The Quick Hits – What Wasabi Ventures did for TekTrak
- Provided startup advice prior to funding
- Added value to the company through strategic guidance, sales and marketing resources, and media exposure
- Continued investment in TekTrak as well as resources and support for the future
“It is clear to see that there is a value added other than the monetary investment from Wasabi Ventures.”
- Arik Waldman, Co-Founder and CEO of TekTrak
From A Vegas Vacation to an L.A. Startup
The idea for TekTrak is one that has undoubtedly crossed every single person’s mind at least once in his/her lifetime. Specifically, CEO and co-founder Arik Waldman was fed up when he had lost a digital camera toward the end of a trip to Las Vegas. He not only had lost the expensive device, but more importantly he had lost the memories captured in the photographs that could not be returned.
Arik, along with his fellow MBA students Luka Sklizovic and Dan Russ at UCLA Anderson School of Management, developed their master’s thesis on TekTrak during the summer of 2009. TekTrak became a winner of the UCLA Anderson MBA Wolfen Entrepreneurial Award in 2009. With initial capital from close friends and family and the functionality of their thesis, TekTrak was soon prototyped as a unique application that allows smartphone owners to see the precise location of their phone at all times, and also secure any sensitive or private information stored on the device.
Providing Resources Well Beyond Funding
TekTrak became a full time job for Arik and Luka soon after graduation. The prototype was rapidly evolving into a valuable product for smartphone users, and therefore more resources were needed for TekTrak to take off. Arik had met Wasabi Ventures partner Chris Yeh at the Open Angel Forum in 2010.
“Chris and I stayed in touch, we talked from time to time and I received helpful advice from him,” said Arik.
When the time came for the initial angel investment, Wasabi Ventures hopped on board with TekTrak, providing more than just funding.
“Chris had been extremely helpful in terms of strategic and start-up advice as well as helping us out in an overall perspective. Wasabi has provided extremely helpful marketing and sales resources, especially exposure through media. It is clear to see that there is a value added other than the monetary investment from Wasabi Ventures.”
A Bright, Evolving Future
In only about a year, Wasabi Ventures has helped TekTrak to evolve into a fully functional security application and service available on the iOS operating system. With a recent secondary round of funding, TekTrak has big plans for the future, as Arik puts it,
“To become the bull across all platforms and smartphones, as well as to provide the best service and be the most successful company out there.”
Wasabi Ventures has the ability to recognize and contribute to a strong and motivated team. Arik commented,
“We have a great team; myself and Luka’s skills and ideas compliment each others’ to create a constant culture of passion and persistence. Our success is due to hard work, a little bit of luck, and certainly persistence. We’ve stumbled upon some hard patches along the way. We’re not a big company, but we focus on persistence and hanging in there.”
A WV Company Making a Difference
The key component to Wasabi Ventures’ philosophy is that all of our compensation is always tied to the success of your company. Of course, a company’s success can be viewed from a growth and monetary standpoint; but, WV strives to keep your company on track to deliver real value to the world. A recent example of how TekTrak delivered value to the world through its product/services was taken from an email sent to TekTrak and posted on their blog.
“My daughter was at her school and normally it takes an hour for her school bus to reach home in Tokyo. Due to the terrible traffic conditions resulting from the earthquake her school bus took 7 hours to reach home. She has an iPhone, which I had loaded with TekTrak a long time ago against theft, etc. Little did I know back then that this $4.99 spent was one of the best purchases for us in the App Store…We were very anxious as we could not talk to her, but since the 3G network was up we could see her progress and felt good knowing that she was making slow but sure progress.”
A follow-up comment from Arik concludes,
“It makes me very happy to know that we are doing good in the world as a company, which is just as important as doing well as a company.”
WV understands that as more real value is delivered, the more success your company will have in the future.
