February 21, 2014
Posted by Daniel Fraser
This is the first post in the Easy Buzzer blog. Easy Buzzer is a new service and website that forwards calls from your apartment's buzzer system to any connected phones. You can instantly update who controls your apartment buzzer on our website anytime and from anywhere. iPhone and Android apps coming soon!
Around 7:15 pm my cell phone rang and my friend’s voice said “I'm outside, can you come down and let me in? The buzzer isn't working. It's going straight to Chris' voicemail.” I had forgotten to update the buzzer when my roommate left for his vacation the day before. Now, when someone buzzed into to my apartment the buzzer was calling someone in Vietnam rather than me. Six friends were on their way to check out my new place in Gastown to watch the Canucks, but instead of relaxing I ended up spending about 45 minutes making trips to answer the front door instead of enjoying the game. If there had been a better way to control how apartment buzzers work, my guests wouldn't have been stuck outside while I was busy waiting for and riding the elevator up and down my 40 floor storey building.
After this failure, I resolved to make my buzzer better. Easy Buzzer forwards calls from one’s apartment buzzer system to any phone. When a guest buzzes your apartment, all connected phones will ring and the guest will be connected with the first person who answers. You can then either buzz in the guest or hang up the phone to prevent access. Instantly update who controls your apartment buzzer at any time from our website. Now, when your roommate goes on vacation or your girlfriend is out with her friends, you can buzz in guests on your own phone instead of making trips to the front door. You don't have to designate one person to answer the buzzer or buy a land line or new phone; Easy Buzzer connects all of your phones! Soon, an iPhone and Android application will be released to accompany the website will be made publicly available.
After talking with some early customers and friends around Vancouver, I've learned that building entry buzzers can be a major headache for roommates and couples. I originally built the service to solve my own problem but soon realized that many others had experienced the same issues. Thus, Easy Buzzer was born! By making the service available to everyone, my aim is to end the problems housemates, family and friends face when the phone connected to a buzzer system is unavailable and a guest is stuck outside. An accessible front door was something I had taken for granted while living in a house in the suburbs. It's amazing how much we pay to live in a modern Vancouver condominiums and apartment buildings with such inefficient front door access! I'm excited to make Easy Buzzer available to everyone in Vancouver and look forward to rolling out the service across North America in the coming weeks. The positive feedback from our first customers has been overwhelming!
About the Company
Frank Software Inc. was founded in March 2013 by Daniel Fraser. Frank Software’s first and main product, Easy Buzzer, was released to a private group shortly after the company was founded. A team is now forming to help improve and make the service widely available throughout North America. We will create applications and services that solve problems associated with shared accommodation living and building security. Our solutions maintain and improve modern security precautions in apartment buildings while extending the capabilities of front-door access systems for residents and building management.
The Team
Daniel Fraser (Founder, CEO) was the first employee of FundRazr, the largest crowdfunding platform in Canada and winner of BCTIA's Most Promising Startup award in 2013. FundRazr is growing quickly and has been recognized as making a significant social impact throughout the world.
Colin Burton (Director of Business Development) is a local entrepreneur who consults companies in business development, web development, and digital marketing strategy.
Daryl Hatton (Advisor) is the founder and CEO of FundRazr. He loves the challenge of building companies from scratch. In 30 years of software industry experience, Daryl has founded multiple start-ups including Optio, a successful NASDAQ IPO in 1999. He actively serves as a board member or advisor to multiple other start-ups in British Columbia and Silicon Valley.