How Rently Soft is Redefining Car Rentals

In an interview, Mariano Tucker, chief commercial officer and co-founder of Rently Soft, shares the journey of building a revolutionary car rental management software. From humble beginnings to overcoming industry challenges, Tucker reveals the strategies and innovations that make Rently Soft a leader in its field.

Background and Inspiration

SBS – What inspired you to start Rently Soft, and how did your previous experiences contribute to this venture?

Rently – It all started with a car rental company in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Catriel Aubone initiated the operations, and he was looking for software that would boost its operation and customer support. That’s when Guido Zanon, the current Rently CTO, began crafting the code for Catriel’s company and realized that this platform was based on a flexible architecture with modern technology. Once they acquired the operational knowledge and the technological stack, commercial development was needed, and I joined as the CCO at Rently.

Challenges and Solutions

SBS – What were the biggest challenges you faced in the early stages of Rently Soft, and how did you overcome them?

Rently – We realized that the only way to begin scaling our business was by collaborating with small to mid-sized companies. Essentially, we started from the bottom, working with car rental companies that benefitted from a comprehensive and flexible solution. Initially, our customers represented a yearly subscription of $3,000 for Rently. This proved to be very challenging for us as we lacked the capacity to invest in marketing or developers.

For two consecutive years, Catriel managed operations and finance, Guido dedicated all his hours to coding, and Mariano handled customer demos, marketing, and on-site travel. We dedicated all our time to thinking about a successful future. 

Our mindset was centered on reinvesting every single penny, and that’s precisely what we’ve done up to today.

Unique Selling Proposition

SBS – What sets Rently Soft apart from other software solutions in the car rental industry?

Rently – Rently was among the pioneering cloud-based SaaS serverless solutions in the market, positioning us as a highly flexible partner enabling the growth of car rental companies. Our entire technology infrastructure is based on Microsoft technology. This means that we provide an Open API platform, making it easy for third-party companies to join and contribute to the broader ecosystem of car rental businesses — offering GPS services, toll collections, payment gateways, price aggregators, OTAs, and more.

Simultaneously, we swiftly invested and expanded our portfolio in new solutions that complement car rental offerings, including websites, mobile applications, and affiliation networks.

Customer Acquisition and Retention

SBS – How do you attract and retain clients in a competitive market like car rental software?

Rently – Customer centricity stands as our core value as a company. We boast an extensive and professional team dedicated to following a protocol that ensures we maintain a close relationship with all our customers. Upon onboarding a new customer, we create WhatsApp groups and maintain daily follow-ups throughout the implementation and post-sales stages. Our most significant investment has been in our people. As a result, customers feel accompanied in every step of the process.

Adapting to Industry Changes

SBS – How does Rently Soft stay current with the evolving needs and trends of the car rental industry?

Rently – We carefully select the best partners to collaborate with, continually hiring top-tier developers in the industry. We actively participate in the most significant global fairs and annually forge integrations with the most advanced technology partners available. At present, we’re in the process of developing an integration with kiosks set to be placed at airports. This integration will enable car rental companies to offer a fully contactless and digital rental experience, eliminating the need for human interaction.

Funding and Financial Management

SBS – Can you share your experience with funding your business and managing finances effectively?

Rently – We received pre-seed funding from a group of investors in Argentina in 2022. This enabled us to reinvest 95% of that funding into team expansion and product development. From a financial standpoint, Rently maintained its strategy of reinvesting 95% of its margin into expansion. We began with a team of four people in 2019 and have since grown to over 30 employees and expanded every month. 

Technology and Innovation

SBS – How has technological advancement impacted your business, and what role does innovation play at Rently Soft?

Rently – The COVID period marked a significant moment for Rently and the entire industry. It allowed us to reduce office costs and eliminate employee commutes. 

Currently, we operate under a remote approach, placing full trust in our employees. COVID led car rental customers to demand higher-quality services, aiming to avoid long queues at airports and human interaction. At Rently, our focus was on providing this enhanced experience to our customers. This led us to develop mobile applications that streamline car check-ins and checkouts. Additionally, we introduced digital signatures, offering a completely contactless experience. Customers also could pay for their rentals through web-based portals, eliminating the need for physical payments.

Growth Strategy

SBS – What strategies have you implemented for scaling up Rently Soft, and what future growth do you anticipate?

Rently – Strategies that contributed to our growth are:

1. Fairs participations
   • International Car Rental Show (Vegas, USA)
   • World Travel Market (London)
   • FITUR (Spain)
   • Local Automotive events in Argentina, Chile, and Mexico
2. Sales team expansion to attend different markets. We hired sales resources in LATAM, USA, and Europe
3. Non-stop investment in engineers and customer service

We are under certification to become an official vendor of the most important car rental brand and also expanding our footprint to new markets which we have not been before, such as UAE, Africa, and Australia. 

Team Building and Culture

SBS – How do you build and maintain a strong team culture, and what qualities do you look for in your employees?

Rently – We enable our employees to work remotely, fostering flexibility in their schedules, and we organize quarterly gatherings for team-building activities and barbecues. This remote work approach has been highly appreciated by our employees, resulting in an attractive low turnover rate. Our commitment to trusting and empowering our team members has not only boosted morale but has also strengthened our company culture, fostering a sense of belonging and dedication among our staff.

Customer Feedback and Product Development

SBS – How does customer feedback influence your product development and service improvement?

Rently – Like every technology-driven company, we craft our roadmap around our customers’ needs. Collaborating with prominent brands like Hertz, Avis, and numerous others, we frequently receive requests for various feature developments that not only benefit Rently but also advance the entire industry. Constantly seeking reviews and service feedback is integral to our approach, and we treat this input with utmost seriousness.

By actively engaging with our clients and partners, we ensure that our solutions align precisely with their evolving demands, contributing not just to our growth but also to the advancement and innovation within the industry.

Entrepreneurial Advice

SBS – What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start a technology-based business?

Rently – Reinvestment and perseverance are the cornerstones of entrepreneurship. In this long-term journey, the most vital voice guiding our path is that of our customers. We firmly believe that continuously reinvesting in our services, technology, and team is pivotal for sustained growth and meeting the ever-evolving needs of our clientele.

In the next five years, we envision Rently expanding its presence into a broader array of tourism markets, partnering with some of the world’s most renowned brands to elevate the customer experience in car rentals. Our trajectory also includes catering not only to tourism but also to luxury rentals in the long term. We recognize that achieving excellence in the car rental experience is a continuous journey, and our commitment lies in relentlessly pursuing innovation and customer satisfaction to set new benchmarks within the industry.