Built to Scale, Designed to Serve: Entrata’s Journey to Redefine Renting
Entrata may have started as a point solution focused on streamlining rent payments, but today it’s one of the most comprehensive, fast-growing platforms in the property tech space. What’s propelled their growth isn’t just technology – it’s a people-first mindset, a deep commitment to simplicity, and a culture that listens hard and builds fast.
We sat down with the team at Entrata for a candid conversation about their origins, how they’re keeping things human in an increasingly digitized world, and where the future of housing is headed.
What originally got Entrata started? Was there a specific problem you were trying to solve back then and how has that vision evolved as the company has grown?
We started out with a basic goal: make paying rent less of a headache. Looking around, we saw property teams stuck with outdated tech that made even simple tasks more complicated than they needed to be. So, that became our mission – streamline the process, make it easier for everyone, and bring a little more transparency to renting.
That idea didn’t stay small for long. Soon, we were asking, “What if you could manage every part of the job in one place?” Fast forward to now, and we’re still trying to cut down on the busywork so property teams and renters can focus more on what matters. Every update we roll out is about making things just a bit simpler, whether someone is leasing an apartment or running a whole portfolio.
When Adam joined, the pace picked up – we started moving faster and thinking bigger about what’s possible. But at the end of the day, our goals haven’t changed much: keep it simple, stay humble, and build for the people using our platform.
What’s kept us on track is sticking to the basics: listen hard, move quickly, and stay close to our customers. Even as things get more complex, we try to keep the focus on what helps people do their jobs better.
What’s it been like under Adam Edmunds’ leadership? Has anything shifted since he became CEO?
Adam brings a really refreshing balance of energy and humility. He’s laser-focused on people – whether that’s our customers, our team, or our partners. He makes space for innovation and encourages accountability, which has shaped how we move as a company.
Since Adam stepped in, we’ve accelerated our go-to-market efforts. There’s more emphasis on innovation, speed, and scaling smart, but our DNA hasn’t wavered. We still move fast, stay humble, and make every decision with the customer in mind.
With Entrata growing so quickly, especially on the leadership front, how do you keep everyone aligned and avoid getting too scattered?
Communication and trust. Those are the two big things. We’ve built a cadence where leadership is in regular, open conversation – not just about what we’re doing, but why we’re doing it. And importantly, we trust each other to bring ideas, challenge assumptions, and move quickly.
Even as we grow, we work hard to stay grounded in our priorities. Everyone from product and engineering to sales and services knows that the customer experience is our North Star.
You’ve been rapidly expanding into new markets, new features. How do you keep that energetic, creative ‘startup’ feel while scaling up?
We lean into what got us here: listening well, iterating quickly, and staying close to our customers. Growth naturally brings complexity, but we make it a point to keep things simple and purpose driven. We don’t build just to check a box. Every product we launch or partnership we form is tied to a clear need from our users. That keeps us sharp and creative—whatever the size of the team.
Catharine Wong, Chief Product & Operations Officer
Entrata serves large enterprises, but also onsite managers and even residents. How do you keep the platform powerful without making it too complicated?
Great question – and that’s one of our biggest design priorities. We talk to our users all the time onsite staff, leasing agents, portfolio managers and watch how they interact with the product day to day. If something’s confusing, we rethink it.
Enterprise software can be feature rich and intuitive. That’s the sweet spot we aim for. Even our most advanced tools should feel familiar and easy. Tech should adapt to people not the other way around.
Has user feedback ever changed the course of a product or even the company’s direction?
“Absolutely. Some of our most impactful ideas came straight from the field. One example: a group of onsite managers pointed out friction in the way leads moved through our leasing workflow. Initially, it seemed minor, but their feedback uncovered new ways where we could save teams hours every week. Our relationship with our customers and the feedback they give is a crucial way we continue to innovate. It sharpens our understanding of what users need, and it keeps us grounded.”
AI and automation are everywhere right now. How is Entrata using these tools to improve life for your users – not just make the platform ‘smarter’?
AI is a big part of the future of multifamily, and we have been very thoughtful about how we are deploying it. When done correctly, AI can vastly improve operations on things like fraud detection, prioritizing leads and automating repetitive admin tasks. But we always ask the same question: “Does this make our users’ lives easier or better?” If the answer’s yes, we go all in. But we always tie it back to the overall operations flow and consistent with our goals of making operations more efficient while elevating the resident experience.
Data privacy and trust are more important than ever. How are you building user confidence in that area?
Trust is non-negotiable. Our users’ residents, owners, operators – they’re trusting us with important data, and we treat that responsibility seriously. We’ve built out a robust security infrastructure, invest in top-tier compliance standards, and audit ourselves regularly.
But the tech is only part of the picture. We’ve also built strong habits internally training, alerts, proactive testing to make sure our teams know how to spot risks and respond fast. Trust doesn’t come from policies alone. It comes from behaviour.
You’ve partnered with companies like Respage. How do these integrations add value for the people using Entrata day-in and day-out?
These partnerships give our users access to best-in-class tools like automated resident communication or AI-powered leasing chat without ever leaving the Entrata platform. That means less bouncing between dashboards, fewer systems to manage, and a smoother experience overall.
It’s all about removing friction and giving property teams the freedom to focus on what matters: running great communities and supporting residents.
Chase Harrington, President
Last question, when you look ahead to the future of housing, especially multifamily and affordable housing, what gives you hope? And what are you worried about?
There’s a lot to be hopeful about. We’re excited about how tech is making housing more connected, more responsive, and more human centered. Tools like Entrata are helping people rent faster, communicate better, and resolve issues in real-time.
But we’re also aware of the widening affordability gap. Technology alone can’t close that. It’s going to take collaboration between property operators, tech providers, policymakers, and developers. We must work together to unlock solutions that truly make housing more accessible and sustainable.
Final Thoughts
Entrata isn’t here to chase shiny objects. They’re here to make the day-to-day better-cleaner workflows, smarter tools, more intuitive experiences for people across the housing ecosystem. And while they’ve come a long way from rent payment automation, their core passion remains the same: making life easier in a space that matters to all of us home.
Company Name : Entrata
Website: https://www.entrata.com/
Management Team
Adam Edmunds | CEO
Catharine Wong | Chief Product & Operations Officer
Chase Harrington | President
