Rentec Direct

Serving Up Innovation in Southern Oregon

Every day at Rentec Direct, the staff take time for a little friendly competition. Somedays it’s a foosball tournament. Or maybe corn hole. Ping-pong, anyone? Rentec Direct, a property management software company that provides online portals for both landlords and tenants, also believes in having fun.

Nathan Miller, the president and founder of Rentec Direct, discovered the need for rental-management software back in 2007—when he was managing his own rentals with a pen and paper. Where there’s a will, there’s a way: he went to work using his background in software development to create an application that served the record-keeping needs for small to mid-sized property managers. In 2009, Rentec Direct started as an official company, growing over the years to a current staff of thirteen.

For Nathan, one of Rentec Direct’s largest successes is simply the fact that they were able to break into a profitable market as a ‘bootstrap business.’ The company started with only $150—compared to competitors who had budgets of millions. For any entrepreneur, that’s a glaring difference. Yet, despite odds, Rentec Direct is certainly flourishing. In August of 2019, for the third year in a row, the business was placed on the Inc. 5000, a list of the nation’s fastest-growing privately held companies. On top of that, Rentec Direct received the Gold-Level American Business Award for the second year in a row, meaning that they were judged on the basis of innovation, integrity, effectiveness, creativity, and growth—and came out at the top of their industry. “We want to be the number one place for property managers to get software,” Nathan admits.

And Rentec Direct plans to keep Grants Pass as the permanent headquarters for their growing software empire. As a native Southern Oregonian, Nathan wanted his company to stay within the area—which provides opportunities for hiking, biking, and other outdoor recreation. “Having the ability to go do something is really important. The more stuff there is for people to do within a close vicinity, the more enjoyable life is. We need breaks from routine.”

And clearly Rentec Direct puts emphasis on breaking from the routine. Company culture takes on another meaning when the staff have intense ping-pong tournaments to determine who gets to park in the best parking spaces out back. “We goof off together; play games—and work hard,” Nathan says. Because cohesion and a friendly work-environment are so important to the company, new employees have to demonstrate a trustworthy character and a fun personality—in addition to experience with tech projects and teamwork, which are crucial for the company’s efficiency.

Efficient is a good word for the company, because today, renters and property managers from all around the world are happily using Rentec Direct. Simply because of online software, some property management companies can allow three times as many tenants as before—while keeping their staff at the same size. With anywhere from 2,000-3,000 new users each year, Rentec Direct hopes to continue their outreach, but keep the staff small—with no more than twenty employees, and well-organized—with competency, teamwork, and technical IT skills. “I want everyone to be able to know each other. It’s like a family,” Nathan says.

If you were to pay a visit to Rentec Direct today, you would get a chance to admire the company’s new building—an early twentieth century style house complete with beautiful architecture and laughter echoing from the various office spaces. You might even be greeted by a Storm-Trooper cut-out sitting at the front desk. Amid the often complicated technological world, Rentec Direct’s values will remain simple: they care about each other, they care about their software, and they will always provide exceptional support for the clients who use it. “We’ve operated this way since day one, and we intend to continue operating this way forever.”

Rentec Direct | 231 SW I St., Grants Pass, OR 97526 | www.rentecdirect.com | 541-734-9030

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