All Forum Posts by: Fawzi Mudawwar

Thanks everyone for your responses, they're really helpful.

@Kevin Bledsoe, you're right, the idea is to reduce the management headache and cost. I don't have a lower cost option yet, but I'm exploring this space. I've developed similar products in the past and at the moment I'm trying to see if such a solution would solve an actual pain point. I'd consider selling the hardware at a loss (or even give it out for free), because the revenue model would be based on a per-door low subscription fee.

@John Culotta, I agree, battery life is definitely one of the main hurdles with this solution. I would much rather have the lock hardwired the unit's electricity, but my understanding is that the majority of storage units don't have electricity to begin with. Anyway, I do think that there might be a creative way to overcome this.

@Marc Rice, yeah I realized that it's a bad idea to have the locks themselves connected to the internet. Instead I'm thinking of having the locks offline but with a known digital key/signature which the tenant will have access to through their device. Unlocking the lock could be done through Bluetooth or perhaps NFC (similar to Apple Pay). I'm still cooking this part of the idea, but I don't think it'll be a huge challenge.

Picture a storage facility in which renters can lock and unlock their units using an app. The renter can still unlock the unit using a key, but the app would provide the user with the following advantages:

1.  Ability to unlock the unit remotely
2.  Ability to delegate access to a family member or a friend
3.  Historical record of every time the unit was opened

I have the following questions for owners of storage facilities:

1.  Do you think that the above points would add value to your facility? Would you consider this product?
2.  Would you pay around $10 - $30 per electronic lock + installation? If so, what's a reasonable price point for you?
3.  Would you pay around $1.5 - $3 subscription fee per month per lock? If so, what's a reasonable price point for you?
4.  Do you currently have electricity and internet access at your facility?

All answers are very much appreciated. Also, if anyone's interested in further discussing this concept with me, please reach out. My background is in electronics and software, so I plan on making this happen if there's a decent market for it.