User:Msackler/Apartment List

ApartmentList.com is a an online apartment matching engine that uses a matching technology and social media networks to allow users to search for apartments. This matching engine uses Facebook integration to recommend apartments based on users' activities and friend activities.

Background Information
Apartmentlist.com is the flagship website of the Internet start-up group Vertical Brands. They manage meta-search engines in real estate and senior housing categories. John Kobs and Chris Herndon co-founded this start-up group, and are the acting CEO and President, respectively. Apartmentlist was announced at the TechCrunch "Disrupt" conference, a technology conference in San Francisco sponsored by the website TechCrunch, that highlights new start up companies.

Vertical Brands
Vertical Brands in headquartered in San Francisco, California. Since the start of this company in 2008, there are now 15 full time employees working from the headquarters. Vertical Brands creates online incubators for consumer Internet technologies. Since its inception, Vertical Brand's test websites have generated $8 Million in revenue. Apartmentlist.com was the company's first full scale website to date.

John Kobs
Prior to co-founding Vertical Brands, John was an investor at TICC Capital, a Greenwich based investment firm specializing in middle market internet companies and other technology-related firms. Prior to TICC, John was an investment banker at both Thomas Weisel Partners and KeyBanc Capital Markets. John is the Chairman and co-founder of Chat Sports, Inc., an online social networking experience for sports fans. John currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association of his Alma Mater, Case Western Reserve University. John graduated from CWRU with a degree in Business Management and a concentration in Finance.

Chris Herndon
Prior to co-founding Vertical Brands, Chris spent several years as an investor, most recently with GTCR Golder Rauner, a Chicago-based private equity firm. Before that, he worked in the Merchant Banking division of Goldman Sachs. Chris is a co-founder and advisor to the 40 Acres Group, an Austin-based real estate investment firm that owns and operates a portfolio of student rental properties. He is also a co-founder and board member of Philanthropedia, a new website that helps ordinary donors make smarter giving decisions. Chris has an MBA from Stanford University and a BBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Features
In order to receive a list of possible apartment matches, users are asked a series of questions to refine their search. Apartment List asks users to choose where they want to live by zip code or neighborhood. After indicating location, ApartmentList asks users to further narrow their search by filling in price range preference, number of bedroom preference, number of bathroom preference and any other required amenities

When all questions are correctly filled out, ApartmentList plots possible apartments using GoogleMaps technology. The GoogleMap segments each neighborhood of the chosen city, and pinpoints where each apartment is in relation to each neighborhood. When users hover over the listing, a more detailed description of the apartment is given. After clicking on a possible apartment, a listing appears on the left-hand side of the screen. This listing is pulled from online listing services, which gives a detailed description about the apartment, the location and the amenities.

The only way to get full access to the site is through Facebook Connect, which allows ApartmentList to create apartment sections based off your preferences. . The site will provide automatic recommendations based upon your activities on Facebook and the activities of your friends. For example, if your Facebook profile notes you love running and biking, you'll get rentals closer to parks and green spaces. Furthermore, logging in via Facebook will give the viewer a few additional pieces of information such as Yelp rated restaurants in the area as well as which of your friends have checked in near the location.

Other Features include:


 * Base of one million apartment units nationwide
 * Listing details and photos to help compare apartment matches
 * Editorial content on individual cities and neighborhoods
 * Map that highlights nearby restaurants, entertainment and shopping options based on one’s profile
 * Questions ranging from “Do you have any money in the stock market?” to “What is your favorite type of birthday cake?” to refine apartment matches based on amenities as well as likely based on neighborhood descriptions and demographics

Apartment Matching
Apartment list pulls their listings from numerous apartment matching services. These websites include:
 * ForRent.com
 * Rent.com
 * Apartment Finder
 * Move
 * List Hub
 * Hotpads.com
 * Oodle
 * Rent Marketer
 * ApartmentSearch
 * RentWiki

Availability By State
Currently, the ApartmentList matching engine is only available for certain cities and states. This includes:
 * Arizona (Phoenix)
 * California (San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles)
 * Florida (Jacksonville)
 * Georgia (Atlanta)
 * Illinois (Chicago)
 * Indiana (Indianapolis)
 * Maryland (Baltimore)
 * Michigan (Detroit)
 * New York (New York)
 * North Carolina (Charlotte)
 * Ohio (Columbus)
 * Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
 * Tennessee (Memphis)
 * Texas (Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin)

Future
Within the next four months, Kobs revealed that ApartmentList will be available in the form of a mobile app starting with optimization for iOS followed by Android. The focus of the app will be a “Saturday afternoon planner” in which users can get to know their potential neighborhoods with a prepared schedule of eateries and watering holes based on Yelp reviews in a particular area.