Spotlight On: Peter Warhurst

Get to know this Central Florida-based entrepreneur who is disrupting the moving industry with “fetchable” storage.

After a successful career as a serial entrepreneur, Peter Warhurst decided to retire. But some ideas are too good to let go and it wasn’t long before he found himself starting yet another business: Red Rover, a company that helps people move and store their belongings. 

It works like this: You select the size of the storage container you need. Then you pick up your truck with the aforementioned storage container already loaded on the back. Fill your container with your items and bring it back to Red Rover. The company will keep your storage container secure until you’re ready to move. And if you’re moving long distance, Red Rover will ship the container to your new location. 

The company calls the concept “fetchable” storage.

Warhurst, who serves as CEO of Red Rover, says he still wakes up many mornings wondering why he decided to forego retirement and take on the responsibilities that come with heading a business. But the truth is he truly enjoys the work. 

“I’m having a blast,” he says. 

Warhurst’s background is in the moving and storage industry. In 1997, he founded PODS, which stands for Portable On Demand Storage. He helped grow PODS to over 100 corporate and franchise locations in the U.S., Canada and Australia, before selling the company in 2007. His experience at PODS is what led him to create Red Rover. 

Red Rover launched in Tampa Bay just before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted life in the United States. At first, Warhurst and his team, unsure of what effect the pandemic would have, decided to pull back and delay a big marketing campaign.

“Then we realized, we actually fit the COVID environment very well because of the independence we give to the consumer,” he says. 

The COVID-19 pandemic also changed Warhurst’s strategy for Red Rover. Instead of focusing on opening additional locations in Florida, the company expanded to other states to capitalize on the glut of people who were propelled by the pandemic to move south. 

“We were capturing dozens and dozens of distance moves by changing the strategy to open up northern markets instead of opening the additional Florida markets so we could get the people moving down,” he says. 

Warhurt’s other ventures have included: co-founding a 911 routing software business, which he sold in 1992; developing the precursor to PODS, a company called Florida Mini-Storage that he sold in 1997; and creating a car wash concept that he sold in 2019. 

Warhurst was raised in Long Island, New York. For the last 12 years, he’s lived in Keene’s Pointe in west Orange County. 

“There’s always something fun and exciting to do,” he says of Central Florida. 

When he’s not working, Warhurst loves boating, golfing, fishing and flying planes.