How Ruralis Scaled Short-Term Rentals with Flexible Financing

Nicolas Verderosa, the founder of Ruralis, was inspired by the untapped potential of South Italy’s rural areas. Born and raised in this beautiful yet often overlooked region, he grew up witnessing both the rich cultural heritage and the economic challenges these areas face. This deep connection to his roots became the driving force behind Ruralis. Here’s how Viceversa’s flexible funding enabled Ruralis to achieve remarkable milestones.

Challenge

Ruralis, founded to optimize the management of rural properties, experienced phenomenal growth between 2022 and 2024. With an increase in the number of properties under its management and a surge in bookings, the company expanded from a local startup in Southern Italy to managing homes nationwide, with a recent foray into the U.S. market.

While this expansion was exciting, it came with significant challenges:

• Cash Flow Timing: Although Ruralis secured €2.84M in government grants for 2024–2025, the reimbursement model required them to front the costs. This created cash flow gaps between spend and repayment. To bridge this, they needed fast, flexible capital that could smooth these cycles without adding pressure.
• Scaling Customer Acquisition: With ambitious growth targets, Ruralis ramped up paid advertising to attract new property owners. This strategy was effective—but capital-intensive.
• Investing in Product Innovation: Ruralis aimed to build a full-stack technical team to level up its platform’s UX. The improvements would boost retention and customer value, but required significant upfront investment.

Solution

Viceversa’s RBF model proved to be the ideal match for Ruralis.By leveraging Revenue-Based Financing, Ruralis could access capital quickly—perfectly complementing the slower reimbursement rhythm of grant funding, and enabling sustainable growth without compromising cash flow. Traditional bank loans were not a viable option. Ruralis needed fast, flexible financing without being bogged down by excessive bureaucracy and rigid terms.

This innovative funding approach enabled the company to:

• Access equity-free capital quickly, free from the lengthy approval processes associated with traditional banks.
• Smooth out cash flow disruptions by covering the wait time on grant money—keeping growth moving, no slowdowns.
• Fund essential short-term initiatives, including paid acquisition campaigns, while allocating resources for long-term platform improvements.

Unlike traditional financing, Viceversa’s repayment model is tied to Ruralis’ earnings, providing the flexibility to make lower repayments during slower revenue periods and higher ones when earnings spike.

Their RBF model minimized the bureaucracy we would’ve faced with traditional banks, allowing us to focus on growth instead of red tape. More than funding, their support delivered real-time insights tailored to our business, acting as a lever for sustainable scaling.

Nicolas VerderosaCEO

Strategy

Ruralis leveraged Viceversa’s funding to execute impactful business strategies for both immediate and future growth:

Short-Term Goals

Paid Advertising for Rapid Growth: Ruralis invested heavily in digital and PR campaigns to attract new property owners. These efforts facilitated a 488% increase in customer acquisition from 2022 to 2024, making it a key driver of Ruralis’ impressive expansion.

Long-Term Aspirations

Platform Upgrades to Improve Retention: With a focus on enhancing customer loyalty and improving the guest experience, Ruralis directed part of the funding to its tech stack. The company built a full-stack technical team, which allowed them to upgrade their platform. Enhanced UX led to better customer retention rates, strengthening Ruralis’ growth trajectory.

Expanding Globally: With the U.S. market as their next frontier, alternative financing provided the financial flexibility to scale internationally without straining operations in their home market.

Results

The partnership with Viceversa accelerated a growth path that Ruralis was already on. They saw extraordinary results, of which some highlights include:

• +741% increase in bookings (2024 vs. 2022)
• +367% revenue growth (2024 vs. 2022)
• +488% increase in customer acquisition (2022-2024)
• Achieved over 300 properties under management
• Boosted Trustpilot score to 4.7, highly rated within the property management space

Ruralis successfully optimised cash flows, enhanced its brand visibility through strategic marketing campaigns, and expanded its customer base both domestically and internationally.

Tangible results for businesses

Ruralis’ exceptional growth highlights the transformative impact of pairing innovation with flexible financing. As they continue to set new standards in rural property management, Viceversa played a supporting role—offering capital exactly when it was needed to accelerate key projects without compromising cash flow.

Through Viceversa’s embedded solution with Qonto, we’ve been able to bring innovative businesses like Ruralis into our ecosystem, helping them scale with the agility today’s market demands.

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