About
Control4 was born out of a passion to make home control an affordable option for everyone. The Company's founders recognized that while the category was growing, the market was only targeted at customers building multi-million dollar custom homes or doing major reconstruction on existing homes. As veterans in the home-automation industry, they believed homeowners should have a more affordable way to automate existing homes, and without the headaches and prohibitive costs of a major remodel.
Thesis
Control4 is a leading provider of the operating system for the smart home, delivering intelligent control over consumer electronics products, appliances and networking systems through an easy-to-use and intuitive software interface. With an intelligent, open and affordable control solution on the market, Control4 is now a platform of choice for major consumer electronics companies, residential homes, businesses and utilities and is well-positioned for continued future growth.
People
Will West served as the Company's CEO from inception until September 2011 when Martin Plaehn, most recently a senior executive with Real Networks, joined Control4 as CEO. Co-founders Will West and Eric Smith are now the Company's Chairman/Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Architect, respectively.
Key Board Members:
- Steve Vassallo (Foundation Capital)
- Chris Paisley (former CFO of 3Com)
- Len Jordan (Frazier Technology Ventures)
- Rob Born (Thomas Weisel Venture Partners)
- Scott Petty (vSpring Capital)
Management Team
- Dan Strong, CFO
- Was CFO at iBAHN
- Richard Walker, EVP
- Led HP's consumer desktop business
- Jim Arnold, SVP Sales
- Was SVP of Sales at DIRECTV
Product
Control4 helped transform the custom integration market by introducing in 2005 the first truly affordable, easy-to-use home automation system. Since that time, Control4 has continued to reinforce its technology leadership by introducing an array of new products and services: mobile and online solutions, Control4 0S 2.0, a powerful home automation platform, new hardware products, and the 4Store, the first application marketplace for the home. Control4 solutions interoperate with more than 6,500 third-party consumer electronics devices.
Potential
Home automation systems are poised for strong growth. According to a report by ABI Research, 12 million global home automation system shipments will be shipped in 2016, up from 1.8 million in 2011. "The home automation market...should see its appeal for the mass market grow tremendously over the next years...driven in large part by a virtual cycle involving the availability of robust, standards-based 'no new wires' technologies such as ZigBee and Home Plug, the development of home automation software platforms such as those from Control4 and 4Home (now part of Motorola Mobility) and the entrance into the market by service providers such as telcos and cable operators, as well as security monitoring firms and even, in a more narrow scope, utility companies."
Megatrends
- Green Tech
- Internet
- Knowledge
How Big Can This Be?
The Company can grow much faster once we have a recovery in the housing market, which is one of the upsides to the story. The home area network market is expected to be at $3 billion by 2014.
Predictability
Leveraging a distribution channel that includes over 1,600 custom integrators, retail outlets, and distributors in 70 countries, Control4 delivers automation solutions to customers around the world. Despite a challenging economy and downturn in the housing market, Control4 continues to drive revenue growth, reporting significant revenue growth in 2010. As consumer electronics and appliance leaders look to add value to their product lines, they are turning to the Control4 platform for the solution. To maximize this opportunity, Control4 has established a separate licensing business unit to work with partners who wish to integrate Control4 technology in their televisions, AV receivers, appliances, phone systems, routers and more.
Risks
Timing of adoption of home automation solutions; Competition; Timing of new home construction recovery; Execution with respect to distribution and OEM partners
