When your computer breaks, you call IT Support. When you lose your keys, you call a locksmith.

Or do you?

Have you ever wished there were a way to find your keys with your iPhone? Or maybe your wallet? Maybe you’re like me, and occasionally forget where you parked. Well, US start-up Tile has come up with a clever piece of technology to help, and it works exactly like that.

Tile started out with $200k in seed funding, then moving on to raise a massive $2.6m dollars via their own crowd-funding website (powered by the open-source Selfstarter) and they are available for pre-order order for USD$18.95 per piece, or 4 for just over USD$50.

Unfortunately for us in Australia & NZ (we always seem to be paying more for goods– it irks me, and I’ve actually written some tips on this here) there is also a USD$14 shipping fee. But hey, if it locates your lost or stolen bag or wallet, it will pay for itself a few times!

There are some really cool features to Tile that leverages its Bluetooth connectivity.  Tiles themselves have a Bluetooth range of about 15-50 metres, and the Tile app on your phone will remember where it last ‘saw’ it, as well as letting you know via a little bar graph how close you’re getting to the location.

Individual Tiles last a year before needing to be replaced– there is no need to replace batteries for a whole year, which makes it pretty convenient. The company actually contact each user after about 11 months to arrange for the device to be recycled.

This is just another example of how simple marketing for (seemingly) simple products are delivering unprecedented growth. How does your business audit your services and marketing to ensure it is simple and effective?