Tim Hyer is the founder of Rentcycle, a startup based in San Francisco. Rentcycle helps local rental businesses get discovered and lets consumers compare options and book reservations online. The mission is to waste less, share more.
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.
San Francisco is a unique spot. From retro Haight Ashbury to flamboyant Castro to hipster Mission, this city knows how to embrace weird. As accustomed as I've become to the wonders of such diversity, I find I can still be caught off guard. During a recent jog up and down the hilly streets, I saw something that made me do a double-take. Goats? In the middle of the city?? Yes. One can't help but feel farm animals in the middle of a metropolis is strange, even for a town that encourages oddity. What on earth could they be doing here?
Upon further investigation, I found these goats had a purpose: to clear the land of brush and weeds. They were part of a SF-based company, called City Grazing. This company touts goat grazing as an environmentally friendly alternative to mowing, burning or herbicides. Further, the company claims its goats can cover large areas in a shorter period of time than most manpower at a rate of 1/2 acre per 8 hour day (50 goats). Plus, they're cheaper than manual labor, are chemical-free and are popular with parents and children. Even the critter's droppings are in demand!
When I got back from my run, I got on the computer and discovered San Fran is not alone in its love for goats! There's Rent-a-Ruminant in Seattle, Hire-a-Goat in San Diego, Goatmowers in Grand Rapids. You may not believe it, but there's even a search engine specifically dedicated to goat rentals, called Goat Finder at www.goatfinder.com! Who knew this was such a lucrative business! WIRED Magazine covered the Rent-a-Goat concept a couple years back with this video:
Hopefully I taught you something new today, or at least made you chuckle. For those of you who can't stand mowing your lawn, now there's no excuse. You can rent a four legged weed eating machine to do the job for you!
No more Dharma Initiative. No more black smoke. No more flashbacks (or flash sideways or flash forwards, for that matter). Last night, over 13 million viewers tuned in to say goodbye to Jack, Locke, Kate, Sawyer and the other castaways we’ve grown to love during the past six years. Although the 2.5 hour series finale over-delivered in many ways and is now eligible for Emmy nominations, many fanatics refuse to come to terms with “the end” in what has been dubbed post-Lost depression.
In an effort to help these diehard fans cope with the finale, I spent some time researching all of the Lost-related items you can rent. Even though the series is over, who says you can’t surround yourself with the comforts of the show? Here are a few rentable items that can cure even the most island-sick hearts:
During the Q&A portion of a recent startup event, I was asked whether Rentcycle could be used to "rent a monkey." This question brought laughter to the audience and caught me off-guard. As soon as I got home, I Googled "rent a monkey," only to discover a viral online hoax that promised the ability to rent a monkey for a week. If you're bored, the video is pretty funny. At first, I dismissed the whole thing as a joke. But scrolling further down the results page led me to find you actually CAN rent a monkey—professionally trained monkeys with handlers for children's birthday parties. I soon learned monkey rentals are the tip of the iceberg for a new global trend—pet rentals—a topic that's been met with much controversy in the U.S.
Pet rentals have been around for years, particularly in Asia. Korea and Japan are famous for their cat cafés, local coffee shops where patrons pay a fee to cuddle with kittens while enjoying their daily cup-a-joe. An article in Marie Claire states, "The cat cafés have become so popular that more than 150 businesses have sprung up to offer animals for hire—ferrets, turtles, squirrels, monkeys—on an hourly, weekly, or even monthly basis, if you want to bring the critter home." Dogs have been predictably popular, as evidenced by Tokyo dog rental business, Perro Moco. Here, busy professionals living in the cramped city of Tokyo can spend a few hours or a weekend with a furry friend of their choice.Temporary pet sharing seems to benefit both sides of the equation. Humans get companionship without the long-term responsibility and daily hassles associated with ownership. In turn, pets get the love and attention they seek. Since most pets are rescued from pounds, shelters or abandoned homes, they get a new lease on life, along with some much needed care.
This was precisely the motivation behind a U.S.-based company, FlexPetz which introduced dog rentals to cities across America. Despite annual fees of about $1,500 per year, the concept was extremely popular—there was even a waiting list to get selected! FlexPetz made the whole process very convenient—dogs were delivered groomed with pre-packaged meals; owners didn’t need to worry about veterinary bills or buying lots of toys. For obvious reasons, the service was perfect for people who travel a lot, people who live in places that don’t allow pets, and people who want to test if they’re ready for the commitment of owning an animal. Even nursing homes were great candidates for the pet rental service, with weekly scheduled dog visits for residents.Although this arrangement sounds ideal, FlexPetz didn’t go over so well in other cities, like London and Boston. Here, lawmakers and activists took action against pet rental companies, citing the practice as “unethical.” They argued services like FlexPetz promoted the idea of “disposable pets.” Activists from PETA and the ASPCA also got involved, arguing dog renting provides unstable environments for the animals. Since they’re pack animals, the ASPCA argues an inconsistent lifestyle like this can be psychologically traumatizing for the dogs. As one PETA rep stated, "This business exists to make money at the psychological expense of the animal. Besides the possibility of emotional scarring from being bounced from owner to owner, there are concerns about the rental dogs as they age—where do they go when their shelf life expires?" After only a year in business, FlexPetz was forced to shut its doors in 2008, in response to the backlash.
I’m not quite sure where I stand in this debate. I certainly agree with The Humane Society that "animals are not DVDs," but feel, if handled appropriately, there's an opportunity for some kind of solution when it comes to temporary pet sharing. A dog owner myself, of course I’m a proponent of animal rights and the ethical treatment of our four-legged friends. However, the rigorous screening process (background checks, matching process, in-home interviews, trial sessions) practiced by FlexPetz eliminated many of these concerns for me. On top of this, the FlexPetz dogs were rescued from pounds and would have otherwise been euthanized. Seemed these dogs got a chance at a happy life while the people (who were willing to sit for months on a waitlist and spend upwards of $1,500 per year) got an opportunity for companionship. It can be argued that, in many ways, the decision to rent a dog is much more responsible than the decision to own a dog since it acknowledges the time commitment, responsibility and investment of ownership. Although pet renting is controversial, I can’t help but feel the world would be a better place with more opportunities to interact with puppies and kittens :-)
Do you think there's an appropriate and responsible way to handle pet sharing? Would love to hear what you think.
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