Albuquerque security startup toSERVO, which acts as a provider of security personnel, is partnering with the Asian Business Collaborative to provide security to Asian and Pacific Islander-owned businesses.
ToServo’s technology allows users to send an alert through a digital platform, allowing the company to assign specific tasks to contracted security personnel.
The announcement follows two shootings at Asian-owned businesses, one of which resulted in the death of massage spa owner Sihui Fang, in January and February.
“When there's a problem, the customers can hit the big red button on our app ... and our system immediately finds and sends [the] closes licensed responder within our network,” Hochla said in an interview with Business First.
Members of the Asian Business Collaborative will have access to toSERVO's services with the year-long partnership.
Hochla did not disclose the contract price.
As for the clients in the Good Neighbor Program, they are "under confidentiality due to safety reasons," according to a May 20 email from Kristelle Siarza, the volunteer executive director of the Asian Business Collaborative who confirmed the contract with toSERVO.
In a separate statement provided by Siarza Social Digital, Siarza said "the [Asian and Pacific Islander] business community is asking for the feeling of safety and security." Siarza is the CEO of the marketing agency.
In February, Business First reported that the Asian Business Collaborative conservatively estimates that there are between 200 and 300 Asian-owned or Pacific Islander-owned businesses in Albuquerque.
According to Census Bureau 2019 data released in October, there were an estimated 581,200 Asian-owned and 7,331 native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander-owned businesses.
