed funding. This seed stage equity round was led by venture capital firm i-Hatch Ventures, with participation from Bolt Ventures and Island Capital. This funding will accelerate ootBox’s production in Columbus, Ohio and help further scale the product.

“ootBox’s focus is to create temporary space that is both beautiful and flexible,” said Robbie Friedman, cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of ootBox. “With everything that is going on in the world today, the ability to deploy space wherever it’s needed, without sacrificing anything in terms of comfort, natural light and design is more important than ever.”

An acronym for “out of the box”, ootBoxes have been used for everything from temporary home offices, to hospitals, retail experiences and development sites, thanks to the small footprint and customization opportunities.

“Our leasing and plug and play approach approach fits perfectly with the unknowns facing the world of real estate right now,” said cofounder Allison Zofan.

Designed using custom 10-foot cargo containers and punctuated by tempered glass on two sides, an ootBox arrives on a flatbed truck, plugs in to a standard outdoor outlet and is available for short-term leasing.

Brad Farkas is a managing partner at i-Hatch, a venture capital firm that specializes in early stage ventures.

“We’re thrilled to be a part of the future of low-cost high quality temporary spaces, especially in today’s environment where there is a critical need for short term swing spaces for home offices, gyms, commercial offices, retail, and the like. ootBox represents a new industry of instant special-purpose spaces that can be customized and delivered on a moments notice for a breakthrough low price”.