Entrepreneur develops solution for property managers

By Julie King

Whether voice, text or email, when you need to get a message out, Andre McNaughton says his system is the fastest way to spread the word.

The idea for his RentBark software was inspired by frustration.

Some of McNaughton's work in the property management industry was to make hundreds of calls to tenants who were late paying their rent. "I found that sitting there – calling people over and over again saying the same message over and over again – I was wasting a ton of time doing this," says McNaughton.

"I asked myself, 'There must be a better way to make all these calls without actually making all the calls' … I wanted to create something that would make my life easier. And if it made my life easier it would probably make other people's lives easier."

McNaughton's solution was simple, yet powerful. He would enable property owners to record a voice message, which can be done in a couple of minutes. That message is then set up and sent out as a one-time, mass message to everyone on a distribution list. For example, a landlord might use the system to notify late-paying tenants or to let all tenants know about scheduled maintenance.

"The advantage of the system I've created, you can do it on the fly," notes McNaughton. "If you do it the moment it happens, it takes maybe less than 60 seconds to set up the campaign. The moment it happens you can notify people, let them know the status."

He began to design the system in 2011 and incorporated his company in 2012. A few people had mentioned Enterprise Toronto to McNaughton, but he didn't take advantage of their services until he hit a bump in the development of his business.

"I got to a point in the development where I needed help to push this thing through, and I needed some resources, and I needed to expand my network," notes McNaughton. This is when he reached out to Enterprise Toronto  for help.

"I think two important points for me was the mentorship and the guidance," says McNaughton, "and I guess the third point I should say is the financial support, because at the time I was using my own money to fund the project."

To get a help from Enterprise Toronto and a referral to the Canadian Youth Business Foundation (now known as Futurpreneur), McNaughton had to prepare a business plan. He found the process helpful, because it forced him to look beyond the technical aspects of the business.

"As I developed this thing, I started to see different markets and different applications," says McNaughton.

He already knew that the market he was targeting would be a hard sell, because property management companies are very slow to change, especially when that change involves technology.

He differentiates his service by offering it on a pay per use basis, a better price point, and a texting service that other systems did not have. With these advantages, McNaughton was able to secure one of Canada's largest property management companies as a client. He now looks forward to building the business, working through tasks one day at a time and outsourcing work that is not his strength.

He plans to stay in touch with Enterprise Toronto as his business grows.

"I would say Enterprise Toronto is a really good support system. It's like having a friend in your corner."


Source toronto.ca http://goo.gl/pNBDT4

About 10 years ago, Wall St. created something called 'sub prime' mortgages. Designed for people struggling to buy a home, they came with really low interest rates, but after the first couple of years those rates went way up. Now, in recent years American banks have been handing out sub prime mortgages like crazy. No questions asked, no credit history required. At the same time, something else was happening. After the banks approved those mortgages, they sold them to investment companies - who bundled the mortgages and sold them to investors. As long as the housing market was booming, everyone was making money. But here's the thing - the companies got so greedy, they kept giving mortgages to people who couldn't afford them. The housing bubble burst and several million Americans were in trouble. They couldn't afford the high interest rates, they couldn't renegotiate their loans and they lost their homes. Suddenly, some of America's financial giants had billions of dollars in bad debt. Several major banks and investment houses collapsed and panic set in on the stock markets. Then, came the U-S government bailout plan, 700 billion dollars, to try to save other companies from falling apart. Eventually, it got passed but the story doesn't end there. A number of countries in Europe have either had to bail out their banks or promise to guarantee all bank deposits.

NEW YORK/MAPLEWOOD, New Jersey (Reuters) - Residents of the northeastern United States on Wednesday dug out from a deadly winter storm that dumped more than 15 inches of snow in some places, with frigid temperatures forcing school closings and extensive flight delays and cancellations.

At least two deaths were blamed on the weather, which made roads treacherous. Near Emmitsburg, Maryland, a driver lost control and slammed into a tractor-trailer, state police reported. In Versailles, Kentucky, a woman's car hit a tree after skidding on an icy highway, local police said.

"It's brutal out here," said Ian Chapin, 28, an appliance repairman braving stiff winds as he pumped fuel into his work vehicle at a gas station outside Philadelphia.

The deep chill and heavy snow on Wednesday closed schools in Philadelphia and many suburbs throughout New Jersey, Rhode Island and other states.

New York City pushed toward normalcy, opening its schools, but the snowstorm that dropped 11 inches of powder in Central Park touched off some complaints about unequal treatment by new Mayor Bill de Blasio.

In the toniest part of the city, Manhattan's Upper East Side, some residents claimed that their unplowed streets were being ignored as part of the mayor's oft-repeated campaign theme to address issues of inequality.

De Blasio conceded in a statement that, after visiting the neighborhood and talking to residents, "more could have been done to serve the Upper East Side."

He said he ordered city sanitation workers to "double-down" on cleanup efforts on the area.

"Our crews will remain on the streets around the clock until the roadways are clear in every neighborhood, in every borough, across New York City," he said.

Storms have famously complicated the lives of New York mayors. In 1969, a huge storm created a political crisis for Mayor John Lindsay, who was faulted for the city's slow response. In 2010, Mayor Michael Bloomberg came under fire for his handling of a blizzard that halted some subway service for days.

But the snow blanketing the city's icy Times Square failed to deter tourists such as Pablo Magnelli of Buenos Aires, who was traveling with his family.

"We are freezing. But, still, it's a very nice city," Magnelli said. "It was a dream to come here, so we will go out today to the sights - Times Square, the Brooklyn Bridge. We want to see the city."

The single-digit temperatures gripping huge swaths of the nation will prove relentless, according to Accuweather.com Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.

"A total of three waves of Arctic air will blast across the Midwest and Northeast into next week," he said.

Temperatures are likely to stay below freezing in such cities as Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit and Cleveland through the end of the month, with highs most days only in the teens, he said.

"In Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York City and Indianapolis, temperatures may only surpass the freezing mark on one or two days through January 31," Sosnowski added.

U.S. airports reported nearly 4,400 flight delays or cancellations on Wednesday, with New York's LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International the hardest-hit, according to FlightAware.com.

Commuters shivered while waiting for delayed trains into New York City.

"It was cranky and crowded," said Linda Beck, 37, of South Orange, New Jersey, a producer for Nickelodeon stuck on a train for an hour and a half. "Even the conductors were gripey. They couldn't move from train to train it was so crowded."

The heaviest snowfall was recorded in the Boston suburb of Norwell, Massachusetts, with 18.3 inches and Manalapan, New Jersey, near the Atlantic coast, which measured 15.8 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

By Victoria Cavaliere and Barbara Goldberg

(Additional reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst, Marina Lopes and Zach Cook in New York, Dave Warner in Philadelphia, Ian Simpson in Washington, Daniel Lovering in Cambridge, Mass., Alice Popovici in Maryland, Tim Ghianni in Nashville; Editing by Scott Malone, Nick Zieminski and Gunna Dickson)

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