Tracking down the right piece of equipment when you need it on short notice is a perennial source of headaches and delays on jobsites. In recent years several startups have tried to tackle the issue, with mixed results.

“There have been dozens of these startups in this space,” says Scott Cannon, CEO of online equipment rental broker BigRentz. “Most are out of business, and even we had some growth issues. But today we are the largest rental company in the United States by size and number of rental yards.”