Dangke Apartment (Eggshell) \China

Step 2 - Validation (Months 4-9): Expand to 5 Beijing neighborhoods (2,000 properties) and add financial services layer. New features: (a) 'Deposit Alternative' insurance product (tenants pay 30% of deposit upfront + monthly premium, RentOS guarantees landlord full deposit coverage), reducing tenant friction and increasing conversion 20-30%, (b) Dynamic pricing algorithm (analyze comparable listings, occupancy rates, seasonality, suggest optimal rent prices—landlords using AI pricing see 8-12% revenue uplift), (c) Maintenance marketplace (vetted contractors, instant booking, AI-powered issue diagnosis via photo upload). Monetization: Add 2% transaction fee on rent payments + 15% take rate on maintenance bookings + insurance premium revenue share. Validate unit economics: CAC <¥500 (via agency partnerships + landlord referrals), LTV >¥5,000 (24-month avg retention, ¥99/month + transaction fees), payback <10 months. Raise seed round (¥30M / $4M) from China-focused VCs (Sinovation, ZhenFund) on proof of product-market fit.

Step 3 - Growth (Months 10-24): Multi-city expansion (Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Chengdu) and tenant-side network effects. Launch 'RentOS Tenant App'—renters can search verified properties (all photos/descriptions validated by AI), view transparent pricing history, read verified reviews, and apply with one-click (pre-filled profile, instant screening). Key growth loop: Tenants who have good rental history on RentOS get 'Verified Tenant' badge, which landlords prefer (lower risk) → more landlords join to access verified tenant pool → more tenants join for better selection → flywheel accelerates. Add AI chatbot for tenant customer service (handles 80% of inquiries—lease questions, maintenance requests, payment issues—via Claude API, reducing support costs 60%). Growth tactics: (a) Partner with corporate HR departments (Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance) to offer RentOS as employee relocation benefit—companies pay ¥500/employee, we handle housing search + lease setup, (b) University partnerships (Tsinghua, Peking University) for graduate housing, (c) Referral program (landlords get 1 month free for each referral, tenants get ¥200 credit). Target: 50,000 properties, 200,000 tenants, ¥150M ARR, Series A raise (¥200M / $28M).

Step 4 - Moat (Months 25-36): Build defensible competitive advantages through data, financial services, and ecosystem lock-in. (a) AI Underwriting Model—with 200K+ tenant payment histories, build proprietary credit scoring model (better than traditional credit bureaus for young renters with thin files), license to banks/insurers for B2B revenue, (b) 'RentOS Capital'—offer landlords income smoothing product (guaranteed rent even during vacancies, we take 5-8% spread + use predictive models to minimize risk), creating sticky, high-margin revenue stream, (c) Smart Home Integration—partner with Xiaomi/Huawei for IoT locks, sensors, energy management (landlords get remote access, predictive maintenance alerts, energy cost savings 15-20%), creating hardware lock-in, (d) Regulatory Moat—become the compliance standard by building direct integrations with government housing bureaus (automated reporting, tax filing, subsidy applications), making RentOS the de facto platform for legal, compliant rentals. At scale (500K properties, 2M tenants), RentOS has: network effects (best landlords + best tenants concentrate on platform), data moat (proprietary risk models), switching costs (landlords' entire operations run on RentOS), and regulatory approval (government-endorsed platform). Exit options: IPO on Hong Kong/Shanghai exchange (comp: KE Holdings, China's largest real estate platform, $20B market cap) or strategic acquisition by Alibaba/Tencent (they want fintech + local services exposure). Target: ¥1B+ ARR, 50%+ EBITDA margins, market leader position.