In an business the place 80% of actual property professionals nonetheless depend on spreadsheets for essential decision-making, the necessity for stylish income optimization options has by no means been extra urgent. Regardless of being some of the data-rich sectors, multifamily property administration continues to battle with inefficient processes and outdated know-how that wastes precious time and sources. Rentana delivers an AI-driven income intelligence platform constructed particularly for multifamily house owners and operators. By means of real-time pricing insights, automated public market evaluation, and an intuitive person expertise, Rentana empowers actual property professionals to make smarter, quicker selections that drive progress and effectivity in an more and more aggressive market. Based by a crew with expertise at Stripe, Airtable, and Airbnb, the corporate reimagines actual property pricing with clever automation that saves prospects as much as 10 hours of guide pricing per property every week by modernizing workflows.
AlleyWatch sat down with Rentana CEO and Cofounder Julie Blanc to be taught extra concerning the enterprise, its future plans, and up to date seed spherical.
Who had been your buyers and the way a lot did you increase?
We’re excited to have simply closed an almost $5M Seed spherical led by Zigg Capital and Benchstrength. They understood from the getgo how transformative Rentana’s know-how will likely be for actual property, and I’m so grateful to have them as our true strategic companions. Zigg and Benchstrength each again a number of the most modern firms in tech and actual property, they’ve an unimaginable observe file of serving to founders scale with thoughtfulness and pace, they usually go above and past capital help to supply their experience, community, and mentorship to our crew on a regular basis.
Inform us concerning the services or products that Rentana gives.
Rentana is an AI-driven income intelligence platform constructed for multifamily house owners and operators. We ship real-time pricing insights, automated public market evaluation, and a quick, intuitive person expertise — giving actual property professionals the intelligence and pace they should keep forward in in the present day’s market.
What impressed the beginning of Rentana?
My cofounding crew has a historical past of modernizing outdated workflows — whether or not it was reimagining funds at Stripe and databases at Airtable, or constructing proptech that now helps to energy Airbnb and Appfolio.
We noticed firsthand how income optimization remodeled airways, resorts, and e-commerce — however in actual property, pricing methods had been nonetheless caught up to now, and we constructed Rentana to alter that.
We’re right here to assist actual property leaders future-proof their income, maximize effectivity, and scale with confidence utilizing AI as a real aggressive benefit.
How is Rentana totally different?
Considered one of our prospects, Robert Waz, VP of Income & Strategic Initiatives at twenty ninth Road Capital, articulated our level of differentiation greatest: “Different platforms really feel like Home windows 95. Rentana looks like 2025.”
His quote actually sums up every thing from our backend know-how to our front-end person expertise. Rentana transforms pricing and portfolio technique with custom-made, real-time intelligence in file pace.
Not like the legacy techniques, Rentana is highly effective, good and straightforward to make use of: onboarding takes minutes, suggestions replace in below a second, and it helps prospects save as much as 10 hours per week per property on knowledge evaluation and worth planning. Our AI additionally doesn’t simply recycle public knowledge — it blends every buyer’s personal rental knowledge with real-time market traits to generate insights which can be uniquely theirs. We by no means share competitively delicate knowledge throughout prospects. Your knowledge stays your knowledge — at all times.
What market does Rentana goal and the way massive is it?
We’re serving to multifamily house owners and operators within the U.S., which in keeping with a Freddie Mac report, represents greater than a $300B market. It’s one of many largest and most useful asset courses within the nation — and it’s been counting on outdated income administration software program for much too lengthy.
What’s your online business mannequin?
We’re a B2B SaaS platform, providing month-to-month subscriptions tailor-made to our prospects’ portfolios.
How are you making ready for a possible financial slowdown?
We’re doubling down on supporting prospects with our cutting-edge tech.
Actual property is a dynamic market — and in any cycle, particularly throughout a possible financial slowdown, pace and precision are essential. Rentana provides house owners and operators the real-time insights and intelligence they should keep forward.
We observe dwell provide and demand indicators all the way down to the submarket and unit degree. Our AI doesn’t simply generate experiences — it delivers actionable suggestions, serving to house owners optimize timing, anticipate market shifts, and decrease vacancies.
By offering full visibility into dwell market situations — together with concession traits, lease durations, and competitor specials — Rentana empowers prospects to remain proactive, not reactive.
What was the funding course of like?
Truthfully, it was actually private for me. I began my profession on the VC aspect, after which went on to assist founders at early-stage startups increase capital. I’ve seen firsthand how grueling and high-stakes the method might be — and the way essential it’s to convey on buyers who not solely imagine in your imaginative and prescient however are dedicated to standing by your crew by way of the inevitable highs and lows of constructing an organization.
I’ve recognized our buyers for over a decade: Our Zigg Capital investor, Dave Eisenberg, from my early days at Two Sigma, the place I truly backed Dave’s first startup, Floored, and John Monagle from Benchstrength – we began at Perception Enterprise companions collectively (Full circle over right here!)
I bootstrapped Rentana for the primary 12 months as a result of I wished to show we might construct a product prospects would pay for and discover really impactful to their enterprise. As soon as we noticed that traction, it was about bringing on the appropriate strategic companions to assist us speed up our progress – and I’m so thrilled to have Zigg Capital and Benchstrength championing Rentana by way of this subsequent section.
What are the largest challenges that you just confronted whereas elevating capital?
One of many greatest challenges was merely the fact of being a small, fast-moving crew breaking into a really established, conventional business.
As a founder-led firm, we had been doing all of it — strategizing, coding, designing, promoting, onboarding prospects, hiring, managing, and elevating capital all on the identical time. There’s no shortcut: it’s lots of late nights and because the new participant, we confronted added hurdles… we had been going up towards entrenched incumbents, led by executives who had spent many years in actual property.
Whereas our crew has a observe file of constructing highly effective proptech options, our background is actually in know-how and B2B enterprise and never actual property.
Whereas some buyers discovered that as too excessive of a danger, others, together with Zigg and Benchstrength, noticed that as our aggressive edge: by delivering superior AI-driven intelligence, real-time market insights, and a person expertise constructed for in the present day’s operators, Rentana empowers prospects to make smarter, quicker, and extra strategic selections.
What components about your online business led your buyers to put in writing the test?
Our buyers noticed the identical alternative we did: actual property leaders annoyed by outdated income software program, and a rising demand for know-how designed for in the present day’s digital period that truly drives progress, saves time, and helps anticipate market shifts.
Our buyers noticed the identical alternative we did: actual property leaders annoyed by outdated income software program, and a rising demand for know-how designed for in the present day’s digital period that truly drives progress, saves time, and helps anticipate market shifts.
What are the milestones you intend to attain within the subsequent six months?
Agentic AI is the longer term, and Rentana will prepared the ground.
You’ll see us constructing out the premier AI copilot for actual property house owners and operators, integrating our prospects’ objectives, finances, advertising and marketing knowledge, and ancillary income streams like parking and storage to place Rentana as your go-to income companion. We’ll additionally broaden into conversational AI, the place groups can work together and actually speak to their knowledge to get suggestions on market traits, insights, forecasts — and get solutions immediately.
What recommendation are you able to supply firms in New York that should not have a contemporary injection of capital within the financial institution?
New York is among the greatest locations on the planet to construct an organization. There’s a thriving startup and VC ecosystem right here with organizations like Founders.nyc, Techstars, and numerous pre-Sequence A occasions that assist founders sharpen their methods, construct stronger networks, and navigate their path to fundraising.
The place do you see the corporate going within the close to time period?
We’re scaling Rentana right into a holistic income optimization platform that capabilities like a digital teammate. The platform will assist you to construct out and improve your total portfolio technique in real-time by way of individualized insights, predictive analytics, and conversational AI.
What’s your favourite spring vacation spot in and across the metropolis?
I grew up by the seaside in Southern California, and now that I dwell in Tribeca, I’m at all times discovering my manner again to the water. When it’s good out, I really like strolling alongside the Hudson in Rockefeller Park. There’s simply one thing concerning the boats, the breeze, and the river views that makes me really feel recharged.
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