Forgetfulness has served Steven Brill well over the course of a long entrepreneurial career that has spawned numerous publications, CourtTV and, most recently, Clear, a service that offers a faster way for travelers to move through airport security line. On Wednesday the startup, formally called Verified Identity Pass Inc., announced it raised $44.4 million in its second round of venture funding.
"Retroactively, I always say, 'If I had known how hard this was going to be, I never would have done it,'" Brill says in an interview, as he outlined his plans for the $116.4 million Clear has raised to date from Spark Capital and a long list of other venture and corporate backers.
If such generous backing stirs envy among struggling entrepreneurs, Brill says he has already faced some trying challenges launching Clear, including a pilot program in Orlando that was supposed to take six months but lasted a year and a half as the Transportation Security Administration scrutinized the service.
Clear's immediate plans for the latest infusion of capital are to continue to expand beyond the 18 U.S. airports where it now operates and to build its user base, which currently numbers 200,000 members. Launch costs are a steep $1.5 million to $2 million per airport, Brill says, and although the company has done minimal marketing to date, it sees its real success coming with critical mass.
Longer term, Brill sees potential to expand Clear outside beyond the U.S. The company's service works much like a highway "fast pass," except that users must undergo rigorous background checks. Once they're approved, they simply present an ID card containing biometric info that gives them access to the fast line at the airport. They must still pass through a metal detector, but the process is about 30% faster than the traditional lines, he says.
Brill declines to disclose Clear's current valuation But he goes plots the company's ambitious expansion, he claims that he has--agai--sworn off any new startups. noting. "They are just in my dreams." -- Andrea Orr
See Aug. 20 post on Clear funding from Tech Confidential
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