A Chat with Jonathan Wall, GM at Home Security Company: SimpliSafe

SimpliSafe is a home security brand that designs, engineers and sells smart home security systems, cameras and professional monitoring services. Founded back in 2006, our company was created by Chad and Eleanor Laurans, two Harvard Business School graduates .

The pair came up with the business idea after several friends had experienced break-ins and discovered it was extremely difficult to find an affordable home security system designed for renters. As an electrical engineer, Chad knew that with some thoughtful technology and product design, they could build a home security system that puts the customer first.
 
 

 

What do you think makes this company unique?

 
We were one of the first companies to introduce a DIY home security product, many years before the smart home sector evolved to where it is today. One of our key principles as a brand is that being safe should be simple, we pride ourselves in providing customers with an excellent service that is simple and effective – our mission is to make every home secure.

Another factor that makes us unique is our flexibility, we don’t lock our customers into long-term contracts with our professional monitoring plans and they are at an affordable price . The Pro Premium professional monitoring plan we offer is one of the only DIY home security brands on the market that can provide police response upon a visually verified incident. And not only that, we recently added guard response from our professional monitoring centre to our Pro Premium plan at no extra charge.

Finally, we are really proud of our customer service department and excellent rating on Trustpilot. We have a team of experts based in our Manchester office who are on hand to help our customers – no bots or email only customer service – and we find that person-to-person communication to be really important.
 

How has the company evolved over the last couple of years?

 
In the last couple of years, we have experienced vast growth and have focused on continuing to expand our services across the UK . Since 2006, we have expanded our product range to include an array of products, from our core items – Base Station, Keypad and an Indoor Camera – to our latest product, the Outdoor Camera.

In 2019, we launched in the UK, opening headquarters in Manchester. The first year was all about building our UK team so we could offer exceptional levels of service ahead of the traditional levels seen in the security business. The team now has over 50 employees, which consists of operations, customer support and sales representatives, fulfilment, marketing and a HR department. We are customer focused and pleased to have a 70+ NPS score, as well as an excellent rating on Trustpilot.

We understand that a home security system is a considered purchase and that a lot of research goes into selecting the right one, so we aim to provide that lifetime value.
 

What can we hope to see from SimpliSafe in the future?

 
At the moment, we are focusing on building operational excellence, perfecting our product offering, and driving brand awareness across the UK . In line with our mission to make every home secure, we are working hard to achieve that goal and have some exciting things in the pipeline in the upcoming months and years to come.

We believe that families deserve to feel safe and secure in their own homes. As the smart home industry evolves, we will be at the forefront of the booming market, empowering our customers with simple and innovative security products that are not only affordable, but reliable.