RentCheck was founded in 2019 over drinks by two real estate innovators used to sitting on opposite sides of the negotiating table. Lydia was a first-year law and MBA student at Tulane University with a passion for justice and fairness. As she immersed herself in the New Orleans entrepreneurial community, a chip remained on her shoulder: a missing security deposit, which her landlord never returned. Knowing the strength of her case, she took her landlord to court, and thanks to the time-stamped photos she took when moving out, she won. However, the experience imparted on her the uphill battle tenants can face trying to get restitution without access to legal expertise.
Marco was a Navy officer managing rental properties across multiple states. In the Navy, he was taught the importance of integrity, transparency, and doing what was right. But Marco found that the same values weren’t being upheld in the property management field. He knew there had to be a better way of conducting this work.Enter, Lydia. They crossed paths while getting their MBAs at Tulane. She wanted to prevent deposit disputes, and he wanted streamlined property documentation. She understood the resident, and he understood the property manager. Their combined perspectives resulted in RentCheck: a property management tool that guides users through an easy and organized inspection process with just their smartphone.
In 2019, RentCheck was accepted into the Techstars accelerator, and in 2020, Lydia was welcomed into the inaugural Female Founders First accelerator by Barclays and Techstars and named a rising star in real estate by Business Insider. Marco won Veteran Shark Tank in 2020. But to this day, the RentCheck mission remains the same: to make renting fair and transparent for everyone involved.
