Renter or tenant screening practiced by landlords before renting out a property is a crucial part of the process where the property managers attempt to evaluate applicant’s background, financial stability and the likes of them. It may include information like credit history, criminal history, rental history, employment verification, risk score or recommendation and so on. Gathering of information makes identities vulnerable to theft and hence, combating identity theft is important.
Through innovative P2P (peer-to-peer) payment solutions, Venkat Kalyan Uppala, a leading force in the industry, has revolutionized the rental market. As the co-founder and head of engineering at Zently, a groundbreaking startup based in California, he has played a pivotal role in creating a seamless and secure platform for renters and landlords to manage finances. Uppala also co-authored a paper describing the techniques and algorithms used for renter screening, it’s titled “Beyond Credit Scores: Leveraging Payment Histories for Fair and Inclusive Renter Screening”.
The organisation received quantifiable achievements. They secured a substantial angel funding round of $1.6 million, a significant milestone that fuelled the platform’s development. Additionally, the platform processed millions of dollars in payments weekly, demonstrating its widespread adoption within the rental market. The company was also featured in the “Top 3 Apps We Love” section of the iOS app store and the impressive number of 100,000 app installs.
Uppala expertise in engineering came to the forefront at the organization. The development of the company’s flagship product – a mobile application (available on both iOS and Android) facilitated rent payments, bill splitting, and other financial transactions between renters. He not only conceptualized the product from scratch but also scaled it to handle millions of dollars in payments every month.
As co-founder, Uppala played a crucial role in the ideation and launch of Zently. He led several product launches. Beyond the initial MVP (minimum viable product) launch in December 2016, his team went on to develop a dedicated landlord website, streamlining rent collection and maintenance requests for property owners. A unique gig economy model implemented by connecting local real estate agents with landlords, facilitated house showings and streamlined the rental process.
He contributed to the application’s ability to connect credit cards, one-click bill splitting, and a user-friendly interface redesign. These advancements resulted in the organisation being featured among the top 3 apps in the iOS app store, a testament to the app’s usability and functionality.
The development of a B2B product for landlords was also spearheaded by him. This innovative solution leveraged social identity graphs and payment data to assess renter creditworthiness, providing landlords with an alternative to traditional credit checks and fostering a more inclusive and data-driven approach to tenant screening.
There were several challenges in building a successful P2P platform in rental market. But he addressed the difficulties faced by immigrants and individuals with limited credit history by leveraging innovative solutions that assessed income stability through payment data and social graph verification.
The challenges faced by renters with limited credit history and landlords dealing with identity theft and late payments were recognized. By leveraging a combination of payment data, social identity graphs, and traditional credit reporting, the firm created a more inclusive and secure system for both parties.
