Notes From Gun Safe Tech 2024 Showcase

We at [REDACTED] are committed to providing the best gun-safe experience in the world. Every day we strive to make the world safe-er. Today we have a lot of exciting new developments to share. Welcome to our annual showcase and let’s get started!

As you might remember, we added analytics to the Flagman Safe Model T gun safe as part of our digital transformation. Each safe sends an analytics event every time a code pad button is pressed.

Honestly, we didn’t expect to get insights so fast. We noticed that our users use the digits 1 and 9 way more often (p<=0.01) than digits 3, 4, 6, and 7, which are barely touched. Naturally, we are rolling out a new keypad with just the numbers 1, 2, 5, 8, and 9 which will replace the default one in all models from now on.

From qualitative interviews, we figured out the clients use safes mostly to keep guns away from kids. Our colleague Alex is already exploring the potential to break into adjacent markets: kids' toys, firearms, and kids’ guns. I am excited to share that business development has already nailed a joint promo with Heckler & Koch and Nestle: buy an MR762A1 (designated marksman version) plus our safe, get a pack of Nesquik for free.

However, our long-term goal is more ambitious: our own closed ecosystem. Where the user gets a unique closed-loop experience of safes, guns, and children's products. Right this moment our engineering team is prototyping a shotgun that would only be compatible with our safes, and we hope to showcase it soon. We aim to empower safety and family happiness through technology.

We've noticed that over time, users start to take the product for granted. However, user interviews revealed: kids' failed attempts to crack open the safes significantly boosted parents' trust in the product. We're suggesting a new safe design in bright colors themed after children’s favorite yellow sponge character. The design has been developed using GenAI, integrating which was a big achievement in Q1. Focus group measurements show this safe attracts kids' attention 32% more often and pushes parents to upgrade to our premium safes.

Speaking of AI tools. We are excited to roll out a new GenAI feature developed by our AI SAFE-ty lab: real-time LLM-based safe code-pad autocomplete. Preliminary results show a 39% reduction in safe code typing times. This has been achieved through our work on the intersection IoT and AI, as all models are running in the cloud.

We're exploring new monetization models. The most promising so far is the pay-as-you-go plus subscription model. In that paradigm we charge throughout the whole cycle: at purchase, for maintenance, and for each attempt to open the safe.

Talent is everything. Our new product manager Ivan hit the nail on the head when he suggested charging for opening the safe rather than for closing it like we used to. Rolling out these changes last month led to explosive revenue growth compared to the control group, and Ivan earned himself a grade up.

We are planning to roll out a new revolutionary kind of code lock for our safes. However, we are primed to move fast. Following the MVP methodology, we released a batch of safes with locks of the new design that open for any combination, to validate the market potential before committing to development. The results of the A/B test will come in soon, we are tracking the engagement metrics and the conversion into opening the safe, but we will additionally conduct in-person qualitative interviews.

Unfortunately, a few bugs still linger. The number 1 button sticking during rapid entry hasn’t been fixed yet. We're still getting reports from users who had trouble opening their safes during a home invasion. Luckily, no one has yet reported failing to open the safe during an invasion, so this issue is a nice-to-have, not necessary, and we'll get back to it in Q4.

Update on collaboration with GR and PR. The data analysis team found that safe sales correlate positively with free gun circulation in a region. Good news: our GR team managed to get a new bill on concealed carry legalization considered in two new jurisdictions. Meanwhile, PR folks’ campaign “Protect yourself!” for informing the public of slow police response times has been gaining popularity on social media. We expect to see a lot of virtuous cycle effects here.

Last but not least, the product team boosted our growth by over 2x last month. We noticed that a lot of families share one gun safe. Sharing has been a problem since day one and finally, we have found a solution by installing face-based biometric locks on each safe. Thanks to the ingenious tech team we were able to roll out the change to previous models as well by reusing the cameras we previously installed for historical data collection. At last, only one safe can be used per user and only while their subscription is active and credit is positive.

Unexpectedly, in the latest collaboration with law enforcement, we were able to identify a runaway felon thanks to one of the cameras. We are now exploring new avenues for the use of this technology.

That’s all, folks. I am glad to share these details of our journey, but there is more to come. Stay with us: next time we will show you something even more exciting.