Combining comfortable, stylish, and utilitarian products with a savvy marketing program The sharing economy has allowed you to monetize your home (Airbnb) and your car (Uber and Lyft). Why not monetize your yard"
A new entrant to the direct-to-consumer marketplace, outdoor furniture startup Outer wants to put a sharing economy spin on the retail showroom. By offering owners of the company?s new outdoor sofa a chance to become hosts and show off their backyards?and get paid doing it?they hope to provide a more realistic, compelling picture of its product. Potential buyers can check the site, make an appointment, and see how an Outer sofa looks in an actual backyard.
?The concept of opening up your home to strangers isn?t new,? says Jiake Liu, one of the co-founders. ?Airbnb has made it common to have strangers in your space. Casper would have problems turning a bedroom into a showroom. But the backyard is a public/private place, a place of gathering.?
Outer
Outer hopes that combining a comfortable, stylish, and utilitarian product with a savvier and more social marketing program will help it catch on with consumers.

Crowdsourced showrooms are just one of the ways that Outer seeks to shake up the $9 billion-a-year market for outdoor furniture in the United States. Based in a Santa Monica, California, condo-turned-office sporting a rooftop deck that doubles as a showroom, the Silicon Beach startup hits many of the same notes as other ...