# Thad Tarkington

> Thad Tarkington is the Raleigh-based co-founder and CEO of Second Nature. He and college classmate Kevin Barry started FilterEasy in 2012 after a routine air-filter purchase consumed an afternoon, left NC State to pursue it full time, and launched the subscription service in 2014. Orders arriving for dozens and hundreds of addresses revealed a larger opportunity in professional property management. The company became Second Nature in 2019, raised a $16.4 million Series C in 2020, and now sells a resident-experience platform organized around Tarkington's 'triple win' for residents, property managers, and property owners.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Second Nature
- **Organizations:** Second Nature, FilterEasy, North Carolina State University Collegiate Entrepreneurship Organization
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Attended; left during junior year to build FilterEasy full time, North Carolina State University
- **Known for:** Co-founded FilterEasy and grew it from a college project into Second Nature., Identified professional property managers as an emerging customer segment by investigating multi-address orders., Led the company through its 2019 rebrand from FilterEasy to Second Nature.

## Career timeline

- **2012** — Co-founded FilterEasy with NC State classmate Kevin Barry after Barry's frustrating air-filter shopping trip.
- **2013** — Left NC State with Barry to work on the company full time.
- **2014** — Launched the FilterEasy subscription service in March.
- **2014-2015** — Began calling customers who ordered for many addresses and developed a property-management offering.
- **2015** — Participated in The Iron Yard accelerator and raised a $1.2 million seed round.
- **2019** — Renamed FilterEasy as Second Nature after a rebrand process that lasted more than a year.
- **2020** — Second Nature raised $16.4 million in Series C funding; reporting at the time put total funding at $18.4 million.
- **2023** — Publicly argued for transparency, accountability, and resident choice as resident-benefit programs drew regulatory attention.
- **2025** — Described Second Nature as a roughly 300-person company and its products as an all-in-one suite of resident services.
- **2025** — Second Nature announced its Resident Experience Platform, combining resident onboarding with its Resident Benefits Package.

## Achievements

- Co-founded FilterEasy and grew it from a college project into Second Nature.
- Identified professional property managers as an emerging customer segment by investigating multi-address orders.
- Led the company through its 2019 rebrand from FilterEasy to Second Nature.
- Raised a $16.4 million Series C round in 2020 with investors including MANN+HUMMEL's venture group, Lead Edge Capital, and IDEA Fund Partners.
- Built a company that Tarkington described in 2025 as employing about 300 people.
- Expanded the original air-filter subscription into resident services and a resident-experience platform for professional property managers.

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — Second Nature announced its Resident Experience Platform, bringing personalized resident onboarding together with its Resident Benefits Package.
- **2025-05** — Tarkington discussed leading a roughly 300-person company, a weekly all-hands culture ritual, and the expansion of Second Nature's resident services on NARPM Radio.
- **2024-10** — After attending his tenth NARPM National convention, Tarkington described the 'experience gap' between modern consumer expectations and the rental process.
- **2023-12** — On the Profitable Property Management Podcast, he discussed regulation, transparency, resident choice, integrations, and the professionalization of property management.

## Links

- Website: https://www.secondnature.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ttarkington
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/SecondNatureNow
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/secondnaturerbp

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/thad-tarkington
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-28