Rakesh KambleCo-Founder of RentMyStay Published On: Monday, November 28, 2016 Views 15299

"To know, is to know that you know nothing. That is the meaning of true knowledge."

RentMyStay is a Bangalore-based company that holds an assorted set of fully furnished houses, which can be rented for flexible duration, be it for a short term or long term.

As of date, the company is a 26 member team with over 300 properties in 8 different areas across Bangalore, and has served over 1500 customers so far.

It is a 2-year-old start-up that was founded by Rakesh Kamble and Kiran N in 2014. Rakesh holds a B.E. in Computer Science, and Kiran has completed his B.E. in Computer Science and also has an MBA in Strategic Marketing.

Please provide a brief overview of your product/ service.

By on-boarding owner properties we standardize the tenant experience. We are working to make renting as simple as checking into a hotel. Bringing trust, regulations and ease the process of renting, we stay customer-oriented and provide a hassle free experience to the tenant even after fulfilling the owner’s priorities. In this space the demand is huge and if you compromise with the quality then the demand can never be fulfilled. We keep the requirements of our customers in our mind and they don’t need to spend a lot by staying in a hotel anymore. In this way, we are able to reduce the Owner-Tenant clash and took renting to a whole new level.

What inspired you to build the above product/ service?

Kiran N and Rakesh Kamble came up with the idea of RentMyStay during a casual stroll. Rakesh wanted to rent a place for 2-3 months to stay close to his under-construction house to oversee the final finishes. But none of the owners agreed to rent for a short duration. Series of such instances led to the idea of RentMyStay, soon Nanjunda joined the team. We initially started aggregating service apartments and started the business. While doing so, we saw a huge gap between rental space and service apartments. We realized that the clients were vary of paying a huge premium for service apartments. This ignited the idea of pioneering fully furnished, a do-it-yourself model of renting.

What is your life mantra?

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.

What was the most challenging part of your journey till now?

Launching our first ever website and understanding how things were done in the beginning was challenging at times because it was all very new. We had no experience setting up a company back then and it was extremely overwhelming at times; However, there is enough opportunity for multiple players to be in this domain. We have a strong technology backend and a team with never say die attitude, which keeps the spirit alive. The first months of the business were certainly very stressful – we had a view on what numbers we needed to see early on to validate our theories about the business. This wasn’t something that came easily and it is still very fresh in the memory. It was a really tough time, but it was also the time that shaped our strategy for the business we are today

How did you overcome those challenges?

The job of a Entrepreneur doesn’t end with the idea, it starts with it. Building the right team is one of the hardest among them and it doesn’t just mean to hiring candidates, it is about hiring the candidates who are better than me and provide solutions to the problems. RentMyStay has gone through a paradigm shift from aggregating service apartments to fully furnished short-term stays to entering into the long-term rental market. We are today a strong 26 member team with over 300 properties in 8 different areas across Bangalore. We have come a long way in making RentMyStay a self-sufficient entity. We have come up with Flexi renting ideas which are new in this domain and we have wholeheartedly accepted this system which puts us in a more advantageous position as compared to our competitors. RentMyStay presently manages over 300 properties across Bangalore and has served over 1500 customers so far!

Share some details about the investments that you have been able to fetch for the business till now.

We are bootstrapped so far, and self-sufficient.

According to you, what are the three qualities an individual must have to achieve success?

Intelligence, energy and integrity. These are three must have qualities to achieve success.

Which online tools/ services/ apps do you use the most and would like to recommend as well?

We use mostly the Google apps like AdWords, Analytics and Search Console to know who our customers are and what are their wants. We should never forget about the social medias from which we get to know the behaviors of the customers about our product. I recommend these as well.

Share any one habit which you think makes you more productive.

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

Share any one habit which you wish to change in yourself.

Over-optimism about people, strategies, or tactics is one of my weakness since long. I wish can overcome this soon.

Answer in less than 50 words

One tip to success:

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.

One mistake you believe every individual must avoid:

Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.

One most important lesson that you have learnt till now:

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.

What are your plans for next 3 years?