By Avi Hartmann
Founder & Member of the Board
In 1996, the national calamity was a common topic of conversation at private gatherings. The damage was enormous and incomparable to any other country in the world. This prompted the creation of an industry focused on providing efficient solutions to this pressing issue - the issue of vehicle theft. Unfortunately, our country had one of the highest rates of stolen vehicles per 100,000 people in the world.
There were several contributing factors to the high rate of vehicle theft in our country:
· Extremely high taxes on vehicles and automotive parts made even average vehicles costly, making them attractive targets for theft.
· A large socio-economic gap between neighboring regions makes vehicle theft a highly profitable and low-risk business.
· A breached border allowed thieves to easily smuggle stolen vehicles out of the country and move it quickly away from the state's jurisdiction.
Two approaches were taken to address the issue of vehicle theft. The first approach involved the installation of alarm systems in vehicles, which saw success and prosperity for the companies and importers involved. The second was a company that offered an RF-based vehicle location system in which a central control room was able to pinpoint the vehicles. This technology faced challenges due to the costly infrastructure required for its implementation, specifically the need to establish a network of antennas throughout the country. Moreover, there wasn’t a suitable business model to justify these costs. As a result, the company went bankrupt and was later purchased by new entrepreneur who recognized its potential and repurposed it as a system for locating stolen vehicles.
1996 was a year marked by significant technological innovations, including the defeat of world chess champion Garry Kasparov by IBM's "Deep Blue" computer, the birth of Dolly the sheep as the first cloned mammal, and the launch and docking of space shuttles to the Mir space station.
During a casual gathering at a friend's house, we discussed the recent approval of GPS technology for civilian use and the growing market penetration of GSM technology. It dawned on us that these technologies provided us with the necessary tools to create a simple, winning and effective solution to the problem of vehicle theft, obviating the need for a network of antennas!
This experience inspired us to create a combined GPS and GSM unit, making us pioneers in the field. We were filled with excitement when we saw a car moving on a computer map for the first time. We quickly completed the rest of the system and recruited the former Police Commissioner to be the face of our company. With great optimism, we entered the market, confident in our belief that it would receive us positively.
Was the market really waiting for us? Did everything transpire as we dreamed? Stay tuned for our next chapter to find out.
That was a great idea, Avi.