Three years ago, we came up with the idea of creating a device and an app for finding lost items, but also for protecting seniors, children and our four-legged companions. The three-year story of notiOne began in Poznań in the winter of 2016…
January 2016. Winter, though not especially frosty, is making itself felt. A search is under way for someone close to us: an elderly lady who suffers from temporary memory lapses. She left home in a light coat and nobody has been able to reach her for several hours. We rally all our friends, acquaintances and the police. The search ends happily – we find her, frozen and frightened, at a bus stop far from home.
We are a group of friends linked to one of Poznań’s technology companies. We have experience in developing new technologies, and we decide to use our skills to prevent incidents like this in the future.
Days go by, filled with meetings, consultations and feasibility studies. And finally… we have it! The idea for notiOne – a Bluetooth tracker which, combined with a free app, will find a lost item not only nearby, but also at the other end of Poland. How is that possible? From the very beginning, the idea is backed by the operator of the country’s most popular app for drivers. That gives us, right from the start, an extensive network of phones that relay the signal over long distances. We know there is nothing like it in Poland yet, so we sense this could be a real hit. We begin work on a prototype of the device and the software.
While work on the technology is in full swing, we are also getting heavily involved in community initiatives. We want our company to deal with safety not only at the level of technological solutions, but also through education and social responsibility. We create the parenting vlog Tosia Samosia and the nationwide educational project Podróże Misiołanków (The Travels of the Misiołanki). Soon afterwards, the project is placed under the patronage of the Minister of National Education and the Mayors of Poznań and Warsaw, and the Tosia Samosia videos are shared by, among others, the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOŚP) and Poland’s Supernanny, Dorota Zawadzka, passing the 1,000,000-view mark! We feel that what we are doing really makes sense!
25 October 2016 – the launch of notiOne.
The solution is remarkably interesting and innovative – the media and bloggers write about us, and sales grow by the day. Shortly afterwards, we win our first award: the title of Poznań Entrepreneurship Leader. It is an extremely tough competition, so the pride is enormous. More competitions and more accolades follow, including Super Business Gift 2019 – our notiOne turns out to be a fascinating corporate gift. In the meantime, notiOne play arrives on the market – the model our users had long been waiting for, with an audible signal and the ability to locate your phone – followed by the hit of recent weeks: notiOne go! – a completely new design, a much louder sound and a battery that lasts more than a year of continuous use.
25 October 2019 – the third anniversary of the first notiOne going out into the world.
What can we boast of today?
- Over 60,000 devices sold to more than 30,000 users
- Over 1,500,000 phones relaying the signal over long distances
- Over 100 media publications and case studies in 2 books
- Over 1,125,000 views of the Tosia Samosia educational videos
- Over 15,000 children taking part in the nationwide Podróże Misiołanków project
- Partnerships and close cooperation with companies such as Microsoft, mBank and Neptis S.A.
It is not only the numbers and awards that make us happy. What we are most proud of are the many messages, suggestions and thank-yous we receive from you. They allow us to grow and constantly improve our solution. They also show us just how useful notiOne is in everyday life. We already have to our name not only hundreds of recovered keys, wallets and other valuables, but also dozens of rescued dogs and cats, recovered bikes and motorcycles, and at least one recovered stolen car. We carefully collect these stories – you can read them in our Instagram stories.
We are delighted to be of service and thank you for being with us!
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