Finding a profit in digital home security systems
Print Edition
When Zhu Pengcheng decided to quit his job as vice president of an up-and-coming mobile communications company to start his own business, he knew he was facing an uphill road.
Five years on, he’s king of the mountain.
His Shanghai EQUES Technology Co has won numerous patents and awards for its products. Among them is its popular digital door viewer.
“When I was working for the mobile communications company, I loved getting off work and going back to my safe, happy home,” said Zhu. “But I kept hearing news about burglaries, and suddenly I realized that homes are not so safe and secure. So I got to thinking: what could I do about that?”
According to Zhu, the digital door viewer takes footage of people lingering around doorways and can remotely send out a warning to a homeowner who isn’t in. It can also call police automatically.
“The system is far more reliable than the traditional ‘cat eye’ on the door,” said Zhu. “It is a comprehensive security system that represents the future of the market.”
When Zhu started his company, he had only five members on his team and they worked out of a residential apartment. Zhu declined investment offers from friends, preferring to make his way on his own.
A graduate of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Zhu had a solid technical background to help him. The other members of his team were also former colleagues from the communications industry. They bought popular digital door viewers in the market to study their advantages and disadvantages and see how they could improve existing products.
“We found that the existing products either had very bad cost performance or were not intelligent enough,” Zhu said. “Some had very complicated installment procedures that required users to cut holes into walls.”
With its goals clearly established, the team started research and development, working day and night. It took them two months to complete the first model of the EQUES digital door viewer. In the next 10 months, three models were released to the public. They became immediate hits and quickly dominated the market.
The company solicited customer feedback and listened to what consumers said. Improvements were made and functions added. The doorbell button was enlarged and moved to a more convenient place, a touch screen was added to give convenience to children and seniors, and an infrared night vision function was installed.
“We pursue perfection because we’re not perfect yet,” said Zhu.
The company’s latest model keeps all the functions of the past but adds a new remote video talk function based on Wi-Fi, so that the home system can be accessed wherever the homeowner is
Meanwhile, the company joined online crowd funding to promote its latest door viewer, the Ding Dong Mini.
“Customers like the extra advantages our products offer, and they also find our prices very reasonable,” said Zhu.
During a month’s crowdfunding efforts on taobao.com, the country’s leading e-commerce platform, the product made of 6.6 million yuan (US$1.06 million).
Zhu now employs nearly 100 people, and the company has moved into an industrial site in Minhang. It has secured more than 50 patents and investment of more than 10 million yuan. Its products have received numerous awards for entrepreneurship and invention.
Zhu himself was named a recipient of one of Minhang’s “Leading Talents” awards, giving him access to government aid for the company.
But Zhu keeps his eyes on the next hill. He said “the success of the company is based on the right judgment about technology development and market demand. It has to change as the market changes,” he said, “or it will sink.
“The next step for us to enter the international market,” said Zhu. “I hope someday we will be No. 1 in the world.”
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