Ishay Grinberg of Rental Beast
An exclusive Tech Tribune Q&A with Ishay Grinberg, the founder and CEO of Rental Beast, which was honored in our:
Tell us the origin story of Rental Beast – what problem were you trying to solve and why?
I started my career in the the year 2000 as a real estate agent in New York City. After months of working as hard as as anyone could work I received my first commission. Despite hustling as hard as I could, that commission check was for $182.50 – it was so demoralizing! This experience showed me that something was terribly broken in this business.
In time, I learned how to sell and eventually became a manager broker overseeing more than 75 agents. That journey made me appreciate just how tough the real estate industry is for agents. I also figured out that working with renters could provide agents with quicker income and a consistent stream of clients.
Despite the popularity of renting, agents who work with rentals tackle tremendous difficulties when they try to find an apartment for their clients! In my experience, hopeful renters and their agents were never able easily to really answer a simple question of “what is available to rent and for what price?”.
To find homes, real estate agents access what’s called a Multiple Listings Services (MLS). These are comprehensive databases of homes on the market, and have made it easy for homebuyers and real estate agents to discover what is available to buy and at what price. The rental market has never had such a centralized system, even though the rental population is active, growing, and cannot be ignored by real estate agents. Access to available rental inventory has always been opaque and fragmented.
I wanted to bring transparency into the residential rental market and help simplify the rental market for real estate agents, landlords, renters, and investors. So, I set out to create the equivalent of the MLS for the rental market – a comprehensive database that allows any participant in a rental transaction to determine what’s available and for what price. That database is now the heart of Rental Beast. Since our founding, we’ve built an SaaS platform with a powerful set of tools for agents, landlords, and renters, including a responsive CRM, an online application engine, and rent collection tools, all designed to streamline and simplify the whole rental process for all participants.
What was the biggest hurdle you encountered in your journey?
The real estate industry is dominated by the home-sales market. And, as a result, agents who work with rentals and hopeful renters are often left out of larger conversations. We fight hard to make space for these agents and we work to educate agents and brokerages about the benefits of working with rentals. Sometimes that feels like an uphill battle, but it’s one worth fighting!
Considering the economic impacts of COVID-19, we’re working even harder to reach agents and let them know the possibilities of leveraging rentals. During times of economic uncertainty, the multifamily rental market is much more stable than the home sales market, and the flexibility and affordability of renting becomes more important to consumers. This means real estate agents can remain active and actually continue earning commissions, even under these challenging conditions!
What does the future hold for Rental Beast?
In all of our active markets, we aim to achieve at least 90% coverage of the rental market and have unparalleled data accuracy. In this way, we see ourselves using the data we’ve amassed to become the MLS of the rental market, as the “source of truth” for renters, agents, and data consumers.
We’re also focused on making sure our platform can make a real impact for all those involved in the rental market. We want renters to be able to work with agents to find a home that suits their needs. We want landlords and property managers to be able to find qualified tenants, maximize rent-roll, and manage their properties for free. And we want all real estate agents to tap into ~$12B in annual leasing commissions, make strong relationships with future homebuyers, and, ultimately, build and sustain profitable businesses.
This year, we are also launching a Data Services Group to help investors, corporations, and government agencies make smarter decisions about multifamily real estate.
What are your thoughts on the local tech startup scene in Somerville?
It’s been exciting to see so many technology companies join us in Somerville, be it right here in David Square, at Greentown Labs, in Assembly Row or, lately, in East Somerville.
Somerville is highly accessible for our employees – the area is affordable and has great public transport options. Of course, the friendly people, and the top-notch food and entertainment scene also make Somerville a very fun place to work!
What’s your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
Network and build a bench of great and supportive strategic investors and like minded entrepreneurs early. And, hire judiciously. Your first five hires will likely determine the outcome of your company, so think hard about who will be the right fit! And, never stop asking “what if” questions. What if we changed course? What if we could tackle this problem? Asking “what if” allows you to create opportunities and be ready to pivot!