Local startup enlists crowdfunding to bring its product to market
Piper home security monitor connects to cellphone
An Ottawa startup is hoping a successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign will speed commercial production of its Piper home security monitors.
Piper plugs into a wall socket in a home, office or apartment, then connects to a Wi-Fi network and beams live highdefinition video of that space to an application the Piper user runs on a cellphone. Users can see what’s going on at home, speak through a live, two-way microphone and speaker built into the unit, activate a high-pitched alarm, and even tie into an existing home automation system. That would allow Piper users to adjust a thermostat or dim lighting remotely.
“Combining security, high quality video and home automation just makes sense,” said Russell Ure, president of Blacksumac, founded in 2012 and now employing eight people. “You can’t get real peace of mind without actually seeing what’s happening at home, and the possibilities for making your home more secure and interactive really open up when you add automation into the equation.”
The company’s Indiegogo campaign launched early Wednesday morning. Blacksumac is targeting $100,000 US in pre-orders for Piper over the next 30 days. Within its first three hours, the campaign had already attracted 23 backers who had paid a total of $4,069 US toward the company’s goal.
Indiegogo is one of a handful of online services, the most notable being Kickstarter, that have popped up to help small companies “crowdfund” their projects.
In the past, startups would look for venture capitalists to invest money so they could start commercial production of their products. Those investments would be secured by equity in the startup.
Crowdfunding allows startups to skip past the large venture capitalists and avoid having to give up any ownership of their business. It also allows the firms to secure early sales of a product or service while at the same time pushing those offerings through to full-scale commercial production.
Indiegogo works on a “campaign” system: Blacksumac doesn’t collect any of the funds it attracts until it meets or exceeds its $100,000 US funding goal.
One of the most notable crowdfunding campaigns ended in May 2012 when the creators of the Pebble watch set out to raise $100,000 U.S. and ended up collecting $10.3 million. Pebble wirelessly connects with a person’s cellphone and displays incoming calls, text messages and other content on the watch face, so users don’t have to take their phone out of their pocket.
Blacksumac hopes for similar success with Piper. The company is pre-selling units of the camera for $189 US on Indiegogo. Upgraded versions range from $249 US to $1,500 US.
According to Ure, Piper’s appeal is in its simplicity. Using the app, the device can be set to record video at certain times or simply begin recording when it senses movement. The device can send a text message when a window has been opened or someone has entered the monitored space, it can also be used to detect temperature fluctuations, which could appeal to cottage owners who are worried about heat or furnace failures.