Sun Tzu Series #5 of 10. “The supreme art of war….” GraffitiTech, Inc. Leads to Tagger Arrests-Caught in the Act.

Michael Neeley CEO/President/Founder GraffitiTech, Inc.

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” Sun Tzu, the brilliant military strategist, wrote this 2400 years ago in “The Art of War.”  Michael Neeley, CEO and Founder of GraffitiTech, Inc. used this tactic to subdue the taggers in the Graffiti Wars in Watsonville, CA while starting a new company in the Graffiti Detection Space.

On May 21, 2012 I saw Michael Neeley give his startup pitch at JumpStartDays (a joint venture between the Keiretsu Forum, the largest angel network in the world, and Max Shapiro of PeopleConnect).

Graffiti: Low Tech Augmented Reality or Crime? This is a hard blog post for me to write because I see graffiti as art, at worse a low tech augmented reality and at best a warning that I am driving in a dangerous neighborhood. However the municipalities and shop owners who unwilling are providing the canvas for this art see graffiti as an expensive public nuisance and a stigma on their business. Yes, it is a crime.

Costs of Graffiti? It is a 12 billion dollar a year problem cleaning the graffiti vandalism. Just like everything else a few taggers are doing most of the “art”. In Watsonville CA once 30 or so taggers were arrested, the graffiti abatement budget decreased by about 50%.

Market Differentiator? Traditional Graffiti abatement solutions, namely painting over the graffiti again and again, since the taggers see the newly painted wall as just a new canvas, are after-the-fact do very little to reduce the cost to community budgets. The GT-1 Anti-Graffiti System can help you mitigate damages or catch vandals in the act and after wide-spread adoption will act as a deterent.

Market Size? 100M

How Does it Work?  The device is patented and has already won two (2) security awards (Best in Monitoring at ISC West, in the USA and Intruder Alarm/Exterior Deterrent Product of the Year at IFSEC in the UK). The GraffitiTech GT1 sensor detects graffiti while it’s happening by detecting the aerosol signature within a 50’ range.  When a GTI sensor is combined with an existing alarm system, the device notifies the authorities the instant an act of graffiti vandalism occurs. The perpetrators are apprehended spray can in hand while they are still at the scene. In an effort to  minimize damages, one or more of GT-2 sensors can be connected to both audible and visual alarms (sirens and strobe lights) to immediately frighten the culprit.

Launch Date? The beta launch was last year, 2011. Established in 2011, GraffitiTech, Inc. was founded on the belief that “there are better uses for community funds (government, business, or personal) than painting the same wall over and over again.” A proven and patented innovative technology in combination with GraffitiTech consulting have helped communities to reduce their annual graffiti repair budgets by up to 50%. Impressive!

Revenue Model?  Recurring revenue.

Michael Neeley's Message to Taggers: "Don't Even Think About It"

Takeaway: If you don’t like really low tech augmented reality on your store or on the walls in your municipality, call GraffitiTech.

Preview:  Sun Tzu Series #6 of 20: Glooey, augmented reality.

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