Startup winner Tap2Open continues to open doors to customers, and success
When you live in the gated community capital of America — South Florida, that is — and your business involves creating new technology to open those gates, you’ve probably stumbled upon a pretty a good idea.
That’s how Tap2Open sees it. The Boca Raton-based company won the real estate vertical at the 2019 Miami Herald Startup Pitch Competition. Its product lets residents send single or group electronic entrance access “keys” from anywhere, by any means, including e-mail or text.
Co-founder Steven Tamayo says the company is growing healthily; it recently surpassed one million unique “opens.” In addition to South Florida, it now has clients across the country, including one in remote Idaho. (Tamayo credits coverage in the Miami Herald with helping establish Tap2Open’s brand.)
Created in 2016 by Tamayo and co-founder Mark Grosberg, Tap2Open now boasts 10 employees, including full-time and part-time ones. The company remains self-funded; Tamayo says the company’s financials are strong, though he declined to state current revenues. He said Tap2Open’s pitch is that over the span of five years, a community or subdivision can save hundreds of thousands of dollars if it is able to reduce or replace hours given to a paid security guard. Pricing for full-sized, multi-family communities can start at $200 per month; the company is able to tailor its product to each community or customer depending on its needs.
While it has been able to capitalize on residential demand, Tap2Open’s biggest growth market at the moment is in the commercial space, especially among logistics companies. One major client in particular is working with Tap2Open to develop a solution that would allow truck drivers to gain access to its numerous facilities; Tamayo declined to name the client as it remains in negotiations with it.
Asked about the difficulties of running a tech company in South Florida, Tamayo says Tap2Open is in a unique position.
“Not only is home to Mark and a lot of the guys we work with, but also, if you want to work with gated communities, it’s the perfect starting point,” he said.
