success
T
he year 2015 seems
to be a year for
hardware.
The
i n t e r e s t
entrepreneurs have
about hardware is growing
compared to a couple years ago
when it didn’t seem like a big
thing. It appears to be reaching a
point where anyone who has an
idea is able to design it and then
make it come to life without
having to worry about setting up
entire
manufacturing
units.
“There is always a large group of
entrepreneurs who are trying to
build startups and create hardware
or software that costs very little to
get off the ground,” says Jason
Johnson, CEO and Co-founder of
August Smart Lock, a very tech
savvy hardware startup.
There have been countless other
startups focused at home
automation and electronic home
access, but Johnson knew he had
to do something to make the
August Smart Lock stand out.
“When it comes to home
automation technology, there
have been a lot of failed promises
in terms of creating something
that is supposed to make your life
easier. Instead, they end up
frustrating the user even more,”
explains Johnson. The focus with
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August Smart Lock was to simplify
an idea for customers and in the
process, truly make their lives
easier.
“Every idea
has to start
from
somewhere.”
The concept of the Smart Lock
emerged after Johnson had a
conversation with his Co-founder
about keys. “Almost every
modern car comes with keyless
entry as a standard feature. We
thought, why not apply that same
concept
to
your
home?”
According to Johnson, taking a
simple or traditional object like a
door lock and then adding
connectivity
or
intelligent
technology moves it into the
newest revolution taking place
called the Internet of Things.
Countless hours have been spent
by Johnson and his team to
ensure that their August Smart
Lock could be adopted by the
mass market. “We spent a lot of
time figuring out the easiest way
Summer Issue
to use a smart door lock and came
up with an idea that wouldn’t
simply replace the entire door
lock, but instead attach to it on the
inside.” We can issue a key to a
user and they can open the door
to their house using their
smartphone. For people who
don’t use a smartphone, a
traditional key will still work
because the traditional locking
mechanism remains the same.
“We simply added a more digital
functionality on top of an existing
technology,” says Johnson.
The word August is an adjective
which means beauty and
elegance. Clearly a description
the Smart Lock deems worthy of
claiming in terms of utility and
innovation.
According
to
Johnson, “It’s a clean design to
inspire a user-friendly experience.
Technology should be able to
blend in with the environment
and feel natural.”
An aesthetics genius and true
hardware visionary, Johnson is
focused on delivering the best
home access control systems via
August Smart Lock technology.