Rentalic

Rentalic
Type Private Company
Founded March 2010
Founder Punsri Abeywickrema
Headquarters San Mateo, California
Website www.rentalic.com
Key People
Punsri Abeywickrema CEO
Kim Koo Director of Marketing
Mark White Legal Counsel
Advisory Board
Steve Schoettler Co-Founder at Zynga
Matthew Mengerin SVP at PayPal, Director at eBay, Director at Half.com
Lloyd Taylor Director at Google, VP of Operations at LinkedIn, Keynote Systems, Digex
Shernaz Daver Marketing expert. C-level executive at Netflix, Zynga, Baidu, Motorola

Rentalic, launched in March 2010 and based in San Mateo, California,[1] is an online, rental marketplace that encourages collaborative consumption[2] and efficient use of our resources by enabling individuals or businesses to easily and securily rent any good, service, or property; such as video games, cameras, lawn mowers, tents[3] and even private driveways as temporary parking spots.[4] Following the emerging trend of peer-to-peer renting, Rentalic offers a place for “people who need stuff” to connect with the “people who have stuff".[4] Rentalic's vision is to, "Help make the world a better place by building economically and environmentally sustainable communities",[4] through their mission to, "Help people save money, make money, and save the environment by encouraging reuse and sharing through person-to-person renting."[4]

How It Started

"Punsri Abeywickrema (founder of Rentalic) needed a wheelbarrow to redo his backyard but he didn’t want to buy one for a one time use. The first weekend he worked on the yard, he borrowed a neighbor’s wheelbarrow. The second weekend, he felt bad asking to use it again, so he rented one from a local store. "I thought this might be a problem across society," he says. "There were many wheelbarrows in the vicinity just sitting idle, but that feel-bad factor prevents us from asking for favors." Abeywickrema has software experience from working at PayPal, LinkedIn, and online gaming company Zynga, so he created Rentalic.com."[5]

How It Works

How to use Rentalic - Video

  1. Individuals and businesses can set up a rental store for their items by registering for free on Rentalic.com.[6]
  2. Owners set a Security deposit amount for the value of the item, and then Rentalic provides a basic scheduling service for the item, allowing the owner to set dates and show availability on a virtual calendar.[1]
  3. Once the item is listed, a person can come across your listing and rent it. Using PayPal’s API, the owner of the item can verify that the person has enough money in their account to rent the item.[7]
  4. Once that’s verified, the person renting the item gets a secret code.[5]
  5. Only after meeting up in person, and verifying that the item is as described, does the borrower then give the code to the item owner. Conversely, if you’re meeting in a place where you don’t have access to a computer, the person renting the item can call an 800 number, enter in their PayPal account number and then enter in their secret code. At this point, the owner gets your deposit on the item.[7]
  6. After the item is returned, and it is deemed to be returned intact, the owner releases the deposit[7] and is charged 5% of the total rental fee.[6]
  7. At the end of the transaction, the owner gives feedback about the borrower and the borrower gives feedback about both the owner and the item. This feedback mechanism provides a level of verification and trust and PayPal takes care of secure payments.[6]

Types of Items Rented

Awards

References

  1. 1 2 SASTRY, ANJULI. "Company helps students share virtually". The Daily Californian. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  2. ↑ WALSH, BRYAN (5 December 2010). "Borrow, Don't Buy: Websites That Let Strangers Share". TIME. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  3. ↑ "Rent Your Neighbor’s Possessions at Rentalic Instead of Buying. Save and Be Green.". Green Talk. Retrieved 30 June 2011. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  4. 1 2 3 4 Heimbuch, Jaymi. "Earn Money, Save Cash with New Neighborhood Rental System Rentalic". Planet Green. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  5. 1 2 Johnston, Susan. "May I Rent Your Lawn Mower? Sharing Meets Web 2.0". Mint Life. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 DISHMAN, LYDIA. "Brother, Can You Spare a Blender? The Scoop on Peer-to-Peer Equipment Rentals". Fast Company. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 Warren, Christina. "PayPal X Developer Challenge Winners Unveiled". Mashable. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 ASHFORD, KATE. "Women in Red: The Sharing Economy: 7 things you should borrow instead of buy". Bundle. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  9. ↑ Needleman, Rafe. "PayPal wants your start-up". CNET. Retrieved 30 June 2011.

External links

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