a year agoAt CES, I introduced Snark-hammer at 444, a startup trying to make a “smart” pepper spray device. I met the same company again this year at CES. To my surprise, it has a major partnership, co-development and co-branding deal with Mace, one of the biggest names in spray self-defense.
444’s agreement with Mace is a “preliminary and exclusive agreement to jointly develop and bring to market a smart pepper spray device that supports GPS and Bluetooth and transmits the current location to emergency contacts upon deployment.”
“We started at CES last year with a rough 3D print and a PCBA board example. We made a lot of connections and got some press articles from TechCrunch and a lot of other people,” said 444 co-founder Logan Nash. “Wind brought the idea to the self-defense industry. A few months after CES, Mace contacted us and we developed a great relationship with them and finalized our partnership.”
The samples on display at booth 444 are pre-production samples, and they look excellent: brilliantly designed, well-made, and almost production-ready. The team told me they hope to start ramping up production in the coming months.
“We do a lot of customer discovery to understand exactly what consumers want and what they need. One thing we keep hearing is that users want a sleek, beautiful device. That’s what we have now ‘s. A nice-looking, colorful, high-quality device that’s very powerful. It has a metal frame that really holds everything together,” Nash explained. “But we also want the device to have a long life. If a user does use pepper spray, they can unscrew the back cover and replace the canister for next time.”
Replaceable tank models are novel; most pepper sprays are cheap, disposable devices, but what 444 offers is a quality product that’s priced well above the $14 two-pack you can order on Amazon. The team told TechCrunch it will likely cost between $75-$100, so being able to reuse the device and electronics will be crucial.
![](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/20240111-DSC00285.jpg)
If the device is already deployed, you can open the back of the 444 device and replace the Mace canister. Image Source: TechCrunch/Hajjcamps
The company hastened to reveal that the Mace part will still work even if you forget to charge the device – it’s completely mechanical – although apparently your support hoop’s GPS alert system won’t be activated.
“When you deploy the device, the pepper spray comes out. It also sends a signal to your phone, which sends your current, real-time location to your designated emergency contact, whether it’s mom, dad, brother, sister , you name it,” Nash said. “That part is free. If an additional subscription is required, the app will connect you to a 24-hour emergency hotline, which will then direct you to local authorities, whether it’s a police dispatcher or campus security.”
Mace has had a rough few years as a company. From a peak market capitalization of $46 million in April 2021, the company is now worth less than $2.5 million. It stands to reason that the company is turning to young innovators to enhance its relevance in the market.
“Mace Brand is very excited about this first Mace smart product. The spray is the most advanced of its kind and we believe it is the most important launch to the industry in decades.” Sanjay Singh, Chairman and CEO of Mace Brand wrote in a press statement. “This product is the perfect choice for those who value personal safety while looking for the most technologically advanced product. The product’s high-end design should appeal to consumers on the go and at home.”
Sir, please give me a humble pie.
Let me start by saying that I really didn’t see this coming. I’m actually surprised I even remembered this company, and even more confused that they still exist. There were things I missed – meeting the founders a year later at the same trade show, and it was kind of refreshing to be reminded in this face-to-face way.
I often see startups at CES that seem pointless (this year, I did a backflip with my eyes on Direction 9). If they get acquired by Samsung next year, I think I’ll really have to reevaluate my role as analyst role), and after years of watching startups do stupid things, I did find myself getting a little tired of it.
It’s a good reminder that for real entrepreneurs, it’s not enough to encourage them to throw in the towel with snarky posts from an opinionated blogger. Taking this as my “hey, I’m wrong at least 20% of the time” confession, I’m curious to see where 444 will go.
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