User:Kleikajno/sandbox/Rentberry

Rentberry. , is an international long-term rental marketplace company based in San Francisco, CA. The company was founded in 2015 by Oleksiy Lubinsky, Denis Golubovskiy, and Alex Kotovskov. In 2018, Rentberry signed its first international partnership with OnTheMarket and started listing UK listings on the platform, following an international expansion plan.

History
Rentberry was founded as a San Francisco PropTech startup by Oleksiy Lubinsky, Denis Golubovskiy and Alex Kotovskov in 2015. It looks to automate all rental tasks online and offers rental terms negotiation technology to oppose under-the-table bidding wars, and benefit both parties. Tenants could see the real demand for each rental and analyze the applications of other prospects; landlords can analyze applications on the spot and could choose the best tenant among the prospects considering the offered rent, security deposit, and tenant screening results.

Press called Rentberry an ‘eBay for renting’ and claimed that this platform is a good thing for the rental market.

In 2017, the company launched nationwide in the United States and partnered with Realtor.com and Walk Score to syndicate rental listings.

In 2017, Rentberry announced the integration of blockchain technology on the platform in order to offer clients a way to save on rental deposits. On 28 February 2018, their token sale ended. Rentberry became one of several PropTech companies that conducted the successful token sale, raising $6M via a token sale. Rentberry stores user data within the blockchain network.

In 2018, Rentberry entered the UK rental market and announced its international expansion. As of June 2019, the platform is available in 50+ countries including Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, Italy, etc.

In 2019, the Company filed the patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Rentberry patented its technology related to block chain and automation/auctioning technology during the application process.

Rentberry voiced the plan to integrate virtual reality/360 tours on the platform. Once integrated the properties could be rented without visiting open houses.

Funding
Rentberry raised more than $12M from angel investors and VC funds represented by ten countries: USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Germany, UK, Switzerland, France, and Poland. In 2015, Rentberry product prototype raised $845,000 during the seed funding.

It got also funding by angel investors like Former CEO/Chairman of CBRE, CEO of Invesque, CEO of Swiss Life, CEO of Hopewell Development, CEO of Intensity, President of 92 Ventures, Co-Chair of Harvard Business School Alumni Angels, Senior Partner of McKinsey & Company, former President of Nokia Technologies, and many others.

In 2017, Rentberry raised $2.5 mln in a venture funding round. VC funds that joined the round include Zing Capital, 808 Ventures, Beechwood Ventures, and Jade Value.

In June 2020, conducted a campaign on WeFunder. Rentberry raised more than $1.7M from more than 1,500 investors in less than three weeks after launched a public campaign on WeFunder.

In 2020, Rentberry will integrate the ability for landlords and tenants to rate/review each other after the expiration of the rental lease. Parties will have 14 days to submit their feedback after the expiration of the rental agreement.

Organization model
Rentberry HQ is located in San Francisco, CA. Overall the Company has 29 team members (as of 2019).

Tenants submit a custom offer while applying for the rental listing on Rentberry. Landlords can accept or decline the offers and specify the reason. Landlords are able to screen all the applicants and conduct background checks/criminal checks and receive their credit reports.

Users can send and receive rental payments online within the Rentberry platform in the corresponding profile sections. Initially, Rentberry used Dwolla to conduct rental payments. In 2020, Rentberry is migrating to Braintree Payments.

=== eSigning === Rentberry partnered with HelloSign, the ability for tenants and landlords to legally sign binding documents on the platforms. It uses DataUSA.io API. It analyzes platform listings and provides the rent price trends for cities.

Partnerships
In 2017, the company launched nationwide in the United States and partnered with Realtor.com and Walk Score to syndicate rental listings.

In 2018, Emaar proposed to partner with Rentberry and utilizing Rentberry's proprietary technology to build a platform for commercial real estate – specifically shopping malls. On January 30, 2019, Rentberry signed a partnership with Emaar. At the end of 2019, Rentberry finalized the development of the commercial real estate platform – Floorly.

Controversies
"In 2018, the Seattle City Council voted to impose a one-year moratorium on rent-bidding platforms, which allow landlords to take competing bids from prospective tenants and then sign leases with the highest bidders — a little bit like eBay, but for apartments. RentBerry CEO Alex Lubinsky expressed disappointment over the council’s vote. In an interview, Lubinsky said his platform can save tenants money by allowing them to compare themselves to other applicants and seek discounts".

COVID-19
COVID-19 pandemic attributed to doing all of the rental tasks without passing paper applications, mailing paper checks, and going to the banks to cash them, etc.

As of May 2020, Rentberry had 300k monthly active users (MAU)

Awards
On November 12, 2016, Rentberry won the Design of the Day by CSS REEL.

On December 15, 2016, Rentberry was also nominated by Awwwards for one of the most user-friendly designs in the rental industry.

The Company for its practical, light and intuitive design also received recognition by CSSDesignAwards.

In 2017, the Company received the “Blockchain Best Industry Application Award”