Anti-theft startup Solid GPS sees huge spike in customers
Huge spike for hi-tech solution as “Grey Nomads” hit the holiday road after COVID
Solid GPS is helping Australians protect their caravans and motorhomes with unique GPS trackers that are growing increasingly popular
Trent Torkar (25 years old) and Nathan Torkar (22 years old), co-founders of Solid GPS
Melbourne-based security-tech start-up Solid GPS is seeing a spike in sales post-COVID restrictions as Aussies start to holiday domestically.
The company, which provides state of the art portable GPS trackers, has hit 5,000 customers as an army of ‘Grey Nomads’ increasingly holiday at home after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
Although motor vehicle thefts have reduced 7.5% in the last year (according to CarSafe) potentially due to lockdowns and restrictions, the ability to holiday domestically has the potential to put caravans and other motorhomes at risk.
Just last year, the caravan and camping industry saw a massive spike in sales with suppliers struggling to keep up with demand.
“The fact that Australians can now travel is just going to increase the number of thefts,” says Solid GPS co-founder Nathan Torkar.
“We’re not thinking just about motorbikes or cars anymore. Holidaying Australians who use caravans or motorhomes have all their personal belongings, cash and cards stored inside. This is very enticing for thieves.
“We’re urging Australians to think hard and really consider extra security in place for their motorhomes before they head off on an adventure. Our GPS tracker can provide that peace of mind.”
Recently hitting 5,000 customers is a huge feat for this Melbourne startup, which is currently still bootstrapped. The company was established in 2020 and initially saw a large spike in sales for the use of the tracker on motorcycles, and is now rapidly expanding in popularity with owners of all types of vehicles.
“We’re elated with the fact we’ve hit this milestone. It’s so important to us that Australians take their vehicle security seriously, and the support we’ve seen is showing us just that,” said Torkar.
Priced affordably, Solid GPS trackers are an upfront cost of $147 for the tracker and a monthly fee of $7 for the ongoing track and management through the app (on Android and iPhone).
Moving forward, Solid GPS aims to become Australia’s go-to provider for smart GPS tracking for individuals and businesses, and eventually scale its operations to deter thieves internationally.