Innovation Spotlight: SAFE4R Health & Safety App

Product: Health And Security App 

Location: Corona, Calif. 

Founders/Partners: Harry Sleighel, Rocky Wright, Joel Nelson 

Website: www.safe4r.com 

The United States has the most expensive healthcare system of any developed nation. A medical consultation with a general practitioner will set someone back an average of $190, and prescription costs are nearly three times as much as other countries. This can be a real challenge for those earning a modest wage in the self-storage industry. 

“I’ve been in this business for 40 years, so I know a lot of property managers,” says Harry Sleighel, CEO of Tenant Property Protection, chairman at the Michaels Wilder agency, and backer of numerous innovations. “Their average salary is around $35,000, and their average age is about 50, roughly the age when many people start to rely more heavily on health care.” 

Sleighel says that most managers aren’t offered health care through their employer and cannot afford it on their own. 

“That’s where the SAFE4R platform comes in, offering an affordable and powerful alternative to traditional health care,” Sleighel says before pausing. “You know, I may be getting ahead of myself. Let’s rewind to how it all began.” 

LA Story 

While data may suggest violent crime is declining, many people feel it’s on the rise. Rocky Wright understands this sentiment firsthand. Wright, an award-winning software entrepreneur and app developer, was withdrawing some money from an LA ATM one morning when he was ambushed by two punks. They split his skull with a metal pipe and took off running.  

But Wright isn’t the type of person to dwell in self-pity. From his hospital bed, he began developing what would eventually become SAFE4R Protect.  

“When someone is experiencing a medical emergency, an assault or robbery, or even a frightening law enforcement encounter, SAFE4R allows them to simply press a button or use a voice command to trigger a live monitoring system,” he explains. “This simultaneously notifies designated contacts who can either help or become real-time witnesses.” 

Sleighel, Wright, Nelson

“When I met Rocky, I knew he was a technology savant,” says Joel Nelson, who met Wright through his own successful finance and insurance consulting firm. “He’d worked on backend systems and apps for banks, studios, gaming companies … some of the most innovative outlets around. But this was the first venture he did for a personal reason, and that got me really invested in it.” 

The Self-Storage Connection 

Sleighel was one of SAFE4R’s earliest partners, seeing immense potential for the platform in the self-storage sector. “Staff members often work their shifts solo, and customers may come and go at all hours,” says Sleighel. “Whether it’s a manager locking up or a tenant accessing their unit late at night, SAFE4R gives people a line of defense.” 

Self-storage operators approached by the team loved the concept, but like other partners (HR managers, brokers, business owners), they wanted more than just an emergency button. “They wanted telehealth,” says Nelson. “Most already offered some form of it to employees, but it was fragmented and there was a poor grasp of cybersecurity.” 

Nelson had already envisioned doing more with SAFE4R because had it remained just an emergency button, it would likely be forgotten. “Out of sight, out of mind,” he says. “If people aren’t using it every day, they’ll forget about it when it counts. By making SAFE4R a multiuse platform that’s used frequently, it’ll be top of mind when the out-of-the-ordinary does occur.” 

The new rollout functions as an upgraded SAFE4R Protect with all the bells and whistles. “It has everything in one place,” says Nelson. Sleighel nods, adding that informal feedback from operators and managers has been overwhelmingly positive since the rollout of SAFE4R+. “They really like the telehealth feature,” he says. “One manager used the service for a sinus infection. After a quick virtual visit with a physician and no co-pay at all, a digital prescription was sent straight to the pharmacy, where he got 80 percent off. The time and money savings for him were a really big deal.” 

What Sets SAFE4R Apart 

While there are other safety or telehealth apps out there, SAFE4R’s team points to its integration, affordability, and scalability as major differentiators. “SAFE4R is actively in use by airlines, major employers, and even schools and universities,” says Nelson, noting that the company is also in talks with the VA, potentially giving millions of veterans and their families access to the platform. “We’ve also got real-world validation, and we’re seeing interest across multiple industries, but storage is one we know we can serve right now.” 

A recent MSM survey asked owner-operators if they felt crime was a concern at their facilities, with an overwhelming 85 percent saying yes. This fact is not lost on Sleighel. “This is a rare moment where we can offer something meaningful to the people who run self-storage facilities,” he says. “I’ve also brought Olaya Norris from Michaels Wilder into the fold; she’s really excited about the product and the potential to take it to other countries. We already know it can work in Canada.” 

Continues Sleighel, “All of us have done great work in the past, but we weren’t exactly saving lives. Now when we wake up in the morning, we know we’ve done something to help improve someone’s physical or mental health, saved them some money, maybe even saved their life. There’s no better feeling than that.” 

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Brad Hadfield is MSM’s lead writer and web manager.