When Ernesto Humpierres moved to the U.S. to attend Harvard Business School in 2009, he had quite a tough time finding a place to live. The search for apartments in Boston can be difficult for anyone, but for immigrants and other transplant renters, it’s particularly challenging because they lack a credit history and knowledge of the market prices. While with FWD.us, a lobbying group that supports immigration reform started by Mark Zuckerberg, he met three other individuals who had faced very similar obstacles after immigrating to the country. So they built Trotter, a search service designed specifically for renters who need some more guidance on their search for a home because they have little knowledge of the area.
A high-touch, personalized process
Craigslist is a common source for those seeking apartments in the Boston area, but it comes with a host of drawbacks: On top of having an overwhelming number of options, it can be difficult to determine whether any spaces are tailored to your needs, evaluate whether they’re still available, and weed through all the scams. Trotter captures all the specifics of your rental needs from the start, such as the desired move-in date, number of bedrooms needed and income conditions — and then broadcasts that information to a network of agents, who offer relevant offers that match your requirements. According to Humpierres, one of the most fundamental features of the system is that it sets realistic expectations: If you place the budget too low for a two-bedroom, for example, it will alert you that your demands may be difficult to fulfill. Agents can then send links to listings from anywhere, including Trulia or Zillow. From there, users can scope out photos, ask questions and schedule showings.
All rental agents are put through a vetting process, which adds reassurance that they’ll only pursue leads they can actually serve. Requests aren’t just sent to every agent, though: The algorithm determines who to broadcast the info to based on the renter’s needs and how they match up with factors like agents’ geographic scope. Best of all, if agents pass on any requests they’ve received, the system’s algorithms will then send that information to others until responses are detected — which ensures all users are being served.
The team launched the original site for a limited pool of testers in October, and then in early March, unveiled the new version of the site. Already, there are 34 agents using Trotter and hundreds of users, which have mostly been fed from a chamber of commerce as well as a handful of schools and hospitals. In addition to the company’s core team of the four cofounders, there are several advisors on UI and UX design, but they’re hoping to grow out the company this year. Until recently, Trotter was working out of WorkBar, and the team will soon be transitioning into a new space. Additionally, the company has raised a seed round ($30,000 in February and $55,000 in April) from several Colombian Angel investors via Socialatom Ventures, including serial entrepreneur and Grooveshark founder Andres Barreto.
Looking ahead
Trotter is currently only offered to those in The Hub, but after the startup gains traction here and develops the network, Humpierres says they plan to expand to a number of other major cities, such as New York, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Miami and Chicago.
“We’ve focused the effort on Boston for now, but in reality, we’re already set up to operate in six cities — we have agents in those six cities, and can activate there very quickly,” he added in our phone interview.
The startup is also considering shifting toward a faster experience in the sign-up phase on the site. Right now, information about agents is uploaded manually into a non-public site, and Humpierres noted that the team is working on automating the process of rental agent vetting, in addition to improving the matching process between renters and agents.
“We don’t want to be a listings website,” he told me. “We want to be a relocation solution that offers a really high-touch, personal experience. One where you’re talking to real humans, and humans are giving you answers.”
Image of Back Bay apartment via Shutterstock. Other images provided by Trotter.
