Time is Money

Flexible workspace deals deliver meaningful commissions to brokers with minimal stress.

With over $750 million in career transactional volume including over $100 million yearly from 2020-2023, Tyler Culberson, President and Principal Broker of the Standard Brokerage Company, has long been at the forefront of the Capital Region’s industrial real estate scene. But while representing Instagrid, a German manufacturer of portable, all-electric power systems, Culberson was faced with a new challenge.

Instagrid, a German manufacturer of portable clean energy systems, found a home for its U.S. operations at Launchbox, thanks Tyler Culberson of The Standard Brokerage.

Culberson needed to find just the right amount of warehouse and office space for Instagrid to establish its first American location while making sure his client had flexibility to scale as the company pursued its ambitious growth plans. No easy task in a market that has seen industrial occupancy rates top 99% in recent years.

“Most industrial landlords don’t want to lease small spaces and even fewer are willing to consider terms of less than five years,” Culberson said. “The environment can just be really difficult for small to mid-size businesses to navigate, even for those who have retained a broker.”

Culberson turned to The Rosenblum Companies, which had just wrapped up construction of Launchbox Flexible Warehouse Suites, upstate New York’s first cowarehousing facility, located in a formerly vacant manufacturing building at 6 Northway Lane in Colonie. Unlike conventional warehouse leases that require multi-year commitments to large blocks of space and exclude operating costs like utilities and maintenance, private warehouse suites at Launchbox ranging from 150 square feet up to 1,000 square feet are available for terms as short as six months. Moreover, pricing is all-inclusive.

For no extra charge, businesses housed within Launchbox have access to industrial grade support spaces and amenities, including a three-bay loading dock, material handling equipment, daily carrier pickups and deliveries, and redundant high-speed WiFi, as well as a photo studio, meeting rooms, a kitchen-café and showers. Launchbox is accessible 24/7 and fully climate controlled.

Within days, a contract for one of the facility’s fully furnished office suites and 400 square feet of dedicated, secured warehouse space was signed.

“With a shorter term and all the infrastructure and utilities included, Launchbox allows businesses to get to work quickly and gives them the flexibility to scale their space up as needs change. That was a perfect match for Instagrid’s growth trajectory,” he said.

Instagrid, which moved into the space in March, quickly scaled their U.S. operation and more than doubled their footprint at Launchbox. Culberson received a 10 percent commission on the original deal and an additional 5 percent for Instagrid’s expansion, which was handled by the Launchbox community management team. He’ll earn 5% commissions for any further expansions as well as renewals.

Culberson said brokers find success by pairing clients up with the right solution and Launchbox’s unique flexible warehouse offering can provide the financial savings and customization many clients are looking for.

“With move-in ready spaces and straightforward membership terms, deals at Launchbox can come together very quickly and that saves time and money for everyone involved,” he said.