Who can send or receive an E1 alert?

Only a group the user has chosen, never a radius of strangers. Nothing is posted publicly, and neighbors can be reached by SMS even without an E1 account.

What information does an alert carry?

The alert level (red SOS or yellow alert), what’s happening (medical, fire, break-in, or custom), and the sender’s location, with responders able to confirm they’re on the way.

E1 — Emergency One

How E1 Turns Neighbors Into First Responders with One-Press Emergency Alerts

Q: Can an alert be sent without touching the phone?

Yes. E1 can be triggered by voice through Siri or Alexa for the times the phone isn’t in hand.

E1 alerts a chosen group of neighbors with one press when seconds matter.

Response measured by who is closest, not by how far help has to drive.

Key takeaways

Client

E1 (Emergency One), founded by Corbin Miller — an app that lets a chosen group of neighbors alert each other in one press during an emergency.

Challenge

Neighbors who already looked out for each other had no fast way to reach one another when something went wrong. The alternatives were calling one person at a time, posting to a general feed, or waiting on 911 (about 10 minutes) or a monitored alarm company (36–40 minutes).

Solution

A one-press SOS and alert system with location sharing, responder confirmation, voice triggers, and SMS coverage for neighbors without the app — built by Techjays from discovery through branding and a shipped MVP.

Result

Response measured in seconds to minutes instead of 10–40 minutes, reaching every neighbor in the group at once instead of one phone call at a time.

What is E1?

E1 (Emergency One) is a neighborhood safety app founded by Corbin Miller. It lets a group of neighbors the user has chosen, not a radius of strangers, alert each other in one press when something is wrong, so help can come from whoever is closest rather than whoever picks up the phone first.

What problem did E1 face?

Nothing moves in an emergency until someone nearby knows. Neighbors who already looked out for each other had two realistic options: call one person at a time and hope someone picked up, or post to a general neighborhood feed and hope the right person happened to see it. Neither gets the person three doors down moving.

The official alternatives were slower still. 911 averages around 10 minutes, and a monitored alarm company takes 36 to 40 minutes. In the minutes that matter most, help depended on who happened to answer, not on who was closest.

How did we solve it?

Techjays built E1 around a simple reframe: in the first few minutes, the person who can actually help is whoever is closest, and that’s usually a neighbor. The product moves a call for help from one house to the right handful of houses, faster than working down a contact list and without broadcasting it to everyone in the area.

One press sends the alert, at two levels:

A red SOS for an emergency in progress
A yellow alert for something that only looks wrong

One more tap says what it is (medical, fire, break-in, or custom), so neighbors know what they’re walking into. Every alert carries location, and responders can confirm they’re on the way. It can also be triggered by voice through Siri or Alexa, for the times the phone isn’t in hand.

The deliberate line was drawn around who is covered. Recipients are a group the user has built, never a radius of strangers, and nothing is posted publicly. Neighbors can also be reached by SMS without an account, so a household’s coverage isn’t limited to who downloaded the app. E1 isn’t trying to replace emergency services; it fills the gap before they arrive.

Why did the client choose Techjays?

E1 found Techjays through a referral and chose the team on culture fit and value. Techjays ran discovery before proposing anything, designed and branded the product, and shipped the MVP on time and on budget.

Corbin had asked for a partner who would express opinions rather than take orders, and got one: Techjays pushed on the product’s shape, not just its build, and was invested like a co-founder.

Results

What results did E1 achieve?

Metric	Before	After
Time until someone is at the door	About 10 minutes for 911; 36–40 for a monitored alarm	Seconds to minutes, whoever is nearest
Who a call for help reaches	The one person you managed to phone	Every neighbor in the group at once
Coverage across a street	Limited to households that installed the app	Extends to SMS-only neighbors with no account

Response figures are directional and describe how the product is designed to work, not a measured field study.

“Before E1, a neighborhood watch was a group text and good intentions. Now one press reaches the whole group at once, with location and what has happened, and someone is usually already on the street. We stopped counting on help that has to drive in.”

Corbin MillerFounder & CEO, Emergency One (E1)

Frequently Asked