Kangaroo

Kangaroo is aiming to re-define the home security industry.

It’s created a collection of simple, affordable, privacy-focused products. These include a privacy camera, photo doorbell, and motion and climate sensors.

This company has achieved significant progress already:

• It’s raised $18 million from professional investors including Greycroft (investors in Venmo, Acorns, and Plated) and Lerer Hippeau (investors in Casper, Warby Parker, and Allbirds).

• Its products are available at retailers including Walmart, Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples, and Lowe’s. They’re also available through insurance provides like Hippo.

• And it’s attracted more than 20,000 users.

Now it’s seeking capital to increase production on its existing products, enhance brand recognition, and develop new products and sales channels.

Kangaroo is led by an experienced team. Co-Founder and CEO Maximus Yaney founded Titan Aerospace, a drone company that was acquired by Google in 2014. Co-Founder Victor Meng was a Founding Engineer at Sonos, a popular consumer electronics company.

They started Kangaroo to solve a huge problem: too many homes are unprotected.

Globally, 1.6 billion homes are unprotected. Over 480 million of these homes have smartphones and Wi-Fi, but don’t have a compatible home security system — 49 million homes in the U.S. alone. This represents a $3 billion opportunity for Kangaroo.

Despite surging consumer interest in home security, current solutions — either professionally-installed, or “do it yourself” (DIY) — are too complex and/or cost prohibitive.

In other words, the home security industry is plagued by two primary issues: price and complexity of installation.

Competing home security systems, for example, can cost $500 on average. Many use outdated technology, require professional installation, or have a poor user interface.

Kangaroo solves these issues for consumers. Its “hub-less,” app-based DIY security solutions are designed to be affordable and easy to use. The company also offers continuous, professionally monitored security services.

Among its suite of products are two primary devices: a security camera and photo doorbell.

Security cameras are a fast-growing industry. 54 million of these devices were sold in 2018. By 2023, 120 million are expected to be sold annually.

Despite this trend, many consumers have concerns about cameras’ ability to protect their privacy.

Kangaroo’s specially-designed camera alleviates these concerns. When “active,” it provides video motion alerts and 1080p live streaming. However, when it’s inactive, the camera’s microphone cuts off. In addition, the lens transforms into a patented opaque privacy shield.

Photo-equipped doorbells, meanwhile, are another popular security purchase. An estimated 24 million of them will be sold in 2020. But 80% of people still can’t afford them.

Consider one of Kangaroo’s competitors, Ring. This company became popular selling one of the first camera doorbells. In 2018, it was acquired by Amazon for $1 billion.

But this company’s doorbells start at $60, and can cost as much as $250. Kangaroo’s doorbell, in contrast, is available for as little as $20.

Early customer reviews for its products have been positive.

One customer, Michael L, left a five-star review saying, “Easy peasy installation! Bought the large home kit, what a breeze installing. Phone app is great to monitor and control.”

Another customer, Danny I, said, “Stop searching for smart home security. This is the best affordable option out there for home security, easy to use. Love it.”

Kangaroo makes money selling its products, and generates additional revenue selling subscriptions for security monitoring. Subscription are $10 per month, or $99 per year.

Team Background

Dhruv Garg - Co-Founder & President

Prior to starting Kangaroo, Dhruv was Chief Operating Officer for hOme labs. This Google-backed startup sold “smart” home appliances and devices.

Before that, he was Vice President of Research & Development for Mohawk Group, the software company started by his co-worker Maximus Yaney. He held this position after working as a prototype engineer for Google.

Earlier in his career, Dhruv worked for Schneider Electric, an electrical and electronics manufacturing company. He was a sales engineer and then a business intelligence analyst.

Prior to that, he was a mechanical engineer for Titan Aerospace, another company started by Maximus that was acquired by Google. Dhruv began his career as a manufacturing engineering intern with Honeywell, a conglomerate company.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.

Maximus Yaney - Co-Founder & CEO

Maximus is a serial entrepreneur who’s founded multiple companies and achieved successful exits.

Most recently, he co-founded Mohawk Group (Nasdaq: MWK), a computer software company. He started this company out of his apartment, and later received an investment from Google Ventures. Mohawk went public in 2019.

Prior to that, he founded SpinLaunch, an aerospace company focused on building a rocket-launching system. This company raised $35 million from Google Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, and Airbus Ventures.

Before starting SpinLaunch, Maximus spent a year working for Google, where he completed special projects for the company’s CEO. His time at Google came after his earlier company, Titan Aerospace, was acquired by the search engine business in 2014.

Earlier in his career, he founded Strata, a company focused on big data that attracted notable clients including Cigna, Maytag, Verizon, HP, and Wells Fargo.

He studied Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic University.

Victor Meng - Co-Founder & GM China

Before starting Kangaroo, Victor was Vice President of Research and Development for hOme labs, a company selling “smart” home appliances and devices.

Before that, he was an early employee at Sonos, a consumer electronics company. He joined the business in 2013 as Director of Global Product Operations. He worked there for three years after spending three years with Perlos, a telecommunications company, as Director of Global Product Design.

Earlier in his career, Victor was Senior Director for Flextronics, an electronic manufacturing company. Prior to that, he worked for Siemens, an industrial manufacturing company, serving as a project leader and line manager.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Design from Shanghai Ocean University and an MBA from China Europe International Business School.

James Xu - Co-Founder & CTO

James began his career as an electrical engineer with the University of Toronto.

After that, he joined Titan Aerospace, the company acquired by Google, as an electrical engineer. He spent a year there before becoming a systems architect with the Impact Centre at the University of Toronto.

More recently, James was Vice President of Engineering with Mohawk Group, a software company, and held this position before starting Kangaroo.

He studied Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto.

Co-Investors

Greycroft

A prominent VC firm investing in technology-related startups. Portfolio includes Shipt, The RealReal, and Verse.

City Light Capital

Venture fund seeking market-based solutions to major social problems. It invests in early stage, for-profit businesses that create solutions in Safety and Security, Education & Media and Energy & the Environment.

AsherMaximus

An VC fund investing in early-stage companies.

Lerer Hippeau Ventures

Seed-stage venture capital firm, investor in BuzzFeed, Warby Parker, GroupMe, MakerBot Industries, The Huffington Post, Songza, Venmo, BirchBox, SeatGeek, Casper, Plated, Refinery29, BaubleBar and Chubbies