Apartment List moves in on Craigslist turf

When an online service gains a critical mass of interdependent customers, it stops making sense for any of them to use another service. The central reason people use Facebook is that most of their friends are on it, which makes starting a rival social network very difficult. The Internet's largest collection of classifieds indexes everything from couches to favors to jobs to apartments. The 4-year-old SoMa company pulls in apartment data from various sources and renders it all on a searchable map so you can browse neighborhoods quickly. The company did $10 million in revenue last year, says chief executive John Kobs, all without the aid of venture capital. People are willing to put up with scams, spam, bait-and-switches and fake listings because they feel there's a higher degree of likelihood they'll find a place in a shorter period of time. Maybe let people know whether they should sign a lease at the same place or what rent is acceptable in a neighborhood. Roommates' Web page has some pretty stereotypical images of people who live in each of San Francisco's neighborhoods - a hipster in the Mission, a pregnant mom in Noe Valley. Though Apartment List doesn't plan to charge users, no doubt many renters shy from posting. The Roommates app is sharp to use, but Apartment List will need to make big strides - and quick ones - to integrate the two services. About this story Making the Pitch is an occasional feature where Bay Area startups get a chance to talk about their business plans and strategy. The Chronicle's tech writers bring an investor's mind-set to their questions, then offer a prognosis for each company.