Why you should join: Prepared 911?

The Journey of Prepared: A Mission to Save Lives

In 2018, a startling reality gripped the United States: a school shooting was occurring every 4 days. Having created mobile apps used daily by thousands, my co-founders and I asked ourselves a simple question: Could we use our skills to mitigate this horrific loss of life, or even prevent these tragedies from happening?

Birthing Prepared

Our response was Prepared — a venture initiated with the original purpose of preventing school shootings. We created two apps, Grace, aimed at preemptively connecting students in need with mental and physical health resources, and Prepared App, designed to decentralize emergency response in schools. Deployed in 180 schools across the country, these apps were a mild success.

Writing Code That Saves Lives

Yet the potential for impact was even greater. We soon transitioned to our flagship software, Prepared Live, an initiative that underscored our commitment to social impact.

We built and launched the original beta version of Prepared Live in three weeks, pulling all-nighters to get the MVP out. Two weeks after launching and training our initial two beta 911 call centers, it directly helped save its first life on a telecommunication-initiated CPR call.

For 3 minutes and 30 seconds, the 911 operator using Prepared Live was able to correct the hand position of a bystander performing CPR on a completely unresponsive individual 3 times. Prepared Live was able to help validate the CPR was being done correctly and immediately — something not possible over the traditional audio-based 911 call. The 911 operator was able to see that person literally come back to life on video because of their efforts.

It is astounding to think, had we delayed programming, taken longer to get the software “just right,” or not gone the extra mile to make it 'just work', that person may not be with us today.

“Had we taken longer to develop Prepared Live, that person may not be alive today.”

Choosing Our Path

This incident marked a turning point. Should we continue to focus solely on schools, or could Prepared Live serve the entire nation?

Each year, there are 800 million 911 calls in America, with 80% of these originating from mobile devices. This translates into 640 million annual opportunities where crucial information, capable of saving lives, could be missed. For six years, live video technology on mobile devices has been accessible, yet was not capitalized on during emergency calls. That's an estimated 3.4 billion instances where technology could have played a critical role in possibly altering outcomes. Prepared Live steps in to fill this gap.

There are 640M 911 calls each year where lifesaving information is left on the table.

After realizing this, it was clear to us that it would be a disservice to limit Prepared Live's potential. And so, we began our mission to onboard every 911 center across the country.

The results have been astounding. Prepared Live has been instrumental in various life-saving scenarios. Prepared has been used on CPR incidents a couple of times a week, helped defuse domestic situations, saved lives in EMS Response, helped a woman give birth, provided the first video feed of a formerly dormant volcanic eruption, reunited a family, helped save a stranded free rock climber, and helped 14 people stranded on an ice float, to name a few.

Prepared’s Unique Position

Challenging the Status Quo

Throughout the journey of Prepared Live, we've encountered skepticism from the public safety industry. As our focus shifted, so did the doubts: from "Schools won't use your app" to "911 isn't ready for live video".

These doubts fuel our passion! They signify a call for disruption in the industry, a demand for a pioneering force like a startup to challenge the status quo. We still hear "911 isn't ready for live video" or "911 operators don't want to see the video" on a regular basis. Despite this, 911 centers using our platform are saving lives daily with live video.

Transforming doubters into believers has been an immensely rewarding experience, as we demonstrate the real impact of our solution. This shift in perception has allowed us to sign up 10% of the US in the last 12 months, a coverage reaching 60 million people.

At Prepared, we relentlessly push the boundaries of possibilities. The ideas we bring to the table are trailblazing, challenging conventional wisdom, and we never accept "no" for an answer to complex problems.

So, are you ready to join a team that not only embraces challenges but thrives on them? If the answer is yes, Prepared is the place for you! We're reshaping an industry and saving lives in the process. Don't just witness change, be part of it.

Impact at Scale: Prepared's Potential

Today we cover over 10% of the United States population. This means we can release features and have them immediately tested by emergency agencies that serve millions of people.

This kind of impact excites me and I hope excites anyone we have that joins our team. We’ve worked hard to build the relationships on the soft side and the infrastructure on the technical side to facilitate these kinds of releases and impact.

At Prepared, we offer a unique proposition — an opportunity to contribute to a project today that could directly result in a life saved tomorrow. If you're seeking purposeful, transformative work, then Prepared is the place for you.

Our Team is Killer

I’m sure every startup says this, but it is true. We are an incredibly driven, passionate, and clever team. Just talk to anyone that works for Prepared and you will see the excitement they get when they talk about what we are working on and the problems we are trying to solve.

Join Us in Making a Difference

We're hiring across all teams and are eager to welcome those who share our vision. If you're interested in making an impact and want to learn more about Prepared, reach out to me at neal @ prepared911 (dot) com. Together, we can save lives.