Remember when music was a physical product?  From records to LPs to cassettes, music used to be a tangible good sold in stores like Tower Records and Sam Goody.  Think back to those (now vintage) CD cases and media storage racks filled with hundreds of albums -- a physical testament to a devotion to music.  Fast-forward to today and things are a bit different.  For one, music is largely a digital experience with audio files downloaded onto various devices.  Although music ownership still exists, there's another trend where music is a less a possession and more an experience.  From Pandora to Rhapsody, several emerging services provide listeners access to music on-demand.  Rather than own a finite number of songs on a device, on-demand services allow streaming from a large library of shared digital music.  People pay to use versus pay to own -- an emerging concept that extends far beyond music.

If you keep up with any of the major publications, you may have noticed several articles referencing the changing relationship between wealth and ownership in today's economy.  Due to the recent housing crisis, this Wall Street Journal article explains the misconception of home ownership (home ownership no longer yields the same returns compared to 30 years ago) and re-defines "the new American Dream" as renting instead of buying.  Another hot topic in the press during the past couple weeks has been around collaborative consumption, a movement I referenced in another blog post as "the rapid explosion in traditional sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting, gifting, and swapping redefined through technology and peer communities."  This phenomenon, which has been covered by TED, The New York Times and WIRED has been spearheaded by two visionaries, Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers.  This duo recently co-authored a book on the topic called, What's Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption which is set for release in just a couple weeks.  Coincidentally, another book called The Mesh: Why The Future of Business Is Sharing focuses on eliminating the burdens of ownership through shared access, and is set to hit bookshelves later this month as well.  Both describe a new way of doing business, citing several players disrupting the notion of ownership in favor of usership.  Previously, I've mentioned Swap.com as the leader in swapping.  Services like AirBnB and CouchSurfing are revolutionizing extra space by allowing people to rent out spare futons, bedrooms, apartments and homes.  ZipCar and fellow MassChallenge finalist, RelayRides, are changing the face of car ownership.  Lisa Gansky's Mesh Directory highlights hundreds of others (including Rentcycle) leading the way, and this video by Rachel Botsman features a few powerful case studies too:

As an evangelist for communal exchange, it's great to see collaborative consumption enjoying its time in the sun with some much-deserved buzz.  But the funny thing is, this is not a new concept.  The notion of paying for access versus ownership has been around for quite some time.  What would you say if I told you there are several age-old institutions built upon a dedication to usership?  These are things you and I use everyday.  Consider some of our public commons that have been enjoyed for centuries without a need to own.  For example, we use roads yet we don't own them.  All citizens are granted access to streets and highways through our payment of local taxes and tolls -- in essence, we pay a subscription fee to use the roads.  Similarly, we can borrow books from the library.  Library books grant accss to information on-demand, where content is shared among a community of users.  

The Internet takes this concept to a whole new level, opening doors to all sorts of shared content.  There's a high probability that in the not-too-distant-future, we will not "own" any music, books, movies, etc.  The truth is this is already possible (as I referenced with the music example earlier), but the principle is only just getting its bearings.  Soon, instant access to all these media through subscriptions and on-demand services will become mainstream... without having to own anything.  Chances are you're already doing this through Netflix's instant streaming capability.  You might be surprised that this is the same premise behind cloud computing where servers aren't owned, but shared through a pay-per-use model.  The same principle applies to software as a service (SaaS) where licenses are not owned, but accessed on a subscription basis.  Shared access is all around us.

This pay-per-use model is at the core of renting.  You pay to use things only when you need them.  You can stop paying at any time, at which point, you return the good until you need it again.  This is what renting is all about -- reducing the complexities of ownership through usership.  This is also at the heart of communal exchange.  Collaborative consumption and mesh businesses are not necessarily new, but rather, part of a larger trend of shared access where people pay for use instead of ownership.  Rentcycle is leading the way for collaborative consumption and is proud represent the rental opportunity by making the process easy for the mainstream.  We strongly believe that this ideal of shared access is here to stay.

The best part is: this is only the beginning.

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Over the weekend, Rentcycle celebrated two firsts: our first television debut and our first mention in one of our favorite publications, FastCompany Magazine!  It's great to see increased media coverage and interest in renting as a concept.  Look for more of this as Rentcycle brings renting even further into the mainstream!

The TV segment which aired on ABC News Philadelphia was all about how more people are turning to renting as a means to save money.  The report highlighted the economics of renting, stating, "the more expensive an item is, the more money you'll save by renting."  The segment touched on unique items people might not realize can be rented, referencing services like REI (camping gear), BookSwim (Netflix for books), Guitar Affair (guitar rentals) and ZipCar (on-demand cars).  Rentcycle was cited as, "a really great aggregator of the things you can rent," by rental expert Eric Ginsburg.  Watch the 2 minute segment for yourself here.

The September issue of FastCompany Magazine came out over the weekend with an interesting article in their Next Strategy section.  Titled "Welcome to the Copy Shop," the article highlights some of the web's most successful businesses with examples of startups who strive to apply similar business models to new industries.  Top business models included Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter, Yelp and Zappos, among others.  Not too surprisingly, Rentcycle was compared to OpenTable which is reminiscent of the TechCrunch article that dubbed us OpenTable for local rental businesses.  Having utmost respect for OpenTable, we are flattered and have aspirations for similar success.  Another interesting piece of the article highlights companies with models similar to Netflix.  Included on this list are Bookrenter and Chegg for textbooks, RentTheRunway for high fashion, and SproutRobot for seeds.  Since Rentcycle serves this space, we are huge fans of these innovative rental services.  Read more by picking up a copy of FastCompany and turning to page 44.

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Today, Rentcycle announces its nomination to Entrepreneur Magazine’s annual list of “100 Brilliant Companies” for 2010.  Hitting newsstands today, the cover story for the June 2010 issue highlights “brilliant” companies in categories ranging from mobile tech to green business.

In all, 10 fast-growing categories were identified as bringing “jaw-dropping ingenuity to the table.”  Value was recognized as a key category, especially during tight economic times.  Within this category, Rentcycle was selected as a “company to watch” since the company helps penny-pinching consumers save money renting their favorite things at a fraction of the cost of buying.  To date, the marketplace hosts more than 30,000 rental businesses which can be discovered in cities and towns across the United States.

“We are beside ourselves with excitement that Entrepreneur Magazine has included Rentcycle on their list of the most brilliant business ideas of 2010,” shares Tim Hyer, Founder and CEO of Rentcycle.  “To be in the company of startups we admire like Groupon and BillShrink is a huge honor and we are pleased to see further validation behind the online rental concept.”

Earlier this year, the newly launched Rentcycle marketplace debuted with 30,000 rental stores from the top 350 cities across the United States.  Here, consumers are able to get information about rental businesses ranging from luxury goods to baby equipment.  The hope is that a central rental search engine will enlighten consumers by opening their eyes to the variety of goods they can rent versus buy.  Did you know you could rent a piano?  How ‘bout an expensive designer handbag or dress like those you see on the red carpet?  You’ll be shocked to learn you can rent a living Christmas tree each year or even a temporary pet dog.  Now there’s a place to locate all these things.

The online version of the Entrepreneur magazine June cover story, “Entrepreneur’s Annual 100 Brilliant Ideas,” can be read at http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2010/june/206722-2.html.>

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It’s a big week for this small startup.  As of Monday, Rentcycle doubled in size, growing from one to two full-time employees.  Don’t worry, the company dog is still involved—it’s just taken a back seat to Rentcycle’s latest addition.

Meet Ludo Goarin, Rentcycle’s newly dubbed Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer.  For the past eight years, Ludo has run his own web development company, OrangeSites, where he and his team have helped hundreds of clients build strong, sustainable online presences by leveraging online technologies, web design and SEO.  A man of many talents, Ludo is more than just a coder.  He also brings sales, marketing, business and design experience to the table, making him a key voice when it comes to product strategy and company vision. 

After eight years of building websites for other early-stage companies, Ludo is ready to take the plunge and be part of his own startup dream.  He believes in the business model for Rentcycle and is eager to create a superior product.  One of Ludo’s best qualities is his focus on the user.  His plan is to engineer a solution that solves a real need for both businesses and consumers.

Ludo brings a sense of worldliness to the Rentcycle team as well.  Hailing from France, Ludo attended ESSCA where he received degrees in International Marketing, Languages, as well as a Masters in Business Administration.  Research has shown Europe is even more progressive than the U.S. when it comes to renting as a form of commerce, so this French connection might come in handy down the road ☺

Ludo lives with his wife in San Francisco.  He takes advantage of the outdoor playground of Northern California as a basketball player, scuba diver and kite surfer.  He even finds time for the occasional fishing trip and he now rents all of his equipment!

Welcome, Ludo.  Rentcycle couldn’t be more thrilled to have you on board!

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Whether we like it or not, we’re all familiar with insurance giant, GEICO and its memorable advertising icons.  From the witty gecko to the googly-eyed stack of money, GEICO’s got a way of getting their messages to stick in our minds.  Such was the case with their popular caveman campaign.  The slogan, “So easy, even a caveman can do it,” led to several hilarious commercials, billboards and even a primetime television show (for part of a season)!  Playing off the concept of simple-minded cavemen, GEICO successfully communicated how easy it is to use their product.  Clear and concise.

Thanks to vator.tv, Rentcycle recently had the opportunity to produce a video as part of a prize won at the recent Vator Splash startup competition.  In collaboration with video production company, StudioNow, Rentcycle created a short animation to highlight the benefits of renting.  The funny thing about renting is, despite its clear benefits to save money, space and the environment, few consumers consider it an option.  This is partly because there currently is no convenient online solution (we’re working on this ☺) and partly becase few realize just how many things can be rented at a fraction of the cost of buying (literally just about anything you can think of).  For this reason, we wanted to create a simple but entertaining piece introducing consumers to the rental opportunity.

We needed to tell the story in an easily understandable way so our startup’s new solution could be grasped in about a minute’s time.  Like GEICO, we decided on the caveman analogy, not only because it implies simplicity, but also because it references renting’s long history.  Whether a pistol in the Wild West, a wig in Elizabethian England or a club in prehistoric times, renting has been around for centuries.  Only recently has the trend made a comeback—which is the purpose of this animation.  I have to give the creative credit to StudioNow for bringing it all to life.

Go ahead and take a look—hopefully it’s as memorable as a GEICO commercial!

Special thanks to vator.tv and StudioNow for the hard work and collaboration making this video possible.  It was a fun, creative collaboration.  Cheers!

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For the past 18 months, my team and I have been working hard to develop the concept, model and product behind Rentcycle -- a website for rental stores to gain greater visibility with consumers seeking alternatives to ownership.  During this time, we've recruited a handful of early adopters from around the rental industry to get direct input and feedback on the product as it came to life.  We had a surf shop in Santa Monica.  A tool rental company in Arizona.  Even a bike store down the street from us in San Francisco.  These initial Rentcycle customers provided invaluable feedback and shed light onto the inner workings of a rental business.  We learned the importance of taking deposits to avoid no-shows, requiring contracts to avoid liability down the line, and other processes specific to the rental industry.  Aside from these few contacts, Rentcycle had a very limited view into the rental world... until a few days ago.

This week, Rentcycle took the cross-country trek to Orlando, site of this year's Rental Show, an annual event hosted by The American Rental Association.  As I've mentioned before, the rental industry is a HUGE space, accounting for $85B and over 65,000 businesses in the U.S.  This show was our first major opportunity to introduce ourselves and we tried our very best to do it with style.

Although we were booth #5043 in the sea of exhibits within the monstrous Orange County Convention Center, Rentcycle's 10'x10' slice of the trade show floor was packed with flare.  Passers-by couldn't miss the vibrant Rentcycle green displays, complete with 2 Internet kiosks (for live demos), plasma screen (for videos) and the friendliest staff to hit the rental world since Avis ("we try harder" campaign).  Video games brought out the competitive side of attendees who played in our Wii Sports tournament.  And a daily raffle of iPod Touches and a Nintendo Wii kept visitors coming back.  All this traffic made for the perfect atmosphere as we debuted our brand new technology to an industry that's trying to keep up with its increasingly savvy customers. 

Rental stores from across the country and world stopped by our booth to learn about Rentcycle.  To be honest, I wasn't sure how a brand new website would be received by an industry that has done things mostly the same way for generations.  But our reception couldn't have been more positive.  I can't tell you the number of times I heard, "this is the way our industry is heading," and "we could really use some help getting more online business."  Business owners were signing their stores up and checking out how they stacked up against the local competitors.  We demoed our online reservation system, which would allow stores to conduct business 24/7.  And we got input on planned features that are in the pipeline to better suit their needs.  In three day's time, we achieved exponential progress.  It was fantastic.

During the event, we learned the nuance of difference between rental categories like party & event versus tool & equipment and will be planning our product accordingly to meet the unique needs of each.  We strengthened our network and developed relationships we hope to strengthen as we continue to grow our business.  More than anything, we got ourselves out there in the community of people we're trying to serve.  This alone made the trip worthwhile.  The fact that they liked what we're doing didn't hurt either :-)

Next year's event is a bit closer to home and I'm looking forward to bringing back the Rentcycle green.  See you in Vegas!

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For those who have followed my startup journey, change is something I've had to become comfortable with.  Change of lifestyle.  Change of career.  Even a change in wardrobe (mostly PJ's now).  And I definitely don't sleep as much as I used to!  It's a fun ride.  An evolution.  Well, today marks another change, and an exciting one at that. 

About an hour ago, we launched Rentcycle 2.0.  The Rentcycle website has metamorphosized from a business-facing SaaS application to a consumer-facing rental marketplace.  Don't worry -- our current business customers will still be able to use our back-end software and book reservations from their websites -- it's just now we have something useful to offer consumers as well.  As of today, there's now a place where you can discover, compare and book items for rent online!  As far as we know, Rentcycle is the only company that is exclusively serving the rental industry in this way.  There are other sites that promote peer-to-peer renting (like if I wanted to rent out the ladder in my closet for some extra cash), but Rentcycle is all about helping the rental businesses who yearn to get discovered.

Did you know you can rent an iPhone?  Solar panels?  A pet dog for the day?  You can find all those things on the new Rentcycle.

Check out the official press release and thanks for continuing to cheer us on!

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Now that Rentcycle has a blog, a few people have asked about my path.  How did I get here?  Here's the scoop.

My journey with Rentcycle officially started in November 2008, but you can argue it really started when I moved cross-country from North Carolina to California in July 2007.  While my wife started a PhD program at Berkeley, I got a full-time job at an innovation consulting firm in Silicon Valley, called Cheskin.  Helping some of the most powerful Fortune 500 companies develop new products and services, I couldn't help but feel the potential of my new home in the Bay Area.  I was surrounded by innovation, by invention, and it didn't take long for me to catch the startup bug.  With every client I engaged with, with every article I read in the local tech blogs, I felt strong urges to get out there and start something on my own.  And it could have been anything -- as long as it solved a need and could make an impact. 

I recall this one day when I engaged with the Idea Mentor at Adobe, Rick Bess.  Rick came into Cheskin and talked about the innovation process at Adobe and how it's embedded within the culture.  During his presentation, he made a comment about how he's always lived and breathed innovation, from the time he was 26 years old... which was when he started his first company.  He went on about 26 year olds being free of the obligations of an older crowd and how it's the ideal age to start a company.  I was inspired by these words of encouragement, since I happened to be 26 at the time.  It was at that point that I officially had startups on the brain.  My travels always sparked different ideas -- a trip to Portland had me thinking of opening a unique bar reminiscent of the great local brew experiences in Oregon.  Visits to my nieces and nephews led to internet startup ideas where families could connect and share hand-me-down clothing through an online community.  Seemed inspiration was all around, it was just a matter of time. 

Finally, I had an opening.  In November 2008, I completed a life-long goal by finishing my first Ironman triathlon.  To give some context, I had spent the prior six months dedicating approximately 20 hours per week to training (swimming, biking and running).  Needless to say, I suddenly had a lot of extra time on my hands!  It was at this same time that I was exploring my latest startup fancy, which happened to be related to renting stuff.  As a triathlete, I've rented my fair share of equipment -- from bikes, to wetsuits, to zip wheels.  And what a pain the whole process had been!  I knew there had to be a better way.  Hence, the birth of Rentcycle. 

For the next six months, I wrote and revised several business plans.  I learned the ropes on my own as I acquired domain names, applied for trademarks and recruited technical help.  I heard of startup incubator programs and applied to a couple.  But was discouraged to learn most required that I quit my day job.  At this very early stage, and without technical help, I wasn't ready to take the plunge.  So, I continued to balance my day job with long nights and busy weekends.  I was referred to an article in TechCrunch about a new incubator called The Founder Institute.  In May 2009, I became part of the inaugural class.  Suddenly, I found myself surrounded by peers who were facing the same challenges and obstacles as me.  It was so refreshing and helped establish instant camaraderie.  We commiserated about the juggling act, balancing startup with full-time job.  We shared experiences as we sought technical talent and helped each other through our first investor pitches.  It was a very collaborative and encouraging group.  Between smart peers and phenomenal mentors, The Institute introduced me to a whole new world.

Since graduation, I've launched my product, gotten some solid press and have acquired over 100 customers!  Exciting doesn't begin to describe this phase of my life.  2010 is going to be a big year for the business and I look forward to what lies ahead!

Thanks for all the support.

Tim Hyer
Founder | Rentcycle
tim@rentcycle.com

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