Rowland Hobbs, founder and CEO of Stake, joins the show to talk about his startup background and Stake’s mission to help renters build wealth amid rising rents. Stake offers cash-back and financial services across a network of about 550,000 homes, including free checking that rewards rent payments and credit building by reporting on-time rent to the three bureaus, benefiting renters while reducing landlord delinquencies. Rowland explains Stake’s model, funded by landlords for leasing plus banking, brand, property, and government partners, including Colorado Renter Rewards. For a build-vs-buy decision, Stake tested distributing renter incentives through rental brokers, saw higher lease conversions, and acquired the largest Texas rental brokerage, Yu Move Free, to accelerate go-to-market and onboard renters into Stake’s broader platform.
00:00 Welcome and Introductions
01:02 Roland’s Startup Journey
02:13 Photo Startup Lessons
03:56 What Stake Does
05:06 Business Model and Network
08:24 Build Versus Buy Setup
08:49 Testing Brokers Then Buying
10:49 Rental Brokers Explained
14:01 Why Acquire Not Build
19:08 Costco Model for Renters
22:07 Deposits and Trust
24:05 Favorite Recent Purchases
26:46 Personal Growth and Yoga
28:18 Closing and Farewell
This episode was brought to you by Anvil [https://useanvil.com].
