business

By the end of summer 2016, we were stuck. Our idea of a sharing economy solution for apartment dwellers had been dismissed by many of the biggest players in the multifamily industry. The handful of companies who loved the idea said there was no way they could make it work, because they had an unofficial NO-Airbnb stance.

We weren’t about to let that stop us. We knew Airbnb (and sites like it) were here to stay. We set about brainstorming.

Now, the following paragraphs highlight some of the problems we identified and how we solved them. They're not particularly

In June 2016, we held our first unofficial ApartmentJet meeting at my house.

I was in the process of moving in. The rooms were empty. The cupboards were bare. Stacks of boxes lined every wall. I did, however, have two folding chairs and a whiteboard, which is all we needed.

We began with our basic idea. Something multifamily, something “sharing economy”.

We identified four primary stakeholders. Property owners, management companies, residents, and guests. Each stakeholder had separate concerns.

Guests (also known as Airbnb travelers) who stay at a property want reliability and security.

It can be difficult to pinpoint the origin of a new business. Companies often mythologize origin stories for marketing purposes. Ours, however, began with a phone call.

Late on a Spring evening in 2016, I felt a buzz in my pocket. I answered, and a familiar voice dove right in. “Just talked to Eric,” Andy said. “Wanted to run a couple ideas past you.”

I met Eric Broughton and Andy Hamilton ten years earlier at a startup named Yield Technologies. We were three of the first six employees. In its infancy, the company performed software consulting projects for a range