The 5 Minutes with a Founder Series is a collection of short inspiring interviews with the people behind the technology created to tackle big public problems.
Did you know that the infrastructure for the 9-1-1 system your community relies on during an emergency could be more than four decades old? If your emergency call center does not have newer technology (as many do not due to lack of awareness and funding) this presents challenges in getting accurate location and receiving text, video, and pictures. A digital divide means life-saving data is inaccessible to professionals who could use it to enhance their capabilities.
Sometimes in challenging situations like this, it’s more about innovating with what you have. This week’s guest Michael Chime, Co-Founder and CEO of Prepared is doing just that. The Prepared software platform can easily and seamlessly share live video, text, and GPS location between a caller and a telecommunicator during an emergency.
According to a recent interview on Cheddar News, Prepared has hit the ground running with a recently closed funding round to help bring 9-1-1 into the modern world.
Brandi Holder: Hi Michael, thank you for sharing your company story today. Let’s jump right in.
Access to location and meeting the public’s expectations for communication are constant conversations in public safety. The solution often discussed is upgrading to Next Generation 9-1-1. But it’s expensive, takes time, and is underfunded by taxpayers and the federal government.
How is Prepared tackling that challenge?