EmprestaAÍ

Inspiration

EmprestaAÍ was born from a simple insight: people buy products they rarely use, while others are actively looking for those same items. This inefficiency, combined with growing concerns around overconsumption and environmental impact, led us to rethink ownership and focus on access instead.

What makes our journey unique is that it started organically. Before any platform existed, a Facebook group began to grow naturally, with people posting items to rent and responding to each other’s needs. At the same time, through Instagram, users were reaching out via Tally forms to request products or list items. Real behavior was already happening without any product built.

What it does

EmprestaAÍ is a rental marketplace that connects people and businesses, allowing anyone to rent almost anything, anywhere. The platform centralizes supply and makes it easy to find, book, and rent products through listings, availability calendars, chat, and flexible delivery options.

The goal is simple: make renting as easy as buying.

How we built it

We started lean. Instead of building a full platform from day one, we validated the idea using simple tools like Facebook, Instagram, and Tally forms, manually matching supply and demand.

After proving traction with real users and real rentals, we began building the platform focusing on the core features first. Listings, search, availability, and communication. Now we are working on payments, deposits, and trust mechanisms to scale.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges is cultural. In Portugal, renting everyday products is not yet a natural behavior, so we are not only building a product but also helping change habits.

Another challenge has been structuring payments and responsibilities while staying as an intermediary. Ensuring trust between both sides while keeping the process simple is not trivial.

Like any early-stage startup, we also faced the challenge of moving fast while still building the right things, often relying on manual processes.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We achieved real traction before having a product. In just one month, we gathered more than 140 users organically and facilitated real rentals.

We built a community where people naturally rent to each other, which validated the concept early on.

We also onboarded rental companies, ensuring supply from the beginning and strengthening trust in the marketplace.

What we learned

We learned that real validation comes from user behavior, not assumptions.

We learned that in marketplaces, supply comes first. Starting with companies helped us ensure availability and credibility.

And we learned that changing consumption habits takes time, but the demand is already there.

What's next for EmprestaAÍ

Our focus now is to launch a fully functional platform with integrated payments, deposits, and trust mechanisms.

We want to scale supply by onboarding more partners and grow demand through strong inbound and outbound strategies.

At the same time, we aim to build tools that measure the environmental and social impact of each rental, reinforcing our mission of promoting a more responsible way of consuming.

Built With

• react
• supabase
• vercel