The interconnected, gadget-obsessed world of 2016 can be a daunting place if you aren’t tech savvy. While many can get tech support at work, there’s no go-to place for all of the technical problems that occur at home.
That’s a hole Peel Tech wants to fill. The Seattle startup offers on-demand tech support for individuals and small businesses.
“We are working to solve the frustrations that often come along with operating, managing and deploying technology,” said Co-founder Brock Reed. “Where does one turn when you have these issues? Your kid, the de facto IT person within the family, a friend of a friend’s friend, charming your work IT person?”
Peel Tech’s services range from data storage to PC support to universal remote programming as well as other at-home tech issues. Customers can submit service requests via the website, mobile app, or Facebook. The Peel Tech team operates around the clock, promises to respond to queries in 30 minutes or less, and offers same-day service.
We caught up with Reed for this Startup Spotlight, a regular GeekWire feature.
Explain what you do so our parents can understand it: “Peel Tech is an always-on, tech support company that’s making calling tech support as mainstream or common as calling a plumber or electrician to your house.”
Inspiration hit us when: “My mother was calling me a few times a week with questions about her Mac. I am the defacto IT guy in my family.”
VC, Angel or Bootstrap: “We’re a bunch of bootstrapping self-funding founders, but we’re preparing to raise outside money to grow at the speed at which we want to. Watch out Geek Squad!
Our ‘secret sauce’ is: “In our response time: Once a customer submits a trouble ticket, through any number of ways to get a hold of us, we have a 30-minute callback guarantee. We pride ourselves on our technicians: We have a strict hiring profile so that every tech is hired not only on proficiency but personality. And finally, customer experience. When our techs leave we want our customers to say, ‘Wow, did that just happen?’ It’s all about the experience from when you reach out to us, to when out tech visits your home or small business, to the follow-up.”
The smartest move we’ve made so far: “Making the commitment to create Peel. There’s a big jump from saying, ‘there is a business here,’ to actually putting the thing together.”
The biggest mistake we’ve made so far: “Waiting so long to jump in with both feet!”
Would you rather have Gates, Zuckerberg or Bezos in your corner: “Bezos. For our business, he would be a great strategic partner with what he is doing with Amazon Home Services and the potential to help customers order, set up, and optimized electronics. Plus he’s in our backyard.”
Our favorite team-building activity is: “Grabbing a pint and talking about the exciting events of the day or what we have to look forward to in the coming days, weeks and months.”
The biggest thing we look for when hiring is: “Personality. We are all about our techs. We have a very high bar for hiring our techs. They are what makes us different and memorable. We’d rather hire for personality and train for proficiency.”
What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to other entrepreneurs just starting out: “If you are passionate and truly believe in your idea, drive as hard as you can and never look back.”
