The document provides an overview of a startup called Mi Casa that aims to revolutionize the home rental market. It summarizes the team's background and experience. It then outlines different versions of the business model as they tested various customer segments and value propositions. Through customer interviews and MVP testing, they focused on improving the rental search experience and providing a trusted social community for tenants. Their updated model focuses on aggregating listings and user reviews to become the top player across key dimensions of search.
1. MI CASA – FINAL PRESENTATION
Rick Barber (MSCS)
Dan Laufer (GSB)
Byron Singh (MS&E)
Kyle Tan (MS&E)
We spoke to 105 people
Surveyed 98 people
2. Week 1: We want to revolutionize the home
rental market
Initial idea: Become a fully
integrated home and apartment
rental platform for
landlords, prospective
tenants, and tenants
Initial target market size
projection: $3B
2
3. Our team’s background
Rick Barber (MSCS) Dan Laufer (GSB)
• Univ. of Illinois Computer Science grad • Univ. of Virginia Systems Engineering grad
• Specializing in machine learning/data • Former Bain consultant (3 years)
mining in large networked datasets • Former software product manager and
• Long-time interest in technology startups Director of sales strategy and analytics
Byron Singh (MS&E) Kyle Tan (MS&E)
• Cornell Electrical Engineering grad • Imperial College London EEE grad
• Facebook and Android application • Network analysis and engineering
developer program knowledge
• Digital circuit design engineer (2 years) • Former IBM Strategy and Transformation
group intern
3
4. Original version
• National realtors • Connecting customer
• Mostly Web / • Property Managers
• Industry organizations segments • Streamlining process • Landlords
• Payment processors • Making process • JIT access to service p. Automated service
efficient • Better listing • Direct for large players
• Adding transparency to • Improve rent collection (ie. national realtors)
the system • Realtors
• Makes property
management easier for
• Web
their customers
Key • Realtors
• Industry • Tenants
Landlords • Streamline process
• Improve searching • Web
• Web platform • Direct
Realtors • Talent • Service Providers
• Web
Tenants • Access to customers • Landlord
Service • Web
providers • Direct
• Computing infrastructure • Application Fees
• Labor (Engineering & limited sales) • Processing rental payments
• Marketing • Lead generation
5. We then spoke with Realtors, tenants and
landlords
Segment Insight learned
Landlords • Bigger players (property managers, apartment
complex owners) had lots of services available to
them
• Smaller landlords were generally unsatisfied with
current services
Realtors • Wouldn’t go out of their way to recommend our
solution
Tenants • Biggest pain was in the search itself
• Eliminated realtors as a customer segment
• Focused on serving landlords as primary customers
5
6. Updated version
• Connecting customer
• Industry organizations segments •
• Streamlining process • Mostly Web / Landlords
• Payment processors • Making process • JIT access to service p. Automated service
efficient • Better listing • Direct for large players
• Adding transparency to • Improve rent collection
the system • Tenants
• Streamline process
• Improve searching
Key
• Service Providers
Landlords • Web
• Access to customers • Realtors
• Web platform • Industry
Realtors • Talent
• Web
Tenants • Landlord
Service • Web
providers • Direct
• Computing infrastructure • Application Fees
• Labor (Engineering & limited sales) • Processing rental payments
• Marketing & sales • Lead generation
7. We created an MVP, primarily focused on serving
landlords
7
8. We then tested distribution for landlords to this
site
Channel Overall results
• Not to going to drive much traffic
LinkedIn short term
X Meetup • Can be helpful for developing a
community longer term
• May be an indicator of
interest/demand
• Not a scalable or sustainable long
X Craigslist
term solution
X AdWords • Very expensive and few searches
being done
Eliminated landlords as a customer segment 8
9. Updated version
• Payment processors
and other verticals for
lead generation • Building listings/search
• Eventually REITs • Creating some virality • All Web based
amongst ratings
• Tenants
• Better search of all
listings
Key • Connected to other
services
(i.e., insurance, rent
Landlords payment
• Access to robust ratings
Realtors
• Web platform
Tenants • Talent
• SEO
Service • Facebook/Twitter
providers • Flyers?
• Computing infrastructure • Lead generation
• Labor (Engineering & limited sales) • Processing rental payments
• Marketing & sales • Eventually listing fees
12. We concluded that we could successfully acquire
customers
• Facebook ads
Advertising ($79.23) • Ad words
• Craigslist emails
• Craigslist ads
New site visits
(147)
Regist-
rations (28)
$2.83/
registration 12
13. Finally, feedback from landlord interviews were
very positive
Person WTP per Quote
successful referral
REIT executive $100-$150 “We know we’re not very good at
online marketing. This could be a good
fit”
Apartment $50-$300 “I already pay for referrals. So why
complex owner wouldn’t I do this too?”
Property $100-$200 “I use craigslist, but would be open to
manager something like this.”
Landlord $100-$200 “Lowering my turnaround time
between tenants is huge.”
Competitor $12-18/lead “REITs were desperate for social.
perspective (didn’t have to They’ll be enticed by anything that
close) smacks of being a social network.”
13
14. Updated version
• Payment processors
and other verticals for • Building listings/search
lead generation • Creating some virality • All Web based
• Social connection
amongst ratings during search
• Better search of all • Tenants
listings
• Largest breadth of
Key listings
• Connected to other • REITs
services •
Landlords (i.e., insurance, rent
Landlords
payment
Realtors • Access to robust ratings
• Web platform
Tenants • Talent • Simplified lead
generation
• SEO
Service • Facebook/Twitter
providers • Flyers?
• Computing infrastructure • Lead generation
• Labor (Engineering & limited sales) • Processing rental payments
• Marketing & sales • Eventually listing fees
15. Lessons learned along the way
1. It’s a crowded eco-system across the value chain
2. The search process is frustrating to everyone –
users and landlords
3. We came to learn that consumers were looking for
a search process that was exhaustive and
trusted, which no one is doing adequately today
15
17. Users hate the search process and are not fond of
any of the major incumbents
How do you rate your Total search satisfaction
search experiences? by preferred vendor
40
35 5
4.5
30 4
25 3.5
20 3
15 2.5
10 2
1.5
5 1
0
1- 2 3 4 5-
painful easy
% 21% 35% 34% 8% 2%
Only 10% of respondents were pleased And no single provider scored
with their rental search experience particularly well 17
18. Customer archetype: Sara
How she searches
Wants to be efficient (will use a broker if doing a
search on her own is too painful)
Asks friends for recommendations
What Matters to Sara
Wants to live in a fun place that is safe
Doesn’t want to overpay
Doesn’t have much time to hunt for a place
Live with someone she trusts (moving to DC)
Influences
Where friends go out/live
Work location
18
19. Within search there are three key value
propositions for users
Quantity of Ratings/ Social/
listings reviews trust
VALUE PROP
Making search Provide more Get advice from
easier by information about a friends, find
aggregating and locality beyond what is roommates/sublets
filtering listed within your network
Padmapper.com Streetadvisor.com
Apartment.com Donotrent.com
Rentjungle.com Apartmentratings.com
COMPETITORS
Forrent.com Rentwiki.com
Rent.com Areavibes.com
Trulia.com Smalltown.com
Mapitat.com Outside.in
Cravify.com
Livelovely.com
inhabi.com
Cazoodle.com
19
20. We believe we can be #1 on each of these
dimensions
Quantity of Ratings/ Social/
listings reviews trust
VALUE PROP
Making search Provide more Get advice from
easier by information about a friends, find
aggregating and locality beyond what is roommates/sublets
filtering listed within your network
Padmapper.com Streetadvisor.com
Not our
Apartment.com Donotrent.com
focus, but
Rentjungle.com Apartmentratings.com
currently all of
COMPETITORS
Forrent.com Rentwiki.com
these services Currently no one
We can already
Rent.com Areavibes.com
provide low- offers the
aggregate more
Trulia.com Smalltown.com
quality trusted
listings than any
Mapitat.com Outside.in
information; connection that
current players
Cravify.com may be room for we plan to
Livelovely.com future
inhabi.com differentiation
Cazoodle.com here
20
21. We have 1000s of listings not yet mapped and are already
comparable in quantity to the current #1 player
Padmapper
Mi Casa
21
22. Testing our message of offering a trusted
community seemed to resonate
Statistics:
• 6 facebook connects
and 3 “sign up”
registrations
• 25% conversion
• 1.31 pages/visit
• Avg. time: 01:37
22
23. We’ll continue to iterate with messages and
designs to track user interaction
23
24. If our simplified unit economics prove correct (which
still needs testing), then it’s a very viable business
Revenue
Avg. customer
• User referral lead generation: $75, assumptions: value
• 10% of users post referral $1.50
• Of those, 20% convert into signed leases
• Site generated lead generation: $150, assumptions:
• 5% of users (incremental to above) convert into signed $7.50
lease
Cost
• Customer acquisition: $1.41 per user, assumptions:
• Historical cost (28 acquisitions for $79.23) -$1.41
• Every user invites 1 other person to the site (for recs, etc.)
$7.59
24
25. Do we plan to continue working on this?
Yes!
25
27. Version 1
• National realtors • Connecting customer
• Mostly Web / • Propery Managers
• Industry organizations segments • Streamlining process • Landlords
• Payment processors • Making process • JIT access to service p. Automated service
efficient • Better listing • Direct for large players
• Adding transparency to • Improve rent collection (ie. national realtors)
the system • Realtors
• Makes property
management easier for
Key • Web
their customers
• Realtors
• Industry • Tenants
Landlords
• Streamline process
• Improve searching • Web
Realtors • Web platform • Direct
• Talent • Service Providers
Tenants • Web
• Access to customers • Landlord
Service
• Web
providers • Direct
• Computing infrastructure • Application Fees
• Labor (Engineering & limited sales) • Processing rental payments
• Marketing • Lead generation
28. Version 2
• National realtors • Connecting customer
• Mostly Web / • Propery Managers
• Industry organizations segments • Streamlining process • Landlords
• Payment processors • Making process • JIT access to service p. Automated service
efficient • Better listing • Direct for large players
• Adding transparency to • Improve rent collection (ie. national realtors)
the system • Realtors
• Makes property
management easier for
Key • Web
their customers
• Realtors
• Industry • Tenants
Landlords
• Streamline process
• Improve searching • Web
Realtors • Web platform • Direct
• Talent • Service Providers
Tenants • Web
• Access to customers • Landlord
Service
• Web
providers • Direct
• Computing infrastructure • Application Fees
• Labor (Engineering & limited sales) • Processing rental payments
• Marketing • Lead generation
29. Version 3
• Connecting customer
• Industry organizations segments •
• Streamlining process • Mostly Web / Landlords
• Payment processors • Making process • JIT access to service p. Automated service
efficient • Better listing • Direct for large players
• Adding transparency to • Improve rent collection
the system • Tenants
• Streamline process
• Improve searching
Key
• Service Providers
Landlords • Web
• Access to customers • Realtors
• Web platform • Industry
Realtors • Talent
• Web
Tenants • Landlord
Service • Web
providers • Direct
• Computing infrastructure • Application Fees
• Labor (Engineering & limited sales) • Processing rental payments
• Marketing & sales • Lead generation
30. Version 4
• Payment processors
and other verticals for
lead generation • Building listings/search
• Eventually REITs • Creating some virality • All Web based
amongst ratings
• Tenants
• Better search of all
listings
Key • Connected to other
services
Landlords (i.e., insurance, rent
payment
• Access to robust ratings
Realtors
Tenants • Web platform
• Talent
Service • SEO
• Facebook/Twitter
providers • Flyers?
• Computing infrastructure • Lead generation
• Labor (Engineering & limited sales) • Processing rental payments
• Marketing & sales • Eventually listing fees
31. Version 5
• Payment processors
and other verticals for
lead generation • Building listings/search
• Eventually REITs • Creating some virality • All Web based
amongst ratings
• Tenants
Key • Better search of all
listings
• Largest breadth of
Landlords listings
• Connected to other
Realtors services (i.e., insurance,
rent payment
• Access to robust ratings
Tenants
• Web platform
• Talent
Service
• SEO
providers • Facebook/Twitter
• Flyers?
• Computing infrastructure • Lead generation
• Labor (Engineering & limited sales) • Processing rental payments
• Marketing & sales • Eventually listing fees
32. Version 6
• Payment processors
and other verticals for
lead generation • Building listings/search
• Eventually REITs • Creating some virality • All Web based
amongst ratings
• Tenants
• Social connection
Key during search
• Better search of all
Landlords listings
• Largest breadth of
listings
Realtors • Connected to other
services
Tenants (i.e., insurance, rent
• Web platform payment
• Talent • Access to robust ratings
Service
• SEO
providers • Facebook/Twitter
• Flyers?
• Computing infrastructure • Lead generation
• Labor (Engineering & limited sales) • Processing rental payments
• Marketing & sales • Eventually listing fees
33. Version 7
• Payment processors
and other verticals for • Building listings/search
lead generation • Creating some virality • All Web based
amongst ratings • Social connection
during search
• Better search of all • Tenants
Key listings
• Largest breadth of
listings
Landlords • Connected to other • REITs
services (i.e., insurance, • Landlords
Realtors rent payment
• Access to robust ratings
Tenants
• Web platform
• Talent • Simplified lead
Service generation
• SEO
providers • Facebook/Twitter
• Flyers?
• Computing infrastructure • Lead generation
• Labor (Engineering & limited sales) • Processing rental payments
• Marketing & sales • Eventually listing fees
34. Version 8
• Payment processors
and other verticals for • Building listings/search
lead generation • Creating some virality • All Web based
• Social connection
amongst ratings during search
• Better search of all • Tenants
listings
Key • Largest breadth of
listings
Landlords • Connected to other • REITs
services • Landlords
(i.e., insurance, rent
Realtors payment
• Access to robust ratings
Tenants
• Web platform
• Talent • Simplified lead
Service generation
• SEO
providers • Facebook/Twitter
• Flyers?
• Computing infrastructure • Lead generation
• Labor (Engineering & limited sales) • Processing rental payments
• Marketing & sales • Eventually listing fees