01The Idea

The app I couldn't have built three decades earlier.

In 2024 I had a clear vision: a platform where people could rent and offer goods and services within their neighborhood. No big company, no VC funding, just a clean product that solves a real need.

My edge: 30 years of experience in software. Backend, cloud, AWS, no problem. I knew how to build. So I built.

02The Build

React Native on the fly, because why not?

I had never used React Native before. But after three decades, you learn something: the fastest way to pick up a new technology is to build a real project with it.

In less than a year, the following shipped:

  • iOS and Android apps (React Native)
  • Full backend on AWS (Serverless, Lambda, DynamoDB)
  • Apple Pay and Google Pay integration
  • Geolocation-based search
  • Subscription model (4.99 CHF per month)
  • Marketing flyers in three languages (DE, EN, FR)

The app ran. Everything worked. The App Store was live.

Screenshots of the Rentaside app on iOS and Android: home screen, geolocation-based search, rental listing detail.
Rentaside in the App Store. iOS and Android, React Native.

03The Launch

Professional marketing. Zero users.

I designed flyers. Three languages, two variants, supply side and demand side. My assumption: if you build a good product and promote it well, users will come.

Rentaside marketing flyers in three languages (German, English, French), one variant each for suppliers and renters.
Flyers in DE, EN, FR. Two variants, supplier and renter sides.

What I underestimated: social apps have a fundamental cold start problem. A marketplace has no value without offers. Offers don’t show up without demand. Demand doesn’t show up without offers.

I come from the tech world: backend, cloud, architecture. Marketing and sales? Zero exposure. I knew how to deploy code. Not how to build a community.

04The Lesson

What three decades of code don't teach you.

  • Technically top-tier is not enough.A flawless product nobody knows about does not exist.
  • Product-market fit comes before the build.I should have asked 10 people first: would you actually use this?
  • Network effects are not a marketing task.They are an architecture decision. You have to plan for critical mass before you build.
  • Learning React Native in three weeks was the easy part.Distribution is harder than any technology.

Rentaside is officially closed. The code is on GitHub. The lesson lives in this post.