What is the thing that NUS student Ku Halim misses the most from home?

Kimchi.

But when his father brings 10 kilograms of it over from Korea, it becomes a problem.

Because there’s no space for Halim to keep all of his beloved kimchi in the fridge.

Poor Halim had to turn to his neighbours for help. He pleaded and asked them to keep some of it in their fridges if they have extra space -- which isn’t the most practical plan long-term.

Inspired by the need to tackle this challenge, the 25-year old thought of a plan.

And that’s how Keep was born.

Keep is an online platform that offers alternative storage solutions, where people can rent spaces to store things. It also allows them to list their houses or retail shops as an available storage space for rental.

We bet you’ve probably encountered the same problem too.

Not having enough storage space in your house to keep your things; be it mementos from an old relationship, old textbooks, report books and notes from school -- all the things you don’t have use for but can’t bear to throw away.

Halim likens Keep to Airbnb, but for storage.

“Instead of people sleeping in your house, we are letting people store their things in your house,” he shares.

With Keep, people who have extra space in their retail shops or houses can earn some money by allowing these spaces to utilised by people.

It is especially useful for international students, people going through divorce, those moving houses, or coping with a loss of a loved one.

After surveying and visiting several HDB blocks, Halim said that the residents seemed receptive to the idea, and were interested to be part of the community.

“There are people who are willing to become the Keepers. Even before we launched our website, they wanted to register to the website,” he said.

But it was not always a breeze for the team. They surveyed more than 40 storeys of HDB blocks in their initial stages, and were turned away by several residents because they were just strangers knocking on people’s doors.

Halim and his team received even more encouragement recently. They took the Keep idea to Startup Weekend, a 54-hour hackathon held in partnership with GIC, and they won the third prize.

What next for the 2nd runner-up of Startup Weekend? They’re in the final stages of completing their website, and their dream will soon become a keeper.

Are you interested in helping Halim and his team make Keep a reality?

Watch this video to learn more about Keep and Halim:

Matching Dreamers is a video series collaboration between Mothership.sg and GIC where we highlight individuals and teams who have courage and the entrepreneurial spirit, and help aspiring entrepreneurs find other like-minded dreamers.