MyNeighbor lends services to residents

People have interesting short-term needs. Sometimes, it’s for a ladder or a pressure washer; other times, a movie projector or kayak. And every once in a while, a chicken start-up kit.

“We didn’t know what that was, either,” said Brendan Benzing, co-founder of the Madrona-based neighborhood borrowing and lending app, MyNeighbor. “And somebody did [have it].”

MyNeighbor is a mobile app designed to facilitate the borrowing and lending of goods and services between neighbors. Tech veterans Benzing and Sebastien Martel met while working at the music streaming service Rhapsody, connecting on the concept of access over ownership, much like popular sharing services Airbnb and Uber.

“That principal is essentially behind MyNeighbor: Access items, rather than buy them,” said Benzing, a Madison Park resident for the last 10 years.

The pair founded the hyper-local app, initially called Share-to-Give, in April 2014, launching in Madrona, Madison Park and Mount Baker. The team expanded statewide on June 1 and, as of June 18, had more than 680 members in 67 of the city’s 78 neighborhoods. During that time, Capitol Hill surpassed Madrona as the neighborhood with the most offers and/or requests.

Fee, free or donate

Members can set goods or services for a fee or for free. 

The offerings vary between common and unusual: dog walking, slot machines for parties, cooking services, custom art commissions, a luxury Hawaiian vacation rental, Xbox controllers and tennis lessons, to name a few.  

Users can opt to have a portion or all of the proceeds donated to a charity or nonprofit organization of their choice. Benzing said 45 percent of the offerings have at least a portion of the proceeds going to charity. A recent posting in Seward Park offers tandem paraglide rides, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to charity. 

According to research done by Nielsen, 68 percent of consumers are willing to share or rent their personal assets for financial gain. MyNeighbor found that the primary reason people don’t borrow or lend is because they don’t know what their neighbors need or would be willing to lend. The app is designed to promote those connections.

“One of the side benefits is you end up meeting neighbors,” Benzing said. 

Other sharing options

MyNeighbor isn’t the only borrowing-lending service in town. Phinney Neighborhood Association’s (PNA) Tool Lending Library shares thousands of tools with neighbors for a “modest, suggested, weekly tool maintenance fee.”

Todd Shwayder, Well Home Program director and Tool Library coordinator for PNA, said the Tool Library receives about 30 to 40 interested parties per week, about half of whom are looking for advice and professional referrals. The rest borrow various occasionally needed tools, such as shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows and lawn mowers. 

Shwayder said the Phinney Tool Library started in the mid-1970s, making it the second of its kind in the country. In the last few years, a few others have opened in Seattle — in West Seattle, Northeast Seattle, the Central Area and Capitol Hill. Shwayder said tool libraries are not big money-makers, but they work well at a community level.

“There are so many neighborhoods in Seattle,” Shwayder said. “Major areas can have their own tool library. There’s no competition.” 

Benzing said his company differs from other hyper-local offerings, including Nextdoor, a private social network for neighborhoods being used to roll out the Seattle Police Department’s new micro-community plans. 

Unlike Nextdoor, he said, MyNeighbor focuses on the single purpose of borrowing and lending. He said the options on Yahoo, blogs and Facebook provide a “highly fragmented experience.” Craigslist, on the other hand, is more computer than mobile and primarily known for buying and selling between neighbors, he said. 

The MyNeighbor app is currently entirely free, but that business model may change in the future. Benzing said they could move to a transactional model, in which the company would take a 10- to 20-percent fee for each deal or, much like the city’s bike-share program, could rely on sponsors or underwriters.

“We’re trying to drive growth and engagement early on,” Benzing said. “We’re focused on getting adoption.”

The app’s guidelines rely on neighbors being responsible to one another. Benzing said mediation services are available as needed, but that, at this point, the company is not offering insurance or waivers.

“The platform is really as good as the neighbors make it because it’s neighbor-powered,” Benzing said.

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