Merideth Schutter: Born Out of a Need To Unite Mobile Technology With the Reassurance of Personal Safety

Born out of a need to unite mobile technology with the reassurance of personal safety, this platform allows users to connect with their closest contacts and alert them when they find themselves in unfamiliar or emergency scenarios.

As an enterprise personal safety platform we offer companies of all sizes the unique opportunity to truly show thier people how valuable they are by empowering them with the PROtect platform at work and at play. Communication is key and automating the safety process is what we do best.

PROtect is the first to leverage mobile technology and personal networks to create a virtual security guard on an enterprise scale. Businesses with a remote workforce who need to effectively manage the safety & security of their staff while improving communication while working remotely.

We believe that we are at our best when we feel powerful, in control of ourselves & our environment.
We want every person to experience freedom & autonomy with the support of those they care about.

Because when we thread our safety nets together, we are invincible.

TOGETHER, WE GO.

Tell us about yourself?

A visionary with a passion for personal safety.

Over 20 years in sales and marketing ranging from hotel sales & radio ad sales.

Top producing, award winning realtor in the hot Vancouver real estate market for over 16 years. I experienced a very traumatic experience at an open house 6 years ago. I had two men walk in when I was alone in the home. They locked the door and one proceeded to push me into the kitchen.

I was struggling when a young family in the yard heard me and came to my rescue-they two men bolted. I got lucky that day, but so many don’t. I was left scared, alone and feared how I would continue to do my job that I loved and supported my family.

I spoke to hundreds of people who had experienced similar, often worse situations. I needed to make a change. Something needed to be created that was not fear based, but rather community engaging and empowering.

PROtect was born 1.5 years later with a mission to help remote workers on a Global scale 🙂
Speaker at TEDx Vancouver.
Recipient of BC’s Most Influential Women: Stem Stars.
Recipient of RE/MAX 2018 Specialist Award.

If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?

Stay focussed on your mission. Continue to be kind. This too will pass and the world will resume some sort of new normal.

What problem does your business solve?

In todays landscape there are significant elevated risk of Corporate Liability. We are there to help. PROtect was conceived to boost confidence, enable full independence & peace of mind, so regardless of the situation, users have a network of PROtectors.

We solve two unique problems. One for the company who must pivot to demonstrate corporate responsibility and take care of their employees/teams and one for the user who works remotely and every day puts themselves out there to make a living in an every evolving workplace.

What is the inspiration behind your business?

My own experiences and the passion that ignited inside of me that no other real estate agent or remote worker should feel that sense of fear or disempowerment. I want to unite remote workers and give them a safety net to ensure their safety.

What is your magic sauce?

Our patented Communication Room makes us special. We are device agnostic, which means only the user actually needs to platform.

The PROtectors are web based. Also, our team and customer service is second to none. We provide stats and graphs to our clients to show usage.

Education is key and we are deeply committed to on-boarding and helping our users every step of the way through videos, help lines and lunch and learns.

What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?

New markets…I’d like to help with the mental health epidemic that our society is facing. The youth need our support and PROtect would be a powerful tool for them to create community engagement and a sense of being part of something larger than themselves.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?

Sticking with it through the pandemic. We were able to keep our team and get lean.

We evaluated the business model and were there to support our existing customers every step of the way. It was a tremendous learning experience and I am glad we were forced to dig deep.

Raising money for expansion and growth has never been easy, but in a post pandemic world it is only getting tougher. We need to support each other.

How do people get involved/buy into your vision?

We are looking to become more accessible to more people.

The goal would be to work with the large telecom companies such as Telus, Bell, Rogers AT&T etc to become a native app on all cell phones powered by PROtect. Security companies like ADT would be welcome as they handle physical and property security, while we manage people and personal safety.

Working with community groups and police initiatives is also a huge goal to access the more vulnerable populations. Thank you.