TLabs focus on startups featuring Toronto, Canada-based AccessMyID.com.
Author's note: So what do you when you're traveling abroad and your bag with your passport and other important travel documents is lost or stolen.
After you recover from your mild heart attack, you log into your AccessMyId.com account and print off the copies you stored safely using this simple yet innovative service.
Who and what are you (including personnel and backgrounds)?
AccessMyID is a startup from within the Tait Collins media company in Toronto.
- The president of Tait Collins is Stanley Cooper. With over 35 years of travel and tourism experience, Cooper has gained significant respect in the industry. Cooper maintains a low-profile in the industry, but his achievements include developing a small travel agency in Hamilton, Ontario to become one of the largest corporate and leisure retail agencies in south central Ontario, developing the above mentioned group of newspapers, and seeming to have a “feel” of what the consumer and corporate markets may successfully respond to. It may be said that throughout his career, Cooper’s independent, innovative and cutting-edge style continuously kept his companies “ahead of the curve”.
- Director of business development of is Jan Zandboer. Born and educated in the Netherlands, Zandboer has close to 30 years of hospitality and tourism experience. Prior to joining Tait Collins., Mr. Zandboer held positions with Holland America Line and the Netherlands Board of Tourism. Throughout his career, Zandboer has received awards and recognition for his contribution to the hospitality industry. These include Best National Tourist Office for the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Skal Person of the Year – Skal International Toronto 2005.
What financial support did you have to launch the business?Tait Collins Inc provided the funding for the development of AccessMyID.com
What problem are you trying to solve?
There really are no problems to be solved – but solutions to be resolved. Our sales and marketing plan is very deep. We are continually looking for qualified sales associates across North America (And Europe) who have travel, tourism or hospitality sales backgrounds, and find creative yet effective means to “get the word out” (Internet) to leisure travelers.
We have recently instituted a rather unique Affiliate Sales program, and continue to look for partners that can provide a mutually beneficial sales relationship.
On occasion, we also hear from companies that have found a novel application for AccessMyID.com, a value-add or customer “gift” that we had not considered.
Describe the business, core products and services?
When you travel, you should protect your travel documents from loss, theft or damage. However, incidents do occur. Losing your documents (however or wherever a loss may occur) can happen to anyone.
According to Frank E Moss, deputy assistant secretary for Passport Services, between April 2002 and June 2004 over 300,000 passports were reported lost, stolen or damaged in the USA alone.
AccessMyID.com is an online and SECURE tool that cannot prevent an occurrence, but will be tremendously beneficial if - or when - a loss of important documents or a medical emergency, may occur. Under no circumstances should one e-mail oneself copies of your vital travel documents! This provides people a false sense of security. Email is not normally encrypted.
No longer do you have to remember, for each trip, to photocopy documents to leave at home or your office, or travel with photocopies of just some (but not all) documents.
A subscriber can scan or photograph various important travel and personal documents. For example:
- Passport
- Visas
- Birth Certificate
- Drivers License
- Citizenship Records
- Health Insurance Cards
- Prescriptions
- Education Transcripts
- Parental Travel Permissions
- Will/Powers of Attorney
One can, and should, complete the (provided) Personal Profile and the Medical Profile. You can even consolidate and record all your various Usernames and Passwords.
You can upload and securely store important documents and profiles online so that you have immediate and ongoing Internet access to your vital information.
If you have an account with AccessMyID.com and your documents are lost, damaged or stolen, you can provide indisputable proof of ID at an embassy, consulate or bank, and you have a comprehensive record of document numbers.
AccessMyID.com can even be useful in your own city and home. Have you ever lost your wallet or purse and had to replace all your documents? Often, you may not remember everything that you carry in your wallet.
Who are your key customers and users at launch?
- Travel agencies
- Tour operators
- Websites – key categories such as women’s travel/adventure travel/ex-pat/youth
Did you have customers validate your idea before investors?Yes
Who advised you your idea isn’t going to be successful and why didn’t you listen to them?
We have validated that AccessMyID.com is a worthy – and “needed” service. We most often hear one of two statements – either “Oh, I could have used that!” or “What a good idea!.”
Very few qualified folks saw no merit in the idea – feedback was positive and resulted - and continues to result – in credible ideas to further improve the site.
TLabs Showcase is part of the wider TLabs project from Tnooz.
To be featured as a startup in TLabs Showcase or to demonstrate a new product, email Tnooz for more details.