If public safety startup Mark43 were a TV series, it would be a cross between “The Wire” and “Silicon Valley.” That’s because the company is using tech to disrupt the way cops and first responders do their jobs.
Mark43’s cloud-based platform hosts two applications: a records management system (RMS), which helps cops quickly and efficiently write arrest and incident reports, and a computer aided dispatch (CAD) system, which makes that same data immediately available for first responders.
“Each and every feature we design and develop is backed by hours of research in the field and on ride-alongs,” said co-founder Matt Polega. “We’ve already proven that we can multiply officers’ time on the street with this approach.”
We’ve already proven that we can multiply officers’ time on the street with this approach.”
In March, the company secured a $38 million Series C, bringing its total amount raised to over $77 million. The technology’s proven efficiencies have attracted notable investors like Jeff Bezos, Ashton Kutcher and General (Ret.) David Petraeus— and it’s not just funding they’re offering. Petraeus also gave Polega some business advice that has helped the company stay true to its purpose.
“Even though his experience is on the battlefield, [Petraeus] gave us an invaluable piece of advice in building a mission-driven tech startup: Hire veterans,” said Polega. “We now have 12 veterans at the company working in nearly every capacity from executive leadership to engineering, customer success and sales.”
The company was founded by Polega and Harvard classmates Scott Crouch and Florian Mayr in 2012. At the time, the co-founders were juniors. Since then, Mark43 has grown to 150 employees across offices in NYC, Los Angeles, Toronto, Washington, D.C. and Charlotte, NC.
“We decided to set up permanently in NYC because it offered premium access to a diverse pool of engineering talent familiar with other high-stakes industries,” said Polega.
Mark43's applications are built using React/Redux on the frontend and Java and MySQL on the backend.
Public safety work isn’t an easy job, and this kind of technology has a lot to offer.”
The company plans on building a number of new tools and features, such as integrating software with existing hardware so video footage from body or traffic cams is syncable, accessible and searchable.
“As more and more public safety agencies shift to the cloud, there are a host of new opportunities to make first responders — and the mission-critical data they need — more mobile,” said Polega. “Public safety work isn’t an easy job, and this kind of technology has a lot to offer.”
