U Posted by Laura Moller
\ January 17, 2014

Today’s connected home space is chock-full of products designed to make your home smarter and more connected — but what does that really mean? In today’s post, we share insight from two connected-home companies on Fundable–Sentri and Novi–and discuss how they’re re-defining their space and what the connected home means to them.

1) You have both created products that enable people to track and monitor their home security via smartphone. How exactly are you making homes safer? What’s different than existing solutions?

Sentri: At Sentri, we believe that home security no longer just means physical security, but encompasses a complete peace of mind centered around both physical security and environmental well-being. With Sentri, we deliver both with DIY home monitoring and connectivity in a customizable screen designed to fit any lifestyle. More than just giving you live-video streaming features to protect your home from unexpected intrusion, Sentri will automatically start tracking your home’s temperature, humidity, and air quality as well, alerting you of potential environmental damages (e.g., fire, water damage, or mold).

Today, less than 20% of Americans have professional security, but more than 60% cited home security as one of the key benefits a smart home could provide (Lowe’s study, August 2014). And with solutions like Sentri, consumers no longer have to worry about the installation costs and contracts that often go hand-in-hand with home security systems, and have the freedom to define the home monitoring experience best suited for them.

Novi: Here are a few startling statistics: Individuals without security are 300% more likely to be broken into. 83% of homes in the U.S. do not have security systems. [1] And of those individuals who do have home security, two-thirds leave them unarmed. [2]

While traditional security provides an adequate solution for many Americans, it has some fundamental problems. First it completely un-serves the renter segment. 104 million Americans who rent don’t have access to traditional security because (1) the price point is too high and (2) landlords will not let them hardwire a security system into the property. [3]

Additionally, the homeowner segment–equating to 208 million Americans–is largely disenchanted with traditional security because of (1) binding contracts, (2) expensive monthly fees, and (3) embarrassing false alarms. [4] In fact, the third is a bigger problem than one would think. In 2002, U.S. police responded to 36 million security alarms costing an estimated $1.8 billion. And of those responses, 94 – 98% of those tripped alarms were false alarms. [5]

Novi is seeking to fix these problems by providing the world’s simplest and most portable DIY security system that is a perfect solution for both renters, homeowners, and business owners.

At Novi, we believe that everyone deserves peace of mind. Our security system offers renters, homeowners, and business owners an all-in-one security system that is (1) simple, (2) portable, and (3) discreet for a fraction of the cost. Novi sends picture notifications straight to your phone as well as triggers a siren when motion or smoke is detected in your home or business. Say goodbye to contracts, monthly fees, hardwires, and embarrassing false alarms, and say hello to Novi. That’s peace of mind in the palm of your hands.

2) Why are you excited about the connected home space?

Sentri: We’re incredibly excited about the connected home space not only because of how it’s making things like home security more accessible to consumers, but also the power it has to re-define what peace of mind means. Home fires and water damage (including mold) are the leading two costs of all claims filed today and with the advent of products like

Novi: We are excited about the connected home space because it is making technology that provides increased peace of mind more widely accessible to the masses. People are being empowered to have control over their homes even when they’re away. This increased control provides freedom for individuals to live their lives knowing that their loved ones and possessions are safe even when they cannot be there.

3) Define what ‘peace of mind’ means to you

Sentri: We believe that everyone has a right to a peace of mind to watch over what matters most in their lives. It can mean knowing that your kids got home safely from school, that your home’s environmental signals are in harmony, or checking in on your pet when you’re away — whatever your definition, we believe that peace of mind is about empowering consumers to watch over what matters most in their lives (and being able to do it in style!).

Novi: People inherently want to protect their loved ones and possessions. Peace of mind comes when individuals know that the things that matter most to them are safe. Novi is in the business of providing peace of mind to the masses through simple security.

4) Where do you want to take your businesses after Fundable?

Sentri: We’re a company on a mission to deliver a greater peace of mind to everyone whether it’s physical security or environmental well-being. And because we know that definition can vary depending on the person, we’ve created a solution that’s about delivering immediate value while personalizing the alerts you receive over time, empowering you to know and do more with your homes. Sentri as a physical device is just the beginning, and we look forward to working together with our amazing community of consumers and developers to add related services that continue to drive simple and personalized peace of mind in the home.

Novi: All of the founding and current executive team donated two years of our lives in different parts of the world teaching and providing humanitarian relief. From Texas to Mexico to Finland to Africa, we spent most of our time in peoples’ homes where we witnessed firsthand the depravity of poverty.

At Novi, we are passionate about providing simple security to the masses because of our belief that everyone deserves peace of mind. We want everyone–both domestically and internationally–to be able to afford security regardless of location or income.

While our current focus is completing this first product–scheduled to be released March of 2015–our long-term vision expands to an entire product line that is focused on providing increased peace of mind through simple security.

Sentri and Novi are both featured companies on Fundable

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