麻豆精选 entrepreneur Cailan Libby is putting his engineering know-how to work for the community.
The recent UBC Okanagan graduate has partnered with Kenneth Chau, associate professor with the UBC鈥檚 School of Engineering, on a new venture focused on addressing the difficulties in renting, especially in the Okanagan where some communities have seen vacancy rates as low as 0.6 per cent over the past year.
Helping people find their best matches in the rental market, Happipad.com is a novel online service that allows landlords and renters to search, advertise, screen potential matches, form rental contracts, and post reviews 鈥� all in one place.
鈥淚鈥檝e been a student renter for the last five years and Happipad.com is a tool I wish I had when I first moved to 麻豆精选,鈥� says Libby. 鈥淲hile traditional classified ads and online listings exist for renters to find places to live, they don鈥檛 do the job very well. The system is not transparent and it鈥檚 slow 鈥� it can take weeks to find and secure a place to rent.鈥�
Libby and Chau spent the past year talking to tenants and landlords to create the Happipad vision.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about making the process more efficient and it鈥檚 not just a listing service,鈥� say Libby. 鈥淗appipad wants to make renting a connection, rather than a transaction.鈥�
Designed to support long-term rather than brief vacation rentals, Happipad guides users through the entire rental process. Renters can search for their future home and submit applications, while landlords can list their properties, screen, and accept authenticated applications. And when the right match is made, rental contracts are electronically signed and delivered by email.
It took some heavy-duty engineering to develop Happipad.com from concept to the online experience now available to the community. Libby and Chau began exploring better ways to do it while Libby was still a fourth-year engineering student in one of Chau鈥檚 classes. Now, the duo are partners and working together to tackle the practical challenges of renting while engaging the local rental community.
鈥淲e worked well together and talked about all sorts of solutions that we could build,鈥� says Libby, recalling the early discussions about how they might collaborate on addressing a compelling community challenge.
鈥淎s engineers, we have been able to go through the visioning and development processes, and all the creative problem-solving, very quickly,鈥� he says. 鈥淎 large company might take months to do what we are able to do in a matter of hours.鈥�
Libby also received direct support from Accelerate Okanagan鈥檚 Venture Acceleration Program, which provided access to experienced advisors including Lance Schafer, one of Accelerate Okanagan鈥檚 Executives in Residence.
鈥淲orking with Lance has been great,鈥� says Libby. 鈥淎s an Executive in Residence, he has offered ideas about what to focus on, how to stay motivated and make the best decisions. The program has given us access to all the resources at Accelerate Okanagan 鈥� help with our accounting and legal questions, advice about advertising and networking. It has been very beneficial.鈥�
Creating a start-up venture isn鈥檛 for everyone, Libby acknowledges, but he says the experience has been amazing 鈥� and something he鈥檚 very comfortable with. When he graduated with an engineering degree, he told people he was going to create a job for himself 鈥� drawing on his education, perseverance and willingness to take a chance on a big idea.
Happipad recently hired its first employee, and while still in its first month the service is growing fast, seeing a 300 per cent increase in weekly traffic. Every day, new authenticated landlords and prospective tenants are registering to become part of the Happipad community.
鈥淚 want to create something our society needs,鈥� Libby says 鈥淚 realize most people are not willing to take on the risk and struggles, that鈥檚 where I鈥檓 a bit different. I want to change the way renting is done. Renting should be simple and stress-free. I want everyone to be able to find a 鈥榟appy鈥� home quickly and easily.鈥�
Happipad launched in 麻豆精选 in July and has plans to expand across North America.
