AJ Chevallier studied theology in college, but he knew it would take more than prayer to solve the problem of porch piracy. Across the United States, an estimated 1.6 billion packages stolen from consumers’ doorsteps. Apparently, porch pirates missed the Sunday school lesson on “Thou shalt not steal."
The opportunity first caught AJ’s attention when his friend and future co-founder, Anthony, forwarded him an article describing the scale of the problem. Many companies were attempting to solve what is sometimes called the “last-meter problem”: the final stage of delivery, when an order is no longer protected by the retailer or delivery company and is left vulnerable on the customer’s front porch.
After college, AJ studied nursing and went on to focus professionally on diagnostics. That background helped shape the way he approached the challenge.
“I love complex problems, and this one is pretty complex,” AJ said. “Major e-commerce companies generally don’t open their APIs to startups, so we had to find a way to solve the problem without their help.”
The Holy Trinity
The solution, called Arculus Boxx, has three components that work together to keep deliveries safe.
The first is a secure storage box that can be attached to a porch using bolts anchored into the ground or a heavy-duty security cable. The second is a locking system that can be opened by a delivery person carrying a package with a valid tracking number. The third is an insurance policy that provides additional protection in the rare event that a package still goes missing.
With Arculus Boxx, stealing a delivered package becomes extremely difficult. Insurance coverage is included in the monthly fee, which also supports the software platform and, in some cases, hardware upgrades.
Building a hardware-and-software company is expensive, especially when the product involves engineering, manufacturing, logistics, and insurance. To conserve cash while attracting the right people, AJ and Anthony used the Slicing Pie model.
“Since we started, we have worked with 22 participants, including outside vendors, and not all of those relationships worked out,” AJ explained. “Using Slicing Pie, we were able to bring excellent talent onto the team while also separating from people who were unable to perform as expected. That allowed us to conserve far more cash than a typical technology company with a hardware component.”
A Team Made in Heaven—with Pie
The current Arculus Box team extends well beyond its two co-founders. It includes experienced marketing professionals as well as engineers specializing in both hardware and software.
“Our current team is fantastic,” AJ said. “The best part is that everyone genuinely believes in the project and is willing to go the extra mile.”
The company introduced the first version of its product through Kickstarter. The units will be assembled in the United States, and the crowdfunding campaign will allow Arculus Boxx to validate demand and fund production without raising excessive amounts of outside capital.
“We’ve generated revenue and demonstrated product-market fit with only $40,000,” AJ said.
That level of capital efficiency gives the founders significant leverage in future negotiations. Rather than approaching investors with only an idea, they can point to a functioning product, early revenue, manufacturing progress, and evidence of customer demand.
The Arculus Boxx case study is a strong example of high-leverage execution. By using the Slicing Pie model to separate progress from available cash, the team has been able to design a physical product, develop the supporting software, assemble a talented team, and prepare for a Kickstarter launch with only $40,000 in funding.
A traditional hardware startup might require hundreds of thousands—or even millions—of dollars to reach the same point. Arculus Boxx has done it without giving away most of the company before the business has had a chance to prove itself.