Emergency calls at the touch of a button: SwiftAlarm! aims to make the world a little safer with its app and associated hardware. Find out more in our 7 questions.
1. Who are you and what do you do? Please briefly introduce yourself and your product!
We are SwiftAlarm!, and we are fully committed to security. That's why we've developed an emergency call system that can be used worldwide and for a wide variety of security needs.
With just one click, the free SwiftAlarm! Gold app is installed on your smartphone. If you find yourself in an emergency situation and activate the alarm, your stored contacts will be quickly and reliably notified via SMS of the potential victim's exact location. The system can be expanded with a remote control and a siren for emergency defense against the attacker.
Dr. Rudolf King, 49, is both the founder and inventor of SwiftAlarm!He was originally looking for an alternative to the traditional location-based home emergency call system. The result was a system that could give women all over the world a sense of security. Every woman has the right to lead a self-determined life. This applies both to Europe and to countries like Mexico and South Africa, where violence and assault against women are commonplace.
Emergency call via SMS and Wi-Fi
2. But that's been around for a long time!
No, definitely not. All currently available weapons (pepper spray, firearms, etc.) are difficult to reach in the event of an attack or can be turned against the victim themselves. This is different with SwiftAlarm! Many components of our emergency call system are patented, the technology is sophisticated, and has been tested: not in the lab, but on the street, for example, in South Africa. The good news: We still have our wallets and watches.
To briefly summarize a few technical details: Our system works via SMS, even in poor phone network conditions. We even offer a solution for situations where there is no mobile reception at all but a Wi-Fi connection (e.g., on farms or in very tall buildings), the so-called "SwiftAlarm! Dual Security Message."
Another unique feature of SwiftAlarm!: Registered emergency contacts are alerted via SMS; recipients don't need to have the app installed. 2.9 billion people can currently respond effectively to an alert from us, which equates to two out of every five people in the world. This is unique, and we are continuously working to increase this number.
3. What are the three main ingredients for your recipe for success?
We are exceptionally persistent and persevering. Our technical components are thought through down to the last detail, typically German. When developing his emergency call systems, Dr. King had exactly five people in mind: his immediate family. All components are designed so that he can be confident he's done the best possible thing for his loved ones, ensuring their safety. And we assume that more people are concerned about their families, so we have a market.
The first 14,000 products go to Mexico
4. Let’s get down to business: How is business going?
First of all: SwiftAlarm!'s financing was secured before the first line of source code and the first patent were written. Dr. King wanted to be independent of VC/PE markets. We also operate a little differently in sales: We tested the markets with an initial version of the product, a hardware consisting of third-party components. The response in Mexico, Guatemala, Argentina, and South Africa was phenomenal, as was the number of units sold there. To make the product affordable for these relatively poor countries while also being profitable for us, we are working on our own hardware, which we will present at CES 2019. The first shipment of 14,000 units will go entirely to Mexico.
5. What does Munich mean to you?
For our founder, Dr. Rudolf King, it is above all the city where he successfully built and managed his previous companies. Therefore, it was only logical to establish SwiftAlarm! here as well. We value our local network and have a centrally located office. Munich also enjoys a high international reputation as a development location, which is beneficial to us as a company. Every advertisement abroad has "Made in Germany" or "sponsored by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs" somewhere on it, which is quite impressive.
Social aspect is in the foreground
6. How will your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we see you soon at Epic Fail Night?
Our founder doesn't have a company to have investors; he invests and has investors to build a company. It sounds complicated, but it's a very simple approach: We're not looking for investors who are dependent on the company's economic success, but rather those who want to be part of a major social revolution. It's not about 5 percent of a unicorn, but at least 70 percent of a boring cow, the "cash cow" in Dr. King's barn.
We also have the courage to take risks, are willing to take risks, and are passionate about our product. The best example of this is our German Managing Director, Ali Khan. The rock musician has found his own personal connection to the product and launched the "RockAgainstRape" initiative (www.rockagainstrape.rocks) to speak out loudly against rape and for women's rights. Simply because the issue is important to him—as it is to all of us. There's no better motivation.
7. Bavaria or '60?
FC Bayern basketball team and the Munich Cowboys.
