SimpliSafe is an American
home security
Home security includes both the security hardware placed on a property and individuals' personal security practices. Security hardware includes doors, locks, alarm systems, lighting, motion detectors, and security camera systems. Personal sec ...
company based in
Boston, Massachusetts. The company produces and sells self-installed wireless security systems.
History
SimpliSafe was founded in 2006 by then-Harvard Business School students, Chad and Eleanor Laurans, after several friends in the
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
area experienced break-ins, but couldn't find a security company that was designed to help renters.
Prior to Harvard, Mr Laurans attended
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
, where he majored in
electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
and graduated in 2000.
The couple worked on SimpliSafe in their own home from 2006 to 2008.
Mr Laurans designed the system and tested it at friends’ residences for feedback.
SimpliSafe launched in 2009 with initial funding from angel investors.
In 2010, revenue for the company was $1.4 million.
In 2013 revenue was $38.5 million.
In May 2014,
Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is an American venture capital firm. The firm is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, and specializes in seed stage, early stage, and growth stage investments in private companies across technology sectors. , Sequoia's total a ...
invested $57 million in SimpliSafe through a Series A round of funding.
The same year, the company was reported to have more than 100,000 customers and was listed as the second-fastest growing company in the Boston area on the
Inc. 5000 list.
In 2015, SimpliSafe grew from 100 employees to about 250 employees, and was reported to have 300,000 customers.
In February 2016, independent security firm
IOActive
IOActive is an independent research fueled security services firm active in several areas. They are known for reporting high severity security vulnerabilities in a variety of products. IOActive has offices in Seattle, London, Dubai and Madrid. IO ...
identified a potential RF system vulnerability that could be used to target Simplisafe and other RF-based monitoring systems, allowing them to be disabled. The company acknowledged the vulnerability, stating it was not unique to SimpliSafe alarms and is inherent of other systems using similar technology.
In June 2017, SimpliSafe launched its SimpliCam security camera. In December, the Boston-based alternative newspaper
DigBoston
''DigBoston''—formerly known as the ''Weekly Dig'' and known colloquially as ''The Dig''—is a free alternative newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts. It covers news in the Greater Boston area and offers commentary on music, arts, politics, busin ...
reported that SimpliSafe employees faced politically charged harassment in one of SimpliSafe's warehouses and its Boston call center.
The article described complaints of racist and hostile behavior from managers towards workers, and attributed it to the company's conservative culture. The harassment included managers and other employees sharing images of the conservative symbol
Pepe the Frog
Pepe the Frog () is an Internet meme consisting of a green anthropomorphic frog with a humanoid body. Pepe originated in a 2005 comic by Matt Furie called ''Boy's Club''. It became an Internet meme when its popularity steadily grew across Myspa ...
and other references to the
Alt-right
The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...
, including those that showed support for President Trump. According to the article, workers who complained about these "openly racist and extremely hostile" managers, were targeted with further harassment, while one of the managers was promoted.
In January 2018 at the
Consumer Electronics Show
CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
(CES), the company introduced the third generation version of its product line, allowing over the air updates of the technology to address the RF vulnerability.
The system was designed in conjunction with design firm
IDEO
IDEO () is a design and consulting firm with offices in the U.S., England, Germany, Japan, and China. It was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1991. The company's 700 staff uses a design thinking approach to design products, services, environ ...
.
In February 2018, in the wake of the
Stoneman Douglas High School shooting
On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at t ...
, SimpliSafe came under pressure from gun control activists for offering a monitoring discount to
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...
members. On February 23, 2018, SimpliSafe announced it was discontinuing its relationship with the NRA. On June 29, SimpliSafe announced that private equity firm
Hellman & Friedman
Hellman & Friedman LLC (H&F) is an American private equity firm, founded in 1984 by Warren Hellman and Tully Friedman, that makes investments primarily through leveraged buyouts as well as growth capital investments. H&F has focused its efforts o ...
had taken a controlling interest in the company, in a deal that valued the company at $1B. In October, the company launched its Video Doorbell Pro.
On August 21, 2019, SimpliSafe announced the launch of its Smart Lock.
In December, the company announced Christian Cerda as its new CEO.
By February 2020, Simplisafe had 800 employees, and announced a second call center was opening in the
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
area, adding an additional 500 jobs.
Products and services
System overview
SimpliSafe systems include a base unit and a keypad, and a variety of peripheral wireless accessories and sensors including video doorbells, smart locks, door sensors, motion detectors, smoke detectors, glassbreak sensors and temperature monitors.
Systems are designed to be self-installed.
Previous systems worked on a cellular connection, while the third generation system runs off of both cellular and Wi-Fi.
The wireless system runs on lithium batteries, and can't be disabled by cutting the user's power.
As a standalone product, SimpliSafe systems function as a noise-only alarm system, emitting a 85-decibel siren.
Monitoring services are provided for a monthly fee.
*SimpliCam cameras - SimpliSafe systems support up to four cameras, or the cameras can function as standalone devices.
*Video Doorbell Pro - SimpliSafe's Video Doorbell Pro includes an HD camera, a heat sensor, and built-in microphones. The Video Doorbell Pro additionally supports two-way audio with the SimpliSafe App on iOS and Android.
*Smart Lock - Simplisafe offers a Smart Lock that can be user installed, and controlled using a smartphone with the SimpliSafe app. A black PIN pad is included for unlocking the door from outside. The Smart Lock communicates with the system and PIN pad via an RF radio.
Integrations
In 2016, SimpliSafe integrated with the
Nest
A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materia ...
Learning Thermostat.
On April 10, 2018, SimpliSafe also integrated with August Smart Lock, allowing SimpliSafe users to lock and unlock their door automatically upon arming and disarming their system, respectively.
SimpliSafe also integrated with Amazon Alexa in 2018. Alexa users are able to check their system status with voice commands, as well as arm — but not disarm — their system.
On Sep 19, 2018, SimpliSafe integrated with Google Assistant. As with Alexa, SimpliSafe users can check their system status or arm their system with voice commands.
Recognition
In 2020, American media website
CNET
''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...
named SimpliSafe the best do-it-yourself alarm system. CNET named SimpliSafe best system again in 2021.
References
{{Reflist, 30em
External links
Official website
2018 mergers and acquisitions
Companies based in Boston
Security companies of the United States
Technology companies established in 2006