Seattle startup Livible, an on-demand storage service led by veteran entrepreneur Terry Drayton, is merging with Richmond, Va.-based WayForth, the largest provider of U.S. home transition management services. Terms of the deal — described as a “merger of equals for the two companies” — were not disclosed.
Drayton founded Livible in 2013. The company, previously known as Storrage, experimented with different business models before settling on an on-demand storage service that picks up a customer’s belongings, takes them to a secure warehouse and then drops them back off at the house as needed.
The combined company will be called WayForth, led by existing CEO Craig Shealy. Drayton is now executive chairman at WayForth, which employs more than 400 people and has plans to expand to more cities across the U.S. Shealy co-founded WayForth — formerly known as Legacy Navigator — in 2016.
“Livible is excited to bring its technology and logistics expertise to WayForth through this merger,” Drayton said in a statement. “Our user-centric technology and years of experience in the moving and storage industry will extend and round out the services of WayForth, allowing our team to deliver a new level of home transition management focused on the client’s needs.”
Livible employs less than 20 people and raised a $16 million Series A investment round in July 2018. It acquired Boston-based Fetch Storage in 2017 and partnered with WeWork.
Drayton has started numerous companies throughout his career, covering everything from politics to payment processing for youth sports to bottled water. His most well-known venture was grocery delivery company HomeGrocer.com, which had a $264 million IPO in 2000 and was one of the most prominent Seattle-based Internet companies of the dot-com era with its peach-colored delivery trucks zooming throughout the city.
Source: Geek Wire
