What is Fat Llama?

Fat Llama is the platform that lets you rent out your belongings to others nearby. Everyday, we connect people who need things, with others in their neighborhood that have it to lend.

We believe in getting people to work together to make the world a more efficient place for everyone. So we’re making it quick and easy for people to share their belongings. Our dream is a platform where all goods - from the everyday to the abstract - can be borrowed within minutes.

Why? Because we know that sharing is the future, we know that having experiences is more important than owning stuff. And we think borrowing specialised items should be quick, reliable and convenient.

How it all began...

In the autumn of 2015, the founders left their corporate jobs to create a co-working space in East London. They spent eight weeks renovating a warehouse conversion in Hoxton on a shoestring. They were left baffled by how difficult it was to borrow the tools and goods that the project required, and often had to buy them instead. Attempts to borrow ladders, tools and vacuum cleaners were time-consuming, expensive and often fruitless.

It was nearly impossible for them to get hold of any of the niche items they needed. What’s more, the things they did find were rarely nearby. And getting anything after 5pm or on Sundays was a fool’s game.

As Chaz explains, “We left the project realising how much faster and cheaper it could all have been, if only there’d been an easy way to hire the things we needed.” They went on to found Fat Llama to make borrowing feasible, advantageous and fun.

Why use Fat Llama?

Make money

By lending out your possessions through Fat Llama, you can make your stuff work for you. We don’t think it makes sense to pay for storage when your neighbours would happily pay you to use your things. Click here to see how quickly you could make your money back on an item by lending it out through Fat Llama.

Save time

If time is money, there’s no point saving one at the expense of another. Thanks to the collaborative movement, transport, accommodation, food and household services are now only ever minutes away. It’s time that the same can be said of household items. By listing your items with Fat Llama, you’re helping to bring about a world where all items - from tents and tools to telescopes - are just a click away.

Use better stuff

What we’re creating will give you access to better quality things. Forget buying a point-and-shoot camera and borrow an industry-standard DSLR. Make your party truly memorable - why not borrow a hot tub? Borrowing is now a serious alternative to buying and it’s obvious why. As far as millennials are concerned, ‘experience’ trumps ‘owning’ stuff. Where occasional use is enough, why pay over the odds to buy?

Meet people

It’s through sharing with each other that we develop meaningful relationships and create effective local communities. And it feels good. When we share possessions with others, trust is built, social barriers are broken down and gratitude pulls us closer together. Get borrowing and see for yourself.

Save the world

Renting items also benefits the environment. By opting to borrow, not buy, you’re putting the brakes on unnecessary mass-manufacturing and carbon-intensive distribution systems. It is the responsible choice.