Earlier this month, the world skilled what CNBC known as the “largest IT outage in historical past.”
The trigger was a software program glitch with cyber-security firm CrowdStrike. The affect was rapid and far-reaching. Air journey got here to a halt. Companies couldn’t promote their items.
Even scarier, the 911 methods we depend on to deal with emergencies failed.
The glitch has now been fastened, and most enterprise and emergency companies are again to regular.
However this outage bought me considering: What if the 911 system went down not for a day or two… however for weeks… or indefinitely? Who would defend us? Who would you name for assist?
The reply could shock you. Even higher, it may probably lead you to earnings of 500%.
We Don’t Really feel Secure Anymore
A technology in the past, my dad and mom would say one easy factor after I left the home: “Keep protected.”
However as we speak, I really feel much less protected than ever. And I’m not alone. In keeping with a 2023 Gallup ballot, personal-safety fears are at a three-decade excessive.
The Gallup ballot discovered that forty % of People don’t really feel protected strolling alone at night time — folks like Rachel, for example. Rachel is twenty-four and works in a giant metropolis. Each night time, she leaves her workplace and walks dwelling via metropolis streets. She’s on edge the entire time.
Or how about Wendy? Wendy lives alone, and has a repairman coming to repair her air conditioner. She’ll be alone with this stranger in her dwelling, and has nowhere to show if issues get bizarre.
Then there’s Steve and Elaine, who’re anxious about their two younger youngsters taking their first airplane journey alone.
These conditions won’t justify a name to 911. However they definitely trigger anxiousness and concern.
That’s why the marketplace for personal safety is quickly anticipated to achieve $438 billion — and that’s why an organization known as Bond was launched.
Introducing: Bond
Bond is the primary and solely startup providing preventative private safety.
Consider it as your personal-security companion.
By Bond’s cell app, you may faucet a button to attach with a skilled safety agent. They’ll keep in touch with you and preserve you calm. Aiding them is a know-how platform powered by Synthetic Intelligence. Notable options embody location monitoring, speedy activation of brokers or first responders, and risk detection.
Bond gives greater than a dozen security-related companies. And it’s already utilized in greater than two dozen nations. Let’s see how atypical folks like us may use it.
How Bond Can Assist
Let’s revisit the three situations talked about earlier:
- With Bond, Rachel may have a digital agent preserve her firm throughout her stroll dwelling, and monitor her progress to make sure she arrives safely.
- A Bond agent can keep on the road with Wendy whereas the repairman is in her dwelling, and alert first-responders in case of an emergency.
- Steve and Elaine can use Bond’s companies to make sure, in real-time, that their children are okay.
Location companies and emergency-responder requests are free on Bond’s app. Paid premium companies embody use of the corporate’s dwell brokers, real-time monitoring, video-monitoring, and requests for a automobile pick-up or roadside help.
Notable Progress
Bond’s service is already resonating with customers.
Final yr, the corporate generated greater than seven million {dollars} in income. Its notable clients embody a top-three smartphone vendor, a top-three credit-card firm, and a number of cities and universities.
Its app has a 4.8-star ranking from greater than 1,000 critiques.
Moreover, Bond has already raised tens of millions of {dollars} from skilled traders. And its advisory staff is stacked with main figures together with a former Director of the U.S. Secret Service, a former Deputy Director of the FBI, and a former NYPD Police Commissioner.
Mentioned Mark Sullivan, the previous head of the Secret Service, “Bond is a revolutionary private safety answer.”
However is it price investing in?
Execs and Cons of an Funding
So far as “professionals,” we touched on Bond’s early and spectacular progress.
Moreover, its management staff has a powerful monitor report. Founder & CEO Doron Kempel bought his earlier two tech firms for a mixed $900 million, together with an IT enterprise that was acquired for $650 million, almost 7x its gross sales the yr earlier than.
If Bond ultimately reached simply fifty million {dollars} in gross sales and was acquired at an analogous a number of, that will be a $350 million acquisition. At that degree, as we speak’s traders could be sitting on features of 500%.
In fact, there are “cons” with each alternative, together with this one.
For instance, calling 911 is free. Bond’s different can be attractive — however because it comes with an actual financial price, it’s not going to be an actual possibility for everybody.
Lastly, this can be a capital-intensive enterprise. Bond is basically operating a private-police power. If it may well’t develop by utilizing its personal earnings, or if it has hassle elevating funds, its enterprise may stall.
These “cons” assist clarify why I’m not recommending that you just rush out and put money into Bond. Take your time and do your analysis.
However when you’re intrigued about Bond’s method to non-public safety — and its potential to ship important earnings to its traders — this funding could also be price a glance.
Please observe: Crowdability has no relationship with any of the startups or funding platforms we write about. We’re an impartial supplier of training and analysis on startups and different investments.
Greatest Regards,
Editor
Crowdability.com
