We Left.
We Couldn't Stay Away.
VerticalRent started as a landlord's frustration, grew into a platform trusted by 100,000 people, got sold, got shut down — and is now back stronger than ever. This is the story of two guys from Harborcreek, Pennsylvania who just couldn't quit.
The Spare Bedroom Problem
In 2011, Matt Angerer was a landlord with a problem every small landlord knows too well — too much paperwork, too many spreadsheets, and tenants who somehow always “forgot” rent was due. So he did what any reasonable person does when they can't find the right tool: he built one.
He called it RentCloud, and he launched it from Westerville, Ohio. Then he called his long-time friend Jeff Pierce — a developer with an eye for clean code and a talent for making complicated things feel simple — and talked him into co-building the platform and taking it to market together.
It wasn't glamorous. It was two guys who genuinely believed that independent landlords deserved the same tools as billion-dollar property management companies.
Building Something Real
Over the next seven years, the platform evolved from a scrappy rent collection tool into a full property management suite — screening, leases, maintenance, listings, the works. The name changed twice (RentCloud → VerticalCloud → VerticalRent), the offices moved across three states, and eventually both founders landed in Southwest Florida, where they still live today.
By 2017, VerticalRent had crossed 50,000 users. By 2018, 100,000. Small landlords, renters, and property managers across all 50 states were trusting the platform to run their rental businesses. Nobody was more surprised than Matt and Jeff.
Life was happening too. Both of them got married. Both of them had two kids — a boy and a girl. Jeff's are almost off to college. Matt's are still figuring out elementary school. Through it all, they stayed in tech, stayed in Florida, and stayed close friends.
The Gut Punch
In 2019, they sold VerticalRent. It was the right move at the right time — a handsome sum, a fair deal, and a chance to hand the baton to a team with deeper pockets and bigger ambitions. Matt and Jeff walked away proud of what they'd built.
Then COVID hit. And in 2020, the new owners made a decision that neither Matt nor Jeff had any power to stop: they shut VerticalRent down entirely. No warning. No migration path. Nearly 100,000 landlords and renters woke up one day to find the platform simply gone.
They had paid good money for a platform and a community — and then walked away from both. Matt and Jeff were devastated. There was nothing they could do.
The next five years were the quiet years. Both of them kept working in technology. Jeff kept coding (and perfecting his hosting duties — his wife approves). Matt kept buying rental properties. But the idea of VerticalRent never fully went away.
The Comeback
Then AI changed everything. Not in a hype-cycle, buzzword kind of way — but in a “wait, we could actually do that now?” kind of way. The things that used to require an entire engineering team — AI-generated leases, intelligent tenant screening, automated maintenance triage — became buildable by two guys with passion and a serious grudge against clunky software.
In April 2026, Matt re-purchased verticalrent.com. In May 2026, the rebuild began. In June 2026, VerticalRent 2.0 launches — AI-native, faster, smarter, and more powerful than anything the original platform ever was.
This isn't a pivot. It's not a rebrand. It's two founders who genuinely love what they built, love the landlords and renters who trusted them, and couldn't in good conscience let a great product stay dead when they had the tools to bring it back better than ever.
“We built VerticalRent the first time because small landlords deserved better tools. We're building it again for the same reason — and this time, we're not leaving.”
— Matt Angerer & Jeff Pierce, ScreenForge Labs LLC
15 Years in the Making
From a spare bedroom in Ohio to 100k users — gone — and back again.
RentCloud launches from Westerville, Ohio
Matt Angerer and Jeff Pierce turn a landlord's frustration into a product.
Online rent collection goes live
Landlords could finally collect rent without chasing checks.
RentCloud → VerticalCloud, Keystone Innovation Zone, Erie PA
A rebrand, a relocation, and a residency in one of Pennsylvania's premier startup hubs.
VerticalCloud → VerticalRent, Homestead FL
Another rebrand, a sharper focus, and a move to the Sunshine State.
Offices relocate to Fort Myers, FL
Both founders end up in Southwest Florida — life has a funny way of working out.
50,000 end users
Half a city's worth of landlords and renters trusting the platform.
100,000 end users
A milestone neither founder ever expected when they started in a spare bedroom.
VerticalRent is acquired
A hard decision, a handsome offer, and the bittersweet end of chapter one.
New owners shut down VerticalRent
COVID gave them the excuse. Nearly 100,000 users were left without a platform overnight.
The forgotten years
Matt and Jeff kept building in tech. The idea never fully left either of them.
Original founders re-purchase verticalrent.com
Sometimes you have to go back to go forward.
VerticalRent 2.0 — AI-native from the ground up
Everything we learned the first time, rebuilt with tools we could only dream of before.
VerticalRent 2.0 launches 🎉
For the landlords who never forgot us — and the ones who never got a chance to meet us.
The Two Guys Behind It
Southwest Florida residents, IT lifers, and stubborn optimists.
Matt founded RentCloud in 2011 because he was a landlord who couldn't find decent software. Fifteen years later he's still a landlord — and the software still isn't good enough. That's why he's doing it again.
He works in Information Technology by day, manages rental properties on the side, and is raising two young kids (elementary school chaos, fully embraced).
Jeff is the engineering mind behind VerticalRent. He loves clean code, elegant architecture, and the satisfaction of a system that just works. He also enjoys a well-poured drink with his wife, who has apparently approved of this entire endeavor.
He works in IT, and his two kids are just about college-bound — which means he suddenly has a lot of very productive evenings ahead of him.
It Started in Preschool
The co-founders of VerticalRent have known each other since preschool in Harborcreek, Pennsylvania. To this day, we continue to remain great friends and co-manage operations of ScreenForge Labs — building AI-native products to help protect investments and communities.
Harborcreek, Pennsylvania — circa 1984. Two future co-founders in there somewhere.
Over 40 years later, that friendship became the foundation of ScreenForge Labs LLC — the company behind VerticalRent and a growing family of AI-native tools built to help independent landlords, renters, and service professionals thrive.
Be Part of the Next Chapter
Whether you're a landlord who remembers us, a renter looking for something better, or a service pro ready to grow your business — we built this for you.