Home security venture raising capital

Entrepreneurs Robin Knox and Paul Walton – who sold Edinburgh-based IntelligentPos (IPos) to iZettle – are pushing the button on a crowdfunding campaign as they prepare to launch their wireless smart security ­system that aims to disrupt the home alarm market.

Walton (left) and Knox sold IPos to Swedish payments firm iZettle in 2016. Picture: Chris Watt.

The duo sold IPos to Swedish payments firm iZettle in 2016, which in turn was bought by PayPal last year for £1.6 billion – and they are now aiming to raise £50,000 via Kickstarter ahead of the public release of their Boundary home security system in March.

Customers can control the Edinburgh firm’s technology using an app on their mobile, with optional back-up ­allowing homeowners to be alerted about intruders even if the criminals cut their phone line and broadband connection.

The system is billed as bringing neighbourhood watches into the 21st century by enabling customers to send mobile phone alerts to friends or family nearby.

Users will be able to control the system through digital assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home, as well as integrating it with the Philips Hue lighting system, so that lights are switched on automatically if an intruder is detected.

The company has developed the system with experts who designed products for the likes of Bosch, Ericsson and Flymo.

Product design consultancy i4 has created consumer products including Flymo’s UltraGlide lawnmower and T-Mobile’s 3G broadband modem, while the founder of product developer Invent, Design, Build has worked with Honeywell and Ericson.

Users can either buy an off-the-shelf version of Boundary and fit it themselves or have it professionally installed, with extra services available for a monthly subscription such as 24-hour monitoring with police response. Alternatives to the app include a traditional alarm code or a key fob.

Boundary chief executive Knox said: “I was inspired to create Boundary while I was on my honeymoon in America. I realised that if someone broke into my house while I was away then I could watch them on my security cameras – which were already connected to the internet – but I wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop them.”

He explained that Boundary gives homeowners power, either through systems they can monitor themselves or via “more comprehensive” services linked to the police.

Knox said the European home security market is forecast to be worth the equivalent of £11bn next year and is growing by 18 per cent annually, with 800,000 to a million systems being sold in the UK alone each year.

Knox added: “This is a ­market that’s ripe for disruption, repeating the success we enjoyed with IPos.”

Walton, Boundary’s chief technology officer, added: “Criminals are becoming more sophisticated and homeowners need to stay a step ahead.

“Being able to control your home security system in the same intuitive way as your central heating or music player will help to give you the edge over intruders.”

Boundary launched its first funding round in March, ­seeking to raise £2.5 million to ­“revolutionise” home ­security.