Welcome to the Founder's Diaries at RentalRunner. Here, I'm throwing open the doors to my journey as a bootstrapped entrepreneur, diving headfirst into the world of mobile app development and SaaS startups. Imagine this as a friendly chat over coffee, where I share the real deal about starting an app from scratch – the excitement, the challenges, and yes, the occasional sleepless night.

I'm not here to tell you about being a fast-growing SaaS company... yet. But I am here to talk about the nitty-gritty of what it takes to create your own mobile app, the costs, the hurdles, and those 'aha' moments. Whether you're wondering if you can build an app for free or contemplating starting a SaaS with minimal funds, I've been there, asked those questions, and made those decisions.

So, let's embark on this adventure together. Through these diaries, I hope to shed light on the realities of being a self-funded founder, navigating the complexities of the tech world, and turning big ideas into reality. This is not just my story, but a path I'm laying out for anyone who dreams of creating something of their own.

The Spark: Conceiving RentalRunner

Back in 2022, I stepped into the vacation rental space, anticipating an exciting journey. Little did I know, it was more of a rollercoaster ride than a joyride. Chasing those elusive five stars meant keeping my property in top-notch condition – a challenge that was far more demanding than I had initially imagined.

I made a promise to myself from the start: I wouldn't get stuck working in my own business. Yet, there I was, time and again, visiting my property, stripping beds, hauling linens back home for laundry, all in an effort to speed up the cleaning process. This wasn't what I had signed up for.

The real struggle was finding a reliable all in one service tailored for the vacation rental market. Sure, there were one-off laundry services, but they operated on their own schedules, which rarely aligned with the check-out times of my guests. The existing apps weren't enough for my needs, offering only cleaning, maintenance and maybe inspections – but none provided the simplicity of scheduling dedicated cleaning and laundry services on a recurring basis, synched with guest checkouts.

After countless hours of research and seeing the gap in the market, I had my 'aha' moment. Why not create a solution myself? And just like that, the idea of RentalRunner was born – a platform designed to streamline my turnover process, focusing on what truly matters: efficient cleaning and laundry scheduling. This was the start of my unexpected yet thrilling journey into the SaaS world. Fun fact, the original name of the app was going to be Runnerbnb. I even sent it off to get it trademarked, but Airbnb intercepted that quick af and their lawyers hit me up expeditiously. So definitely, don't use anything with "bnb" in it. It's just not even worth it.

From Idea to Reality: Building the App

When I first got the idea for RentalRunner, I was super excited. I figured I could easily find someone to help build the app, especially with my background as an engineer at Microsoft. But it turned out to be way harder than I thought. My own network didn't lead anywhere. Guess I wasn't as connected as I thought.

So, I started looking for professional help and got in touch with different agencies. Let me tell you, the prices they quoted were through the roof! One place even said they'd do it for 1.2 million dollars! The part that got me, was that she said that she'd have a "good" quote for me that she felt I'd be happy about. She obviously thought I was someone else.

That's when I found this mentorship program SCORE, which was a total game-changer. I got paired up with this amazing mentor who really helped me sort out my ideas and plan things out better. She was awesome, guiding me to set a realistic budget and timeline. Eventually, I found a team in India that could build the app for me.

Now, I know some people might be hesitant about working with a team from overseas, but these guys and gals are legit. They had a cool website and a team of really smart folks. My front-end engineer? He makes really great music and a US college grad - pretty talented guy. Check him out!

After our first meeting, I decided to go for it. My mentor and I agreed that I needed to get the app out there fast, like within three months. But, being the perfectionist I am, it ended up taking about ten months before the app was ready to go live, well to my standard anyways. It was a longer road than I expected, but it was all worth it to see RentalRunner take shape.

By the way, take this as me just figuring things out. By no means am I saying that that was okay. All sources clearly say, release an MVP and build from there. I could of probably of been profitable by now honestly. Who knows, but here we are so we shall see.

Final Thoughts

As I look back on the journey of creating RentalRunner, I can't help but feel a mix of pride and humility. Starting from my own itch that I needed to scratch, to now having an app that supports homeowners, renters, and Airbnb hosts – it's been quite the ride.

There's a lot to take away from this experience. For starters, diving into the world of SaaS and app development with no prior background can be daunting, but it's not impossible. It's about finding the right people, asking the right questions, and staying true to your vision.

One thing I've learned is the value of flexibility and adaptability. Whether it's dealing with development delays or refining the app's features, staying open to change has been crucial.

As I continue this journey, I hope to share more insights and experiences, celebrating both the highs and the lows. The goal of RentalRunner was to make life easier for property managers and hosts, and every step forward in this journey reaffirms that goal. Here's to the future and the endless possibilities it holds.