[vimeo 28132184]
Online, it’s easier to find your soul mate than your next apartment.
Former Venmo employees Dave Friedman and Jameel Farruk (Director of Engineering and Director of Marketing at Venmo, respectively) have teamed up to help bridge that gap with Inhabi, a service that acts as a match-maker between landlords and renters.
Renters can log on to the site and fill out a form with information such as whether the renter prefers hardwood floors, if coin-op laundry is a deal-breaker and other similar apartment features. Landlords then receive a notification when a renter matches one of their properties.
The renter will then receive a request from the matched landlord to see complete contact information to facilitate a showing. The more landlords pay, the more leads are available for them to contact. Just like dating sites, the renter will remain semi-anonymous, only identified by a first name and last initial.
The company is unveiling itself tonight at Philly Tech Meetup with a wider Philadelphia launch at the beginning of October. A small beta has been live since September 7th in Boise, Idaho and Portland, Oregon to see if the site would catch on in cities where the company had no physical presence.
Before Venmo, Inhabi CEO Dave Friedman spent ten years in real estate, two as a real estate agent at Coldwell Banker in Philadelphia. He also founded PhillyLiving.com in 2005.
The company just finished a stint in Providence-based incubator BetaSpring and, according to Farruk, was a finalist for TechStars in New York. The company is currently seeking investment.
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