New surveillance franchisor eyes '60 to 80 percent market share'

FREMONT, Calif.--Kim Rubin, CEO of IP-based video surveillance, networking and security company SightMind, hopes "2008 is a crossover year." Just two years after founding the company here, the serial entrepreneur is currently meeting with interested potential franchisees and expects to see the first SightMind franchise in full operation within the next 60 to 90 days. Rubin expects big growth outward from there. "Sales of IP camera systems is growing at a rate of 44 percent a year," he said. "Our goal is to get 60 to 80 percent of the U.S. market share in the next seven years. And I don't see that as aggressive." Rubin says that SightMind is looking at expanding into every major metropolitan area in the United States. "This is a very fragmented industry," Rubin said, explaining that a SightMind franchise would offer large institutions like schools, industrial facilities and government agencies the most advanced digital surveillance technology available and come complete with a tested business model, full technical and back-office support, redundant storage and a maintenance contract. This model, he said, would give franchisees a competitive advantage over existing security installers and integrators. "This is not your father's CCTV," Rubin said. There are two basic franchise models available. The first, available for $60,000, is for anyone interested in starting a business from scratch and the second ($40,000) is available as an added service for an established security company. SightMind joins a recent trend of franchisors entering the video security marketplace. MonitorClosesly.com and EYESthere both announced programs in 2007. Rubin, with dual engineering degrees from UC Berkeley in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering has founded four technology companies previously (the last of which, IntelliDOT, provides a patient safety system for hospitals). He has been eyeing the recent trend toward no-response policies--Fremont recently passed the most-aggressive such policy in the United States--and believes SightMind's model should also help cut false alarms by putting control of extremely detailed, and pertinent alarm-generated data in the hands of the end user in real time.