Source : Some excerpts taken from print edition of The Daily Star Lebanon , 9th August 2016 , page 4 . |
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SMARKE IS A HARDWARE AND software concept that allows users to close and open their door locks using an app on their smartphones instead of physical keys .
Smarke is ideal for the burgeoning holiday rental and Airbnb market , as well as for homeowners wanting to secure their home with the latest technology .
Founders Charly Bousaid and Hady Abdelnour came up with the idea of a Bluetooth and WiFi enabled lock that could be accessed from your phone . It means homeowners have less things to carry with them every day and property owners can also remotely hand out access to their guests , forwarding them the keycode access to an app on their smartphones .
Smarke is easily installed on euro profile cylinder locks , replacing the old lock ’ s interior with a new smart-cylinder that will pair wirelessly to a smartphone app .
The owner is notified when the door is opened , can send the key to other users , and revoke key access at any time . It only takes a minute to install and is as secure as the old lock , if not more so , say the Smarke founders , as it can only be opened wirelessly by the correct keycode from the approved app , rather than duplicated physical keys .
The Smarke app uses Bluetooth to unlock and lock the door , so there ’ s no need to rely on potentially hackable Wi-Fi or a vulnerable internet connection .
Smarke has been picked by the UK- Lebanon Tech Hub – a joint initiative by Banque du Liban ( Lebanon ’ s Central Bank ) and a £ 2.2m investment from the UK Government – as one of the next generation of tech stars with the potential to become world-leading companies .
Smarke was part of the cohort that came to the UK in September 2016 to gain access to British and European markets . The company signed a number of contracts with property management clients during the three-month programme in London .
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Charly Bousaid , co-founder and director of operations , said : “ The idea behind Smarke is simple : when it comes to rentals , specifically short rentals on platforms such as Airbnb and HomeAway , accessing a property should be as smooth and painless as the booking process .”
In today ’ s society , most people keep better track of their cellphones than their house keys . Charly continues , “ Basically , my best friend and [ business ] partner , he kept losing his keys ... And suddenly he told me , I keep losing my keys let ’ s do something about it .”
The pair began developing a product and company in August of last year . “ We ’ re using military-used algorithms . So , we ’ re not creating libraries here , we ’ re using them . And banks are using the same algorithms ; we ’ re not really changing anything ,” explains Charly .
“[ Smarke ] has the potential to grow fast and large , so they need the infrastructure to be able to grow with them ,” said Caroline Issac Hamden , lead mentor for the U . K . Lebanon Tech Hub accelerator .
With the tech hub , startups can use free office space with access to the internet , phone services and air conditioning for free without being a part of the accelerator . The co-working space created
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an atmosphere that helped Smarke grow before the mentorship even began .
Caroline ’ s work with Smarke has focused on cultivating the business skills and professionalism to appeal to Western investors and partners . The biggest accomplishment Caroline references , is the ability to create clearly defined roles between the partners , establishing who takes the lead on which responsibilities . The pair complement each other , between Charly ’ s software-engineering skills and Hady ’ s background in the finance industry .
“ When I first met them ... the huge thing that screamed out to me was potential ,” Caroline said . Potential is also what made Smarke stand out at MIT ’ s Grow My Business competition , winning a prize of LL50 million ($ 33,000 ) against 15 other competitors . Judges based their decision on a product ’ s innovation , credibility , scalability , market size and the ability of the team to execute the plan .
Lebanon is a base and a test market for Smarke , which plans to target the large network of Airbnb hosts in Europe . Although there are some competitive products such as Kevo in the U . S ., Smarke is designed specifically for European-style locks .
www . smarke . com
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