Start-up of the week: Rent household items with Fat Lama – an ‘Airbnb for stuff’

The Gazette hunts high and low each week to bring you news of the most interesting and unusual new businesses in Hackney. This week we speak to a group of friends who aim to become the next Airbnb – swapping houses for household items.

Anyone who’s made a last-minute shopping trip to buy a tent ahead of a camping trip will be glad to hear they no longer have to.

Fat Lama is a new platform, launched in Hackney, that allows people to make money by renting out their household items to others nearby, complete with warranty and insurance.

So no more buying stuff and using it just once.

The team is made up of business-minded graduates, who have worked out that the owner of a £120 tent could make their money back by renting it out just three times based on a two-day rental.

Co-founder Chaz Englander said: “The way we view our stuff is changing - it’s not about ownership anymore. Fat Lama means people could have access to almost anything they need.”

Click here to check it out.