It all started with an idea, ambition and a mutual friend. Kunal Shah, Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of RentJuice, caught wind in 2008 of an ambitious Harvard business grad in San Francisco looking to launch a new technology startup company for rentals through a mutual friend.
Shah jumped at the opportunity, packed his bags and flew to San Francisco within days of talking to David Vivero, now the CEO of RentJuice. Almost exactly three years later, he finds himself in a company that has made strides in the rental real estate industry.
I interviewed Shah to give you a glimpse of what it’s like working at a startup and his ongoing vision for RentJuice and what he thinks of the company’s progression so far:
Q: What’s it like working at a startup company?
It is massively stressful, exciting, depressing and rewarding. It’s the extreme of any emotion. The good stuff being really great. The bad stuff being really bad. I find the uncertainty pretty thrilling. When you know what’s coming three or five years down the line, that gives no excitement for me. The twists and turns, the product and strategy from a startup is way too exciting.
Q: What would you say is the biggest accomplishment that the company has made so far?
Seeing the product and vision getting all these people on board. Building the company itself and getting all the people on board to join in is something I’m most proud of. RentJuice was once an idea that David and I were hacking about in a room, and now we have 25 people working here.
Q: Where do you see this company going?
I want RentJuice to be the infrastructure for residential rentals. We don’t have to have the number one visited website in the world, but I want RentJuice to be the fundamental infrastructure behind the scenes for when people are searching for an apartment and sign leases.
Q: What’s your favorite part of the work week?
My favorite time of the work week is when we deploy new features. When something we’ve been slaving over gets pushed out into the wild and goes live.
Q: What’s your favorite breakroom snack?
String cheese and Diet Coke.
Read more about our RentJuice management team.
