iCracked

iCracked
Private
Industry IT Maintenance, repair, and operations
Founded 2010
Founder
  • AJ Forsythe, chief executive officer
  • Anthony Martin, chief strategy officer
Headquarters Redwood City, California
Services iOS and Samsung repair and trade-in
Number of employees
 113
Website www.icracked.com

iCracked is an online electronics repair and trade-in company focused on iOS products. The Redwood City-based company was founded in 2010 and serves customers across the United States and in 11 other countries.[1] iCracked employs over 2800 trained repair technicians, referred to as iTechs, that meet with clients in their local areas to repair or trade-in iOS and Samsung products including iPhones, iPods and Samsung mobile devices.[2] One of the largest on-demand repair and trade-in networks for iOS, Inc. Magazine ranked iCracked as 83rd on their 2014 Inc. 5000 list of Fastest Growing Companies.[3] In 2015, Forbes named iCracked as one of the top 20 Most Promising Companies in America.[4]

History

iCracked was founded in 2010 by AJ Forsythe and Anthony Martin.[5] Forsythe began repairing broken iPhones for small fees as a student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo when he began developing his efforts into a business.[6] Forsythe teamed up with a friend of a friend from high school, Martin, who was attending the University of California, Santa Barbara at the time.[5] The two turned idea into a campus electronic repair business and by graduation they had established a network of 40 technicians.[5]

In 2012, iCracked was accepted into the a winter class at Y Combinator's, a tech incubator for startup acceleration based in Mountain View, California.[7][8] By 2013, the company had expanded to include trade-in and resell services, and had 30 employees in their corporate office and over 300 iTechs in cities across the country repairing thousands of broken phones.[8][9] In 2013, Inc. Magazine included Forsythe and Martin in its "30 Under 30" list of young entrepreneurs with successful companies.[5][10]

In February 2014, iCracked relocated its headquarters to a larger office and announced its plans for offices in London and Berlin.[2][11] By July of that same year, iCracked's network of technicians grew to over 600 and the company generated over $1 million per month.[2] The company’s UK operations officially launched in November 2014.[12]

iCracked was named #18 on the Forbes Most Promising Companies of 2015 list, with $25 million in revenue in 2014.[4] In March 2015, iCracked’s services officially launched in Germany.[13] The company now has over 5,000 iTechs worldwide, with offices in Redwood City, San Francisco, Austin, London, Berlin and Tokyo.

Operations

iCracked operates a network of iTechs, technicians specializing in the professional repair of iOS and Samsung products.[14][15] Customers seeking repair services can go to the company website and enter his or her location via address, city, or zip code, then identify the type of issue that needs to be remedied, and a phone number to be contacted by.[1][16] iTechs are notified and respond to the customer to designate a time and location to meet in person.[11] On average, iCracked service people do between 30 and 50 repairs per week.[17] The company also offers a custom iCracked DIY kit to repair certain issues that can be mailed to a customer and includes a 30-minute tutorial as an alternative to meeting with a technician.[5][18][19]

iCracked also offers an express trade-in program. The program allows iTechs to respond to a customer and set up a meeting to assess the iPod, iPhone, or iPad or Samsung mobile device the customer is interested in selling. The iTech can then give the customer cash back on a branded debit card.[6][20]

References

  1. 1 2 J.J. Colao (12 February 2014). "iCracked's Manic Quest To Become The 'AAA' Of Smartphones...And Grow 20% Each Month". Forbes. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 Jonathan Shieber (7 August 2014). "iCracked Goes Global With Its iPhone Trade-In And Repair Services". TechCrunch. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  3. ↑ "Inc. 5000 2014: The Fastest-Growing Private U.S. Companies, At a Glance". Inc. Magazine. 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  4. 1 2 "America's Most Promising Companies: The Top 20 of 2015". Forbes. 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Burt Helm (28 May 2013). "Cure for Clumsy-phone Syndrome". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  6. 1 2 Kim-Mai Cutler (20 September 2013). "iCracked Launches A Way To ‘Uber’ Someone Up To Buy Back Your Old iPhones". TechCrunch. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  7. ↑ Rip Empson (2 March 2012). "iCracked Takes On The Geek Squad With Worldwide Local iPhone Repair". TechCrunch. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  8. 1 2 Patrick Hoge (2 August 2013). "iCracked's Apple device repair business booming". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  9. ↑ Megan Hess (8 July 2013). "iCracked is Banking on Your Cracked iPhone Screen". Mashable. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  10. ↑ "30 Under 30". Inc. Magazine. 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  11. 1 2 Kasia Hall (4 May 2014). "iCracked goes from dorm room startup to international success story". Upstart Business Journal. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  12. ↑ Paul Sawers (November 27, 2014). "iCracked officially brings its on-demand iPhone repair service to the UK". TheNextWeb. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  13. ↑ Jorn Brien (February 23, 2015). "iCracked: The Uber Smartphone Repairs coming to Germany" (in German). T3N. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  14. ↑ CHRIS GAYOMALI (3 April 2014). "BUSTED IPHONE? ICRACKED'S NEW APP IS LIKE UBER FOR DESPERATE APPLE LOVERS". Fast Company. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  15. ↑ Steven Tweedie (February 15, 2015). "How to fix your cracked iPhone or Samsung phone without leaving the house". Business Insider. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  16. ↑ Elizabeth Garone (23 January 2014). "There's More Than One Service to Replace a Shattered Cellphone Screen". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  17. ↑ David Pierini (February 20, 2015). "Cracked iPhone screen? iCracked repair tech will come to you". Cult of Mac. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Replacing a cracked iPhone screen yourself is cheap—but challenging". Consumer Reports. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  19. ↑ Tony Bradley (January 20, 2015). "How To Fix Your Broken Smartphone". Forbes. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  20. ↑ Kate Rogers (1 November 2013). "iCracked Aims to Become the ‘AAA of iOS Devices'". Fox Business. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
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