Rent Like A Champion, a weekend house rental company that operates in Oxford and many other college towns across America, will have the chance to gain national exposure tonight.
The CEO of Rent Like A Champion, Mike Doyle, and co-founder Drew Mitchell will appear on the American Broadcasting Company primetime hit television show “Shark Tank” at 9 p.m tonight. The men will pitch their business in front of a group of potential investors on the show, including Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Kevin O’Leary and more.
Shark Tank hosts “Sharks”— successful tycoons— to invest in America’s best businesses and products.
According to the ABC website, “the Sharks will give people from all walks of life the chance to chase the American dream, and potentially secure business deals that could make them millionaires.”
Doyle said getting on the show was a long process.
“I actually sent a cold email about a year ago and to be honest, I was not really expecting anything to come of it,” Doyle said. “For several months, we didn’t hear anything and early this spring they followed up with us. They wanted to know all about our company history to make sure they had the full story.”
Doyle said they were having weekly or biweekly calls with the show. In May, Doyle and Mitchell were invited to travel to Los Angeles, California and make an appearance.
“We view this as a great opportunity,” Doyle said. “We are currently in 21 college towns, we’ve been growing already and our goal is to expand into 20 new towns in the next 12-18 months.”
Rent Like A Champion started in 2006 as a student housing company, but it quickly evolved into its current form when founders Mitchell, Jordan Curnes and Derrick Shenk discovered the massive demand for home rentals in South Bend, Indiana during Notre Dame football weekends.
The company has grown steadily, and was recently named in the 2015 Inc. 5000 list as one of America’s fastest growing privately held companies with a 315% three-year growth. The founders hope for an opportunity to further expand the company after their appearance on Shark Tank.“I’ve seen the show before,” DJ Grimes, junior managerial finance major, said. “I think it’s cool that a company that operates in Oxford is going to be on there. Hopefully they will do well.”
Doyle said Oxford was one of the first towns to which Rent Like A Champion expanded and this is their fourth football season operating here. The Rent Like A Champion team works with more than 125 homeowners in the Oxford area and has hosted hundreds of fans.
Oxford homeowner Peggy Leister said she has already rented out her home three times this year via Rent Like A Champion.
“They are a wonderful company,” Leister said. “I would recommend them to anyone. It is very easy to get involved and they do most of the work. They tell you what to do to prepare the house and you just go in and list what you want to charge. I have not had any bad experience and the people who have rented have been excellent.”
Doyle said the company’s services are not just limited to football season.
“One of the cool things about our company is that we have homes available year round,” Doyle said. “No matter when you’re coming to town, definitely check out the website and we’d be happy to find you a great place to stay.”
