Founded in December 2011, Rocket Lease is off to a quick start. Solopreneur, Eric Liu, built the software, beta-tested it in February, 2012 and launched the company and website in April 2012. The company has proof-of-concept with 125 paying customers and is slowly, but surely, gaining momentum.
Their proprietary software automates the rental application process for landlords and tenants; saving time, money, and paper. The software improves the tenant screening process, increases applications per vacancy, and accelerates both inventory turnover and closings. In addition, the software aggregates data and facilitates analytics.
- There are approximately 100 million renters in the U.S. One-third of property portfolios turn over, on average, in a given year. The rental application process is a billion dollar market.
- Rocket Lease is paid $35 per application. Their cost per application is $18.
- Rocket Lease has several competitive advantages: a state-of-the-art user interface, easy-to-read dashboard, option for customization, shared functionality, and the same application can be used by tenants for multiple properties. In addition, Rocket Lease is cheaper. In NYC, the rental application fee is $100. In Chicago, it’s $65. Rocket Lease charges $35. Finally, Onsite.com, the biggest player in the space, targets large firms. Rocket Lease focuses on small and medium-sized companies.
- Rocket Lease has generated $5700 in revenue over the past 5 months. The company has acquired 125 paying users, 93 of them in the past 2 months.
- The company was incubated by the Brandery, an accelerator in Cincinnati, Ohio. They continue to provide mentorship.
- Eric Liu is a serial entrepreneur. Rocket Lease is his 7th startup. He is searching for a partner and in the process of building an advisory board. ❒
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