About Stephen Trundle
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.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Stephen Trundle's recent appearances.
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Transcript (11 segments)
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Jennifer N. Conner0:04
Hi, I'm Jennifer N. Conner with the Washington Business Journal here at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, and I have the pleasure of speaking with Steve Trundle, who is one of tonight's winners and CEO of Alarm.com. Congratulations on your win tonight.
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Stephen Trundle0:15
Thanks very much, Jennifer.
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Jennifer N. Conner0:17
When you guys founded the company, or when you got involved with the company, it came out of a necessity that you saw. Tell me about that.
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Stephen Trundle0:22
I had a security system installed in my home by one of the large national companies, and after about three months, I was so disappointed with the overall experience that I managed to find a couple of really talented people to work on some new ideas. We began prototyping. It took us about four years to develop a working product, and then we took it to market. So it came out of basically being disappointed with the status quo.
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Jennifer N. Conner0:52
Innovation comes from needs. That's a good thing. You also have good timing in the sense that mobile and wireless is important. Tell me about the role that plays in your business.
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Stephen Trundle1:00
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 technology was completely wireless so there were no lines to cut by the bad guys. I can't say that we anticipated what was going to happen in mobile. We just got lucky, frankly. The iPhone came out, and we were the first to recognize the importance of the device for controlling your home. So we were very quick on iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android to build applications. But it's not something we were smart enough to anticipate in 2004, 2005.
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Jennifer N. Conner1:46
Come on, this is the award where you take credit for all that. It's not luck. What's next for Alarm.com? You have a lot of innovations coming ahead, most likely. Tell me about those.
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Stephen Trundle1:54
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 a low cost to those who are looking after them. We've got a business that's focused on energy, so we're beginning to actually generate energy which we then sell back to utilities in certain demand response markets. So it's another way of monetizing the control and the awareness of the home that we have. We've got a business focused on commercial access control needs for quick-serve restaurants and anyone that's trying to let someone into a facility late at night to deliver something. So we're taking the core software platform that's now deployed over a number of places and building a number of different applications off of that that transcend security but benefit fundamentally from awareness. If you're aware of what's happening at a property all the time, there are a ton of things you can do to provide value to the business owner or to the consumer.
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Jennifer N. Conner2:55
You've been an entrepreneur now for a little while. If someone were to ask you what the biggest piece of advice you'd want to pass along to an entrepreneur on the up-and-coming side of things, what would that be?
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Stephen Trundle3:03
Make sure that your first two or three employees are smarter than you are. That's it. Find the right first two or three, and they'll take you along the way. If you don't have that, then you've got to be brilliant yourself.
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Jennifer N. Conner3:21
Congratulations, Steve. For the Washington Business Journal, I'm Jennifer N. Conner.
