“You can’t optimize what you can’t see.” – Julie Blanc

Julie Blanc didn’t stumble into multifamily, she zeroed in on it. After multiple startup exits and a career in venture capital, she launched Rentana to tackle a challenge hiding in plain sight: pricing. In real estate, pricing isn’t a spreadsheet exercise. It’s the heartbeat of every asset strategy, tied directly to NOI, cap rates, and ultimately, the value of the portfolio. But as Julie quickly discovered, most revenue management tools were opaque, rigid, and looked like they hadn’t evolved since Windows 95.

“Our platform simplifies execution and elevates decision-making. It’s intuitive for operators and powerful for strategists.” – Julie Blanc

The complexity Julie and her team set out to solve wasn’t just technical, it was operational and organizational. Rentana doesn’t just provide pricing suggestions; it allows owners and operators to set different goals for each asset or even unit type. Stabilized buildings. Lease-ups. Concessions. Renewals. All get factored in. What changed for me was seeing how Rentana reframed revenue management as not just a compliance and margin tool but as a coordination layer between corporate, onsite teams, and investor objectives. If the data doesn’t tell the full story, the strategy falls apart.

“We don’t just show your data. We will show you exactly how we got there.” – Julie Blanc

That line hit me hard. I’ve always been skeptical of black-box algorithms. Julie’s approach to transparency is what sets Rentana apart. Every recommendation comes with a plain-English explanation of the logic, the weights, the comps so everyone from asset managers to leasing agents can understand and trust the system. It reminded me how crucial explainability is in AI-driven software. Fancy math doesn’t mean much if the user doesn’t know whether to trust it. And trust isn’t optional when you’re pricing $100M buildings.

“You need to see if price is the issue or if it’s something else, like marketing leakage or follow-up failure.” – Julie Blanc

This was the turning point for me. Revenue performance isn’t just about adjusting rent, it’s about diagnosing the whole system. Is the unit overpriced? Or is it that no one followed up with the lead? Is it a pricing issue, or a mismatch between your website and your onsite team’s quote? Rentana surfaces these patterns and lets teams act on them in real time. It’s more than pricing software, it’s operational clarity. And in multifamily, that’s priceless.

“Those who try to DIY revenue management are often our best customers. Because the problem becomes louder once you’ve tried to solve it yourself.” – Julie Blanc

Julie’s empathy for the buyer’s journey resonated deeply. She doesn’t pressure prospects, she waits for the moment when the problem can’t be ignored. That’s when hell yes happens. Whether it’s during budget season, ahead of a big lease-up or after missed performance targets. Rentana steps in as both a solution and a partner. The product itself may be high-tech, but the value is profoundly human: more time, clearer goals, fewer mistakes, and ultimately, more homes filled by the right renters, at the right price.

What I’m taking with me:

• Pricing is the most high-stakes workflow in multifamily. Every contract affects asset value.
  
• Revenue management isn’t about raising rents. It’s about hitting goals, maximizing occupancy and ensuring compliance.
  
• Data isn’t useful unless it’s usable. Transparency is the ultimate differentiator.
  
• The buyer journey often includes a failed DIY attempt. That’s not a sign of failure, it’s the start of understanding.
  
• In complex orgs with multiple ownership groups, compliance and clarity are just as important as revenue lift.
  

Julie reminded me that Hell Yes in pricing isn’t about bells and whistles. It’s about trust, clarity and precision at scale. That’s what Rentana delivers. And that’s what turns pricing from a liability into a strategic weapon.