Rentus.com: Online marketplace for users to rent anything and everything

Rentus.com provides us with an additional source of leads and a consolidated portal where our clients go to find what they need. At Rentus.com our clients find our extensive rental inventory of video and camera equipment. Understanding our need for additional source of business made me become a client. Understanding the huge need and the large need for a platform like Rentus.com make me become an investor.

Dan Toomey

President ProHD Rentals

Hello, everyone, I grew up in Tonga in the South Pacific and raised by my grandfather a farmer, and my grandma a medicinal woman and we used to pick jelly fish to eat. I grew up in a 1 bedroom hut-house without electricity, car, telephone, TV, no shower no stove but we survived. My father used to take me to his work as a kid to help with vanilla bean processing. I used to collect firewood to burn the furnace to dry the coconut meat for processing as a kid. I believe in Rentus.com and the vision.

King A Cocker

farmer from Tonga

Hi - I just invested a small amount in your organization. I run a social media agency out of Austin TX called No Time for Social Inc. We manage social media for other businesses. Your business model is clearly perfect for social so if there is ever a need please let me know. ####@notimeforsocial.com or on my cell at 512-497-5557 thank you!! And I love the idea! I can't wait to rent all of my unused items!

Bill Combes

I currently run No Time for Social - a start up based out of Round Rock TX. Previously part owner of HailWatch - Inc 5000 in 2011 and Austin Fastest 50 in 2011.

Investor Q&A

Expand all

What does your company do?

Rentus.com is a mobile and online rental marketplace where people are able to rent just about anything: from tools and equipment, to party supplies and camping gear. Rentus is using the rise of the sharing economy to also bring the person-to-person rental industry to a user-friendly platform, as well as create a new marketplace and low cost access to consumers for companies in the rental business.

Where will your company be in 5 years?

With the rise of Uber and AirBnb, more and more people are turning to the sharing economy for supplementary income—for some, it's their sole source of income. Rentus.com wants to tackle this growing trend by offering flexibility. Don't just rent your car or your extra room. Rent your power saw and your vintage record player and portable grill. Our goal is to become the largest rental marketplace in the world and give people a trusted platform to generate revenue from renting their unused items.

What's new about what you're making? How is it different?

Building a marketplace involves building two sides of the business. The supply and the demand. We understand this model and we are executing our plans in a proven and systematic way that we have successfully done it before. We invested almost a year building the supply side, attracting industry professionals and filing up our catalog. Our technology was built to manage the entire transaction. From verifying the users, two-way private communications between both parties, to booking, appraisal of items to be listed, payment collection, capturing of security deposits, damage waivers and fund disbursements. Our dashboard also serves as an inventory control system so both owners and renters can track their items and revenues. In addition to our sophisticated database structure that allows users to find what they are looking for based on need, description and geo-location, we are the only marketplace that utilizes artificial intelligence to match the owner with the renter based on personality and behavioral matchmaking.

How big is the market?

We are in 3 main markets. Each one is big enough to support our growth. 1. Consumer product rental industry, a $25 billion industry (tools, consumerelectronics, appliances, furniture, fitness equipment, party supplies,formalwear, do-it-yourself tools, recreational equipment. 2. Equipment rental industry, a $35 billion industry (construction,engineering, audio-visual, transportation, movie production, security, events) 3. Peer to peer rental. an estimated $30 billion industry (cars, bikes, sportsequipment, musical instruments, carpet cleaners, handbags, dresses, boats,etc.)

How will you make money?

- We take a piece of every transaction. Between 10 and 20% of the total rental fees - We make between 25 and 50% of the sale of ancillary products like damage waivers and insurance - Monthly membership fees from large rental companies - Fees for preferential positioning of listings based on categories, uses and items

Who are your competitors? How are you different?

At least 5 companies have tried to implement a similar model in the past 5 years. Ironically, they all made the same mistakes. They tried to launch nationwide with a peer-to-peer business model. Also, their management teams did not have any experience in the Internet “matchmaking” of buyers and sellers world. These companies included Zilok.com, Peer Rentals, Getable, and elocke. We are launching one city at the time, recruiting retail rental companies first and we actually have successfully done this before. Getable has re-emerged recently with a new business model and targeting the large construction equipment. Our analysis tells us that they will not go very far.Bigrentz.com is the only marketplace worth observing for now, but theirbusiness model is extremely expensive. They concentrate in large constructionequipment. They have raised enough funding to make some noise and have revenues but their business model is very expensive as it requires over 150 people on the phone to coordinate rentals. Although we have no plans to get into theheavy equipment industry, three of my ex-inside sales people fromAutotrader.com work or have worked for Bigrentz so we are familiar with theirstrengths and weaknesses. Erento.com, the current largest rental marketplace in the world is based in Germany and has a large footprint in Europe. We know that they don’t have plans to come to the US. Also, the two key members of the team that placed them in the leading position they have now (CEO and VP of Sales) are now members of our team.

What do you understand about your business that others don't get?

There are two successful rental marketplaces in the world. We have worked for one of them. Tomasz, our VP of Sales and International Development was instrumental in making eRento.com a leading player in Europe. Our successful experience in traditional marketplaces including the largest classified marketplace for construction equipment in the world, Mascus.comand the largest classified automotive marketplace, Autotrader.com comes in veryhandy. Our deep understanding of a decentralized business model where people conduct business with other people has helped us set the business processes to accommodate the needs of our users. Both Elias and Tomasz are frequent and highly sought-after speakers and trainers at conferences and events for classified marketplaces and eCommerce businesses around the world. As experts in the field, other marketplaces seek their expertise and wisdom when faced with growth and sales challenges. We are bringing all our individual and collective talents and experience to Rentus.com.

What if an item is damaged or stolen?

Things happen. For that reason, we have setup our business and processes taking this into account and focusing in building trust and successful and pleasant rental experiences for our users. First, we place a security deposit on the Renter’s credit card at the time of booking. This amount equals the Owner’s the stated market value of an item. In case of damage or theft, we will use this deposit to pay for repairs or replacement of the damaged item. Secondly, we spent many months finding the best possible way to offer comprehensive damage waiver coverage to our users. We are now, the only peer-to-peer rental marketplace where a renter can purchase, with a click of a check box, a damage waiver. This coverage covers up to $7,500 per item with a small deductible. In the normal course of business, we will encourage and expect that both the Owner and the Renter come up with an agreement as to how much it will take to get the item repaired. We will then instruct the bank to proceed with charging the renter that amount out of the security deposit and/or the carrier to pay for the claim if the renter purchased a damage waiver. Our policy is zero tolerance for fraudulent and dishonest behavior. We will ban for life any person that plays any dishonest games using our platform. We will also report any fraudulent behavior to the authorities and make sure that person is persecuted to the maximum extent of the law. Period!

What keeps us up at night?

The possibilities, the future. A very realistic and attainable future where people are not going to be limited in what they can create and do because the tools and equipment needed are cost prohibited. A minimalistic and in a way environmentally friendly future where we only buy items that we are going to use more than 10 times per year and we rent the rest. Saving packaging, plastics, metals, paper. Saving and eliminating clutter. A future where people and companies can supplement their income and perhaps create self-sustaining businesses by renting items they already own. That is exciting and it does keep us up at night.

What's your biggest risk?

As with any business, there are risks. One of the biggest challenges we will encounter is growth. For this reason, we are adhering to strict recruiting and hiring practices for employees, partners and even users. We check and double check business practices, client reviews and systems when we onboard traditional rental companies. We will only hire people that can follow our values, with proven track records and high morale and ethics. We will verify that our users are real people, have a substantial and real online social footprint and the products listed are not simulated or stolen. As we raise more funds, we will also integrate online ID verification.

What's your cash flow?

Our cash and cash equivalents as off March 31, 2017 that amount to $57,850 are held for working capital purposes. We do not enter into investments for trading or speculative purposes. Our variable monthly burn rate ranges from $3,500 to $5,000. Our expenses are variable and they can be adjusted to accommodate cash flow and funding. We expect to launch a Cable TV, outdoor and digital marketing campaign.We also expect to hire customer service and sales team members. The marketing campaign and the human resources ramp-up will depend on the amount raised.

1	Peer-to-Peer rental estimated to be a $30 billion industry.
2	Current rental industry is segmented, old, tired, ready to be shaken up.
3	Rental companies and individuals are signing up.
4	Thousands of products already in the catalog. Technology is ready.

1	We rely on Amazon Web Services for the vast majority of our computing, storage, bandwidth, and other services. Any disruption of or interference with our use of the Amazon Web Services operation would negatively affect our operations and seriously harm our business.
2	We are creating and growing a new platform for people and companies to offer items for rent (“Owners”) and people and companies to rent items (“Renters”) from owners. Listing items for rent in our platform is free and we earn a service fee and/or commission for every successful rental transaction taking place in our platform. The failure to attract new owners and renters, and the failure to attract new listings in our catalog could seriously harm our business.
3	We rely heavily on our technology and intellectual property, but we may be unable to adequately or cost-effectively protect or enforce our intellectual property rights, thereby weakening our competitive position and increasing operating costs.We must acquire or develop new services, evolve existing ones, address any defects or errors, and adapt to technology change.Cyclical and seasonal fluctuations in the economy, in internet usage and in traditional retail shopping may have an effect on our business.If we do not respond to technological changes or upgrade our technology systems, our growth prospects and results of operations could be adversely affected.
4	The Company’s success depends on the experience and skill of its executive officers and key employees. We rely on various intellectual property rights, including patents in order to operate our business.From time to time, third parties may claim that one or more of our products or services infringe their intellectual property rights.Although dependent on certain key personnel, the Company does not have any key man life insurance policies on any such people. We are subject to income taxes as well as non-income based taxes, such as payroll, sales, use, value-added, net worth, property and goods and services taxes, in the US.Changes in employment laws or regulation could harm our performance.The Company could be negatively impacted if found to have infringed on intellectual property rights.
5	Our platform connects Owners with Renters. We do not see, touch or otherwise inspect the items that people and companies rent from each other. We rely on each party to act honestly, rent equipment in working conditions and assume all risks and liabilities from the operation of such equipment. Injuries, theft, damage and other occurrences may occur that are beyond our control. We anticipate being named in legal actions when misfortunes happen. Although we carry a general liability insurance policy, damages, accidents, injuries, misunderstandings, errors, omissions and other occurrences may cause distractions to our executives and expenses that may harm our business.
6	Our ecosystem of owners, renters, advertisers, and partners depends on the engagement and growth of our user base and product catalog. We anticipate that the growth rate of our user base will decline once we hit a saturation point and over time. If we fail to retain current users or add new users, or if our users engage less with Rentus.com, our business would be seriously harmed.
7	Rentus.com depends on effectively operating with mobile, and computing devices, operating systems, hardware, networks, regulations, and standards that we do not control. Changes in our products or to those operating systems, hardware, networks, regulations, or standards may seriously harm our user growth, retention, and engagement.
8	Our founder and the A Unit group has control over all unitholder decisions because they control a substantial majority of our voting units. Please see our Company Agreement and Independent Accountants’ Review Report for more information.
9	If we do not develop successful new products or improve existing ones, our business will suffer. We also expect to invest in new lines of business that could fail to attract or retain users or generate revenue. Our business is highly competitive. We face significant competition that we anticipate will continue to intensify. If we are not able to maintain or improve our market share, our business could suffer.
10	If our security is compromised or if our platform is subjected to attacks that frustrate or thwart our users’ ability to access our products and services, our users, advertisers, and partners may cut back on or stop using our products and services altogether, which could seriously harm our business.
11	Management. As of April 2017, both Elias Chavando and Robert Blanchard are working full time for the company. Tomasz Odrobinsky is working part-time for the company. As such, it is likely that the company will not make the same progress as it would if that were not the case.

Officer	Title	Joined
Elias Chavando	President & CEO	2015
Rob Blanchard	VP Web Development	2015
Tomasz Odrobinski	VP Sales and International Development	2015

Date	Amount	Security
10/2017	$300,000	Priced Round
02/2012	$95,000	Priced Round
08/2017	$130,038	SAFE
12/2015	$171,225	Priced Round
12/2016	$100,000	Priced Round
03/2017	$100,000	Priced Round

$50,000	We are raising money to complete the implementation in our first markets and build the solid foundation for nationwide and international expansion. The bulk and most expensive part of the technology is done. We will improve our UX and usability of our website and mobile app as well as complete the development of the Android version of the app. Our concentration is now on marketing and growth. The amount of money we raise will determine the speed of implementation of our plans. Our expenses are variable and can be adjusted according to the amount of money we raise.This amount will help us continue our implementation of our first market in Los Angeles and complete the development of our Android app.
$250,000	This amount allows us to continue our grass-roots marketing efforts and continue implementation in Los Angeles.We are raising money to complete the implementation in our first markets and build the solid foundation for nationwide and international expansion. The bulk and most expensive part of the technology is done. We will improve our UX and usability of our website and mobile app as well as complete the development of the Android version of the app. Our concentration is now on marketing and growth. The amount of money we raise will determine the speed of implementation of our plans. Our expenses are variable and can be adjusted according to the amount of money we raise.
$500,000	This amount allows us to continue implementation in Los Angeles and expand to other counties in Southern California and conduct our local marketing campaigns.We are raising money to complete the implementation in our first markets and build the solid foundation for nationwide and international expansion. The bulk and most expensive part of the technology is done. We will improve our UX and usability of our website and mobile app as well as complete the development of the Android version of the app. Our concentration is now on marketing and growth. The amount of money we raise will determine the speed of implementation of our plans. Our expenses are variable and can be adjusted according to the amount of money we raise.This amount allows us to continue our grass-roots marketing efforts and implement in Los Angeles.
$750,000	This amount allows us to fully implement in Los Angeles and Southern California, with leaner local marketing campaigns and expand to our second targeted area. The bulk and most expensive part of the technology is done. We will improve our UX and usability of our website and mobile app as well as complete the development of the Android version of the app. Our concentration is now on marketing and growth. The amount of money we raise will determine the speed of implementation of our plans. Our expenses are variable and can be adjusted according to the amount of money we raise.
$1,000,000	This is our optimal goal. At this level we can move faster and fully implement our first market of Southern California and start implementation in our second market.The bulk and most expensive part of the technology is done. We will improve our UX and usability of ourwebsite and mobile app as well as complete the development of the Android version of the app. Also, at this level, we will complete the development of our image recognition technology to make the listing process easier for our users.Our concentration is now on marketing and growth. The amount of money we raise will determine the speed of implementation of our plans. Our expenses are variable and can be adjusted according to the amount of money we raise.

Class of Security	Securities (or Amount) Authorized	Securities (or Amount) Outstanding	Voting Rights
Class B Unit	2,909,276	2,646,777	No
Class A 1 Units	6,782,222	1,529,973	Yes
Class A 2 Units	16,000,000	16,000,000	Yes

Why you may want to support us...

Why investors us

we've raised $896,263 since our founding

Our team

And Our Major Accomplishments

In the news

Downloads

THE AVERAGE FAMILY HAS $5000 IN EQUIPMENT, TOOLS, TOYS & VEHICLES STORED

THE CONSUMER PRODUCT RENTAL INDUSTRY

OUR FIRST :30 SEC. TV SPOT

A SNAPSHOT OF THE SHARING ECONOMY

PEER TO PEER RENTAL A $30 BILLION INDUSTRY

WHAT YOU CAN RENT ON RENTUS.COM

TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT OUR BUSINESS PLAN

Help Us Grow Rentus.com

Investor Q&A

Financials

At a Glance

Risks

Details

The Board of Directors

Officers

Voting Power

Past Equity Fundraises

Outstanding Debts

Related Party Transactions

Use of Funds

Capital Structure

Form C Filing on EDGAR

Rentus.com to implement Blockchain technologies.

Rentus.com update. Blockchain, ICO, and more.

NYC Launch # 2

Preparing for NY

NEW YORK!!!

In partnership with the International Rental Association

Thank you!

3-Hours Left!

LESS THAN 24 HOURS!

Version 2.0 is Ready To Launch!

Rentus.com receives a 4-star rating from Stratifund!

At $6.9m Valuation Cap This is the Best Deal!

Closing date is set!

Breaking News!

A new version coming up!

Rentus.com reaches minimum goal!

Almost There!!

Rentus.com & Roadie partner to offer rental pickup and delivery, one of the most highly requested services from renters and owners.

Our inventory keeps growing. We have more Jet Skies and Boats available for rent now!

Memorial Day Rentals Going Really Well!

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Are you sure you want to delete this?

Ask a Question

Your commitment was sent

Join 498,390 investors who funded 403 startups with over $144.5 million1

View Reg D, A+ and Reg CF Breakdown

Signup

Forgot password?

Join 498,390 investors who funded 403 startups with over $144.5 million¹