RentMy is an innovative online rental marketplace that revolutionises how people share and rent equipment. As a comprehensive rental software solution, it enables secure payment processing while providing an intuitive user experience for both renters and owners. The marketplace business model focuses on connecting users through a peer-to-peer rental platform, supported by robust marketplace software.
RentMy operates within the sharing economy, offering a unique C2C and B2C marketplace that connects individuals and businesses looking to rent out their underutilised assets with potential renters. The company's vision is to reduce plastic waste and overconsumption by promoting the rental of items instead of purchasing new, thus contributing to a more sustainable and community-oriented future.
OpenKit stepped in to rescue RentMy when a previous development team failed to deliver. Quickly adopting the requisite technology, OpenKit revamped RentMy's platform. Significant UI/UX enhancements not only elevated the user experience but also played a pivotal role in securing additional funding for RentMy's growth.
RentMy was founded by Tom West in 2019. West had previous entrepreneurial experience, including creating and developing a same-day home delivery network for convenience stores in his 20s, years before similar services like Beelivery, Getir, or Deliveroo emerged. The company has established itself as a leading player in the peer-to-peer rental marketplace industry, particularly known for its user-centric platform and its broad variety of rental categories. As of 2023, RentMy had achieved a revenue run rate of $840K and operated with a team of 8 employees. This financial success and lean operation model showcase its significant and growing presence in the rental marketplace sector.
Design and develop a full-stack platform to accommodate both renters and item owners, fostering efficient communication and transactions
Combine community feedback and OpenKit's technical expertise to create an initial version of the platform
Make the platform accessible to residents across all partner boroughs, establishing an air quality champions network and delivering community engagement activities and events
OpenKit came on board the RentMy project to replace a previous development team which had failed to deliver. RentMy was mid-project and faced numerous challenges to overcome their setbacks and reach full deployment of their rental marketplace. The platform still needed work on certain key aspects, including:
Our team spent some time to ensure we fully understood where the previous team had left off and how we could seamlessly build from their work. We checked for important gaps and points of improvements, and maintained an open dialogue with RentMy to identify and address all issues with their desired solutions.
We co-developed wireframes within Whimsical. This allowed us to collaborate closely with the RentMy team, iterating on the design and layout of key pages and user flows. By using Whimsical, we were able to create interactive prototypes that clearly communicated our vision for the frontend design, making it easier for stakeholders to provide feedback and approve the direction.
Our focus on creating an intuitive and user-friendly interface aimed to enhance the overall user experience for Rentmy's customers. By streamlining the rental booking process and improving the discoverability of key features, we sought to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. The optimised frontend design also prioritised responsiveness across various devices, ensuring that users could easily navigate and interact with the platform on desktop, tablet, and mobile.
Throughout the development process, we maintained open communication channels with the RentMy team, ensuring that our frontend solutions aligned with their business goals and target audience needs. Our collaborative approach allowed for swift problem-solving and the incorporation of valuable insights from the client.
Taking into account all the feedback gathered from our strategic collaboration, we proceeded to develop the improved RentMy website, and have been perfecting it since then. The resulting UX design is intuitive, user-friendly, and ensure seamless navigation on all devices.
One of the key improvements we made to RentMy's platform was the optimisation of the search page. We implemented a range of features designed to enhance the user experience and make it easier for customers to find the rental items they need. We introduced clear, high-level categories for each type of rental item, optimised backend code and implemented lazy loading for images, improved scrolling functionality, and ensured mobile-friendliness.
We relied on our AI-based expertise to integrate ChatGPT into product pages, to help users generate comprehensive, engaging descriptions for their items. This feature streamlines the listing process and ensures high-quality, detailed product information across the platform.
We successfully built a bespoke system able to handle over 100,000 concurrent users. This involved designing a seamless user experience and a robust payment and scheduling system.
We made sure to perfect the system's SEO using server-side rendering techniques to boost rankings when searching for keywords.
Upon successful completion of the testing phase, we deployed RentMy's revamped platform and monitored its performance to ensure a smooth transition. Due to our fast onboarding and development time, over 10,000 users have signed up in the last 3 months, and RentMy has secured an additional 6 figures in VC funding.
Our platform has seen a notable uptick in user engagement metrics. The data indicates a robust interaction with our features, as evidenced by a high number of clicks and considerable time spent per page.
RentMy promotes a circular economy by encouraging the rental of items instead of purchasing new.
RentMy was engineered to be fast and efficient, with a focus on optimising performance to ensure a smooth user experience across all devices.
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