yoodlize

Iain, thank you for your question and for taking the time to articulate it clearly. This is a complex question with multiple variables, but we do have our theories. Some of which revolve around timing. It is clear that we are changing as a society, falling out of love with our things, and starting to value experiences more. However, our behavioral evolution is a process, there are still a lot of people that connect their identity with things they own. But, we are evolving, as evident by subscription models. We now have subscriptions to more products than ever before, which is a form of renting, if it is Microsoft software or trading in our DVDs for Netflix. No question that we are moving in this direction. We are building Yoodlize with the future in mind. So, for some of the mentioned businesses above, they either gave up too early or are still in the early stages of building, and may become direct competitors when we reach their markets, or find that they primed the market for us. It is important to keep in mind that Airbnb started 13yrs ago. Platform businesses take time to build. I think there is also something to do with go-to-market strategy, which I won't get into much here. But, all of the aforementioned competitors have a different approach to ours. But, similar in each other. I don't want to elaborate on that here. To your last question, I do think there is sharing aspect in some communities. However, we found during our focus groups (particularly the mum groups), that there is an invisible social capital that is being exchanged when lending to neighbors and this unspoked invisible capital causes a lot of friction in the sharing system. For example, if one mum borrows the same item more than a few times, she starts to feel apprehensive about borrowing it again out of fear of being perceived as a freeloader, unless the neighbor has requested something from her and she was able to reciprocate. On the other side, the mum that is always lending out starts to feel taken advantage of if over time there is no reciprocation. These are all unpleasant feelings. By listing an item for rent, it makes the transaction very clean, with clear expectations. It allows a person to rent the neighbors ebike 10x a month if they want, and not feel bad because it is based on an openly agreed-upon price. Opposed to the latent capital of borrowing that leaves the renter wondering if a plate of biscuits is the proper reciprocation for borrowing a VR headset for the weekend. I hope this answers your questions, and I do have faith in my team that we can solve these and the myriad of other issues that arise as we continue to grow and evolve our business.

Our product is similar in many ways to our competitors, regardless, the small differences in revenue model, design, UX, UI, marketing strategy, etc., do add up. At the end of the day, there may be a couple of winners in this space, similar to Uber and Lyft, which are also very similar on the exterior. In my experience launching and running other successful businesses, is that the key to success is not the concept (idea) or product, but the execution. This is why the team is so important in early-stage investments.

Jerry, thank you for your question. (1) We do have a few competitors, Fat Llama may be the most prevalent. We are very similar as far as functionality goes, with minor differences in UX/UI, so on the surface, we look similar, but in a different market. What really separates us is our go-to-market strategy. I think we have a totally different approach to who, what, where, when. I think we share the why with most competitors. (2) We have had better than expected success with these issues, we did pilot in a small demographic, but had 800+ rentals and not a single theft. In the few instances that an item broke, it was handled with the users, there was never a discrepancy of who was responsible, either the renter broke it, or it was normal wear-and-tear.

Hi Leonardo, thank you for your questions. First, for the revenue goals, I would rather not share those here. I am happy to schedule a call to discuss. jason@yoodlize.com Second, We do have insurance for items listed for rent and are also working to increase insurance policies to provide better coverage. Anything that is wear-and-tear is not covered by insurance or the responsibility of the renter. Similar to your examples above. If it is normal usage, if it appears to be abuse, then the renter is responsible. However, the good news is that to-date we have not had a single claim filed. We have found that when someone shows up at your door, meets you and your dogs, sees you're a real person, they tend to treat your items better than they do their own. When accidents have happened, the renter has taken care of the issue themselves. I have several stories of items coming back in better condition than when they were rented out. If you want a renewed faith in society, rent something on Yoodlize and meet some great people.

Sorry for the delayed response, I have not been on Wefunder for some time. We take 10% on each side of the transaction. So, for a $50 rental, we earn $5 from both renter and owner. We offer insurance to cover damage, and the user signs a waiver agreeing to personal liability.

Sorry, I had not logged in to Wefunder since the round closed, and am just seeing this now. I am happy to chat. We are planning on opening another round in a couple of months, I am not sure how the crowdfunding will be incorporated in the next round, but I do intend to have some form of a crowdfund available. Probably best to chat on via email: Jason@yoodlize.com

There are plenty of platforms that let people sell their stuff or give it away, we play a specific role in connecting people to each other's stuff that they love and do not want to get rid of but are happy to share (for a price).

Stephen, thanks for reaching out. We use a comprehensive marketing approach with a mix of standard tactics like PR, digital marketing, print, influencer, etc. But, I'd prefer not to talk about our core go-to-market strategies in this forum, if you would like to know specifics I am more than happy to have a call with you. I will find you on LinkedIn, add me and schedule a call if you are still interested. Thanks.

Patrick, thanks for the question. I have answered similar questions below in or depth. But, in short. Generally speaking, it will come down to execution and go-to-market strategies. To our answer your question about Idle specifically, from what I know we have disparate revenue and growth models. Granted, I don't know the specifics of their strategies.

I will ask Wefunder, there was a bug for a few hours shortly after our SEC filing, and our campaign was showing the wrong offering. I know one or two people may have invested in that window of time, I will check with Wefunder and see if that was you and reply to you in a private message.