Lucas Haldeman ’99 and Sarah Roudybush ’99: Pioneers in smart technology

A few years ago Lucas Haldeman ’99 was chief technology and marketing officer for a real estate management company that specialized in rental homes—and he was frustrated. He wanted to use smart technologies—such as programmable keyless entry, remote thermostat and lighting controls, and leak detection—to increase efficiency and reduce expenses, but no company offered all those services in a coordinated package.

So in 2016 Haldeman and his wife, Sarah Roudybush ’99, decided to create that company.

Today, SmartRent, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, is publicly traded, has more than 500 employees, and annual sales exceeding $200 million. It’s the market leader in rental housing, and its solutions are in more than 680,000 homes and businesses across the country. SmartRent not only has grown rapidly and attracted major investors, but also has dramatically expanded its services, which now include access control, self-guided tours, parking management, and community-based Wi-Fi.

Haldeman is chief executive officer and the voice of the company to potential customers and investors. Roudybush, chief of staff, plays a critical role in guiding day-to-day operations, ensuring everyone understands the company’s priorities and areas of focus.  

Both are engaged in strategic planning and here they see a multitude of opportunities. For starters, there is ample room for growth with SmartRent’s primary market, multifamily rental housing, with more than 44 million institutionally managed apartments in the U.S. Other group living arrangements, such as senior-focused or college residence halls, offer promise. International expansion is “on the radar,” Haldeman said. 

“We try to maintain a scrappy, start-up mentality,” he said, “But we are also stewards. We must measure the opportunity cost of new initiatives. Our resources aren’t infinite. We are intentional, focusing on where we can make the greatest impact now while planning for how we can scale and grow this effort in other ways in the future.” 

While management companies are SmartRent’s primary customers, Roudybush said, “We are also deeply concerned with making life better for renters, who are finally beginning to experience the benefits from smart technologies that homeowners have enjoyed for years.”

Roudybush and Haldeman have founded several successful businesses over the years. They also remain connected to the eastern Iowa farming community Roudybush grew up in, by overseeing her family farm operations near Letts, Iowa.

The couple met at Cornell early in their first year. Haldeman (who majored in English and economics and business) was so impressed with Roudybush that he switched courses to join her class in Block 3. They began dating and have been together ever since. They married in 2003 and have three children.

Haldeman credits Cornell with sharpening his ability to think critically. “It’s the most valuable skill you can give anyone,” he said, “and that is especially so for an entrepreneur. There are no answers in the back of the book.”

For Roudybush (who majored in art), the opportunity to study in Chicago and Mexico was transformative.

“I still think about those experiences today. Some books I read as a first-year Cornellian still impact the way I view the world.”

Dan Kellams ’58 is a former member of the Cornell College Alumni Association Board of Directors. His career spanned nearly 50 years in public relations in New York City, where he worked as a corporate and agency executive and, later, as a freelance writer and editor. He has written two books set in his hometown of Marion, Iowa.