Former Denver Deputy Mayor Murphy Robinson, right, and his wife Alex Robinson have a new startup called SurePass. (Courtesy images/BusinessDen illustration)
In theory, Murphy Robinson founded SurePass over a decade ago.
At the time working as a police officer in Brighton, he often checked into city court. But one day, he noticed an unfamiliar officer — who turned out to not be an officer at all.
“He ended up having a loaded gun on him,” said Robinson, now 36, noting the man got in by flashing a fake ID and badge. “That was when I knew I wanted to do this.”
SurePass, the Littleton-based company he and his wife Alex started last year, aims to prevent situations like that. Its software gives a way for an employer or venue to verify security staff showing up for work, whether that’s to staff a downtown office building or an arena during a concert.
“Essentially we’ve made the police ID digital and verifiable. It exists in the movies, but that’s it,” Murphy Robinson said.
Development started last May, with the two using $100,000 of their own money to get off the ground. SurePass officially launched last month.
The couple also raised a $3 million seed round across four weeks in December, led by Ibotta founder and CEO Bryan Leach. Other investors include executives that run arenas and Fortune 500/100 companies, Robinson said.
“Our main thing is to keep people safe and alleviate the worst from happening,” Alex Robinson added.
Robinson, who worked for Denver Mayor Hancock’s administration from 2017 to 2022, said he and his wife, who has a background in software development, already have 10 customers. They are all in Colorado and range from private corporations to city and state offices.
Those clients pay a monthly subscription to add officers to the SurePass database, which creates a digitized badge for each. That allows them to scan in at any given security checkpoint, whether through an app on a phone or kiosk – a tablet similar to ticket scanners at sporting events.
“When someone scans in, it gives all the official info that would otherwise be on an ID,” Robinson said. “It also gives a digital log of who entered at that checkpoint at which time.”
Officers can scan in with the app or use a SurePass-issued physical ID. The company also offers scannable stickers that can be put on preexisting badges.
Compare that to the current system, said Robinson, whose law enforcement career began over 15 years ago when he was a junior at Xavier University in Ohio.
What the SurePass app shows after an individual scans in. (Courtesy SurePass)
“It’s just flash the badge and walk through,” he said.
Robinson also sees potential for SurePass at an individual level, outside of security.
When a utility worker has to come out and fix a leaky pipe, homeowners could scan them in to make sure the right person walks through the door, he said. He mentioned parent pickup at schools as another possible use. In that case, parents could verify their identities with staff before they can leave with their kid.
Robinson said SurePass is in talks with a host of government entities — local to national and international — along with schools, hospitals and sports teams. He took a 20-minute call with a Major League Baseball team’s head of security during an interview for this article.
“To say this is taking off and people are seeing the need is saying it lightly,” he said.
Robinson served as both deputy mayor and head of Denver’s Public Safety Department from 2020 through 2022, which saw him bring 400 out-of-state law enforcement officials to the Mile High City during George Floyd protests. But the method of tracking them, he said, was more basic.
“We always do roll calls but it’s usually a sheet of paper and someone is logging it. That’s not easily accessible and does not use a national database,” he said of the process. “(SurePass) allows you to more quickly and concisely have a log of anyone through a mutual aid agreement who is being deployed and where.”
After he resigned from Denver, he and Alex founded SecaSecure, a security consulting firm which Murphy is still the chairman of. The two combined their skills similarly with SurePass.
The couple, married for 10 years with two kids, has hired eight people to work on sales and development. They plan on using the recent $3 million infusion to add about 20 people across the board.
“I’m not just looking for money, I’m looking for expertise,” Murphy Robinson said. “We’re looking to scale nationally.”
Former Denver Deputy Mayor Murphy Robinson, right, and his wife Alex Robinson have a new startup called SurePass. (Courtesy images/BusinessDen illustration)
In theory, Murphy Robinson founded SurePass over a decade ago.
At the time working as a police officer in Brighton, he often checked into city court. But one day, he noticed an unfamiliar officer — who turned out to not be an officer at all.
“He ended up having a loaded gun on him,” said Robinson, now 36, noting the man got in by flashing a fake ID and badge. “That was when I knew I wanted to do this.”
SurePass, the Littleton-based company he and his wife Alex started last year, aims to prevent situations like that. Its software gives a way for an employer or venue to verify security staff showing up for work, whether that’s to staff a downtown office building or an arena during a concert.
“Essentially we’ve made the police ID digital and verifiable. It exists in the movies, but that’s it,” Murphy Robinson said.
Development started last May, with the two using $100,000 of their own money to get off the ground. SurePass officially launched last month.
The couple also raised a $3 million seed round across four weeks in December, led by Ibotta founder and CEO Bryan Leach. Other investors include executives that run arenas and Fortune 500/100 companies, Robinson said.
“Our main thing is to keep people safe and alleviate the worst from happening,” Alex Robinson added.
Robinson, who worked for Denver Mayor Hancock’s administration from 2017 to 2022, said he and his wife, who has a background in software development, already have 10 customers. They are all in Colorado and range from private corporations to city and state offices.
Those clients pay a monthly subscription to add officers to the SurePass database, which creates a digitized badge for each. That allows them to scan in at any given security checkpoint, whether through an app on a phone or kiosk – a tablet similar to ticket scanners at sporting events.
“When someone scans in, it gives all the official info that would otherwise be on an ID,” Robinson said. “It also gives a digital log of who entered at that checkpoint at which time.”
Officers can scan in with the app or use a SurePass-issued physical ID. The company also offers scannable stickers that can be put on preexisting badges.
Compare that to the current system, said Robinson, whose law enforcement career began over 15 years ago when he was a junior at Xavier University in Ohio.
What the SurePass app shows after an individual scans in. (Courtesy SurePass)
“It’s just flash the badge and walk through,” he said.
Robinson also sees potential for SurePass at an individual level, outside of security.
When a utility worker has to come out and fix a leaky pipe, homeowners could scan them in to make sure the right person walks through the door, he said. He mentioned parent pickup at schools as another possible use. In that case, parents could verify their identities with staff before they can leave with their kid.
Robinson said SurePass is in talks with a host of government entities — local to national and international — along with schools, hospitals and sports teams. He took a 20-minute call with a Major League Baseball team’s head of security during an interview for this article.
“To say this is taking off and people are seeing the need is saying it lightly,” he said.
Robinson served as both deputy mayor and head of Denver’s Public Safety Department from 2020 through 2022, which saw him bring 400 out-of-state law enforcement officials to the Mile High City during George Floyd protests. But the method of tracking them, he said, was more basic.
“We always do roll calls but it’s usually a sheet of paper and someone is logging it. That’s not easily accessible and does not use a national database,” he said of the process. “(SurePass) allows you to more quickly and concisely have a log of anyone through a mutual aid agreement who is being deployed and where.”
After he resigned from Denver, he and Alex founded SecaSecure, a security consulting firm which Murphy is still the chairman of. The two combined their skills similarly with SurePass.
The couple, married for 10 years with two kids, has hired eight people to work on sales and development. They plan on using the recent $3 million infusion to add about 20 people across the board.
“I’m not just looking for money, I’m looking for expertise,” Murphy Robinson said. “We’re looking to scale nationally.”
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