Protect America

Protect America, founded in 1992 by Thad Paschall in Austin, Texas, carved a niche in the North American home security market by pioneering the direct-to-consumer, self-installed security system model. The company's business strategy centered on providing affordable and customizable security solutions directly to homeowners across all 50 U.S. states and Canada. This do-it-yourself (DIY) approach eliminated the need for professional installation, a key differentiator that appealed to a broad customer base.

The company's revenue was primarily generated through recurring monthly fees for professional monitoring services, which were offered with various connectivity options including landline, broadband, and cellular. Customers typically entered into a 36-month monitoring contract, and in exchange, often received the necessary security equipment with no upfront costs, as the hardware expense was integrated into the monthly service fee. Product offerings included wireless home security systems, fire protection tools, surveillance cameras, and home automation devices, such as smart locks and lights. These systems could be controlled and monitored remotely by customers through the SMART connect mobile app.

Over the years, Protect America saw significant growth and several ownership changes. By 2001, it had installed approximately 200,000 systems, a number that grew to around 400,000 by 2012. In 2010, the company was acquired by private equity firm Rockbridge Growth Equity in a deal valued at about $100 million. The firm continued to operate and expand, consistently ranking among the top security system providers in the U.S. However, in June 2020, the company's trajectory shifted when Brinks Home Security (then Monitronics) acquired its portfolio of approximately 114,000 residential alarm monitoring contracts. This acquisition marked the end of Protect America's operations as an independent entity, with its customer accounts being transitioned to Brinks.

Keywords: home security, DIY security systems, alarm monitoring, residential security, self-installed alarms, home automation, security contracts, Thad Paschall, Brinks Home Security, direct-to-consumer security, wireless security systems, security system installation, alarm systems, professional monitoring, security packages, smart home security, surveillance products, life safety, customer accounts acquisition, Rockbridge Growth Equity