Chief Executive Officer & Director, Alarm Holdings
Search every verified Stephen Trundle interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a 2012 interview with the Washington Business Journal, Stephen Trundle, CEO of Alarm.com, discussed the company's origins and his receipt of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in the Real Estate and Residential category. Trundle said he founded the company after being disappointed with a security system installed in his home by a large national company, leading him to work with talented individuals on a wireless prototype that took four years to develop. He noted that his height of 6'6" allowed him to cut the phone line to his home, which inspired the company's focus on wireless technology to prevent intruders from disabling systems. Trundle also stated that while the company did not anticipate the mobile revolution, it was quick to build applications for the iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android after the iPhone's release. Trundle outlined several new business areas for Alarm.com, including a health-focused initiative to help older adults live independently at low cost, an energy business that generates power and sells it back to utilities, and a commercial access control service for quick-service restaurants and late-night deliveries. He described these as applications of the company's core software platform that "transcend security" but benefit from property awareness. When asked for advice for entrepreneurs, Trundle recommended hiring first employees who are smarter than oneself, stating that doing so can take a company far.
“I had a security system installed in my home by one of the large National companies and after about 3 months was so disappointed with the overall experience that I managed to find a couple of really talented people to work on some new ideas and we began prototyping. It took us about four years to develop a working prod...”
“On wireless we saw that very early. I happen to be 6'6 so on my home that I had installed with that old system I was able to reach up high and cut the phone line going into my home which is a way that an intruder would typically defeat a security system. So it occurred to me that we needed to make sure all of our techn...”
“The iPhone came out and we were the first to recognize the importance of the device for controlling your home so we're very quick on iPhone and on BlackBerry and on Android to build applications but it's not something we were smart enough to anticipate in 2004 2005.”
“We've got a number of things that we're building off of the core platform. We're building a business in health right now that's focused on allowing older people to live independently at sort of a low cost to those who are looking after them.”
Jennifer Nycz-Conner from the Washington Business Journal interviewed Steve Trundle after he won the Real Estate and ...
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