Armani Williams experienced something typical of a college student, losing his phone after a night out with friends.
When he found it in a friend’s pantry with a dead battery the next day, he came up with the idea for LOCSHARK.
The iPhone 6, 6s and 7 cases use a Bluetooth locking mechanism and GPS tracking device to prevent phones from being lost or stolen. The case can only be unlocked with a password through a mobile application or website.
When Williams came up with the idea, he consulted with his friend and Tech alumnus, Rex Rose.
“He took a shot on me,” Williams said.
Rose was still a marketing major in the Rawls College of Business when Williams approached him with the idea for LOCSHARK.
“My professors were the main reason that gave me hope, made me believe that we could actually make this happen,” Rose said.
He said he never enjoyed school until starting at Texas Tech his junior year, and he had no idea how business worked before then.
“I had a few entrepreneurship classes that I really enjoyed,” Rose said.
Left to right: Rex Rose, their partner Chad Galvez and Armani Williams. Photo from Facebook.
Rose approached a few of his professors to get advice on starting their business. Don Stull, CEO and director of MicroZap, Inc., led the hopeful entrepreneurs to a lawyer.
“He told us that we could grow legs and take off running,” Rose said.
Stull said a couple of students approach him with business ideas each semester. He earned an engineering degree and Master of Business Administration from Tech, and went on to become a part-time instructor and successful entrepreneur.
Before becoming involved in MicroZap, whose technology uses microwaves to kill pathogens such as E. Coli and Listeria, Stull and his chairman sold a company to Sprint for over $4 billion.
“It’s fun,” Stull said. “I really enjoy helping students.”
He said he would help Rose and Williams with things like protecting their intellectual property and how to introduce their idea to different companies without getting taken advantage of.
“They’re not afraid to ask hard questions,” Stull said. “They’re not afraid to recognize that they don’t know the answer and find someone who can help them.”
Although Stull thinks the young entrepreneurs are both intelligent people, he said they do not spend a lot of time trying to prove how smart they are.
“They listen, and they utilize the knowledge they’ve picked up,” he said. “Then they apply it, and continue to move on.”
Many friends and family of Williams and Rose invested in LOCSHARK, getting them an initial loan of $15,000.
Rose said he also owes credit to his professor Sandra Ryan, who helped them figure out how much money they would need, and that they would practically never have too much. He said he and Williams were basically clueless when they started, and their guidance was crucial to their success.
After three years of obtaining investments, patents and manufacturing the case, it will be available to purchase later this month. The first thousand customers can pre-order the case for $89, after that it will cost $100.
The case should also prevent damage and cracked screens, with military grade material.
“This is just the beginning,” Rose said. “We’ve been around for three years now, but we’re not stopping anytime soon.”
About Maddy McCarty
