Local entrepreneurs have come up with a way to avoid losing your iPhone forever. “Never Lost, Never Stolen,” is the LOCSHARK motto, a company now making special cases for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, along with the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.

“It’s a phone case that allows you to locate your phone whether it’s lost or stolen,” says says Armani Williams, CEO of LOCSHARK. “We built a Bluetooth mechanism inside the case, so the user is the only person that can take off that case on our website and mobile app. It has a GPS device inside the case, so no matter where the case is, you have a three day, 72-hour battery life inside the case to locate it.”

The idea started back in 2013 when Williams lost his phone one night when he was with friends. The phone ended up being at his friends place the entire time and it was dead by the time he found it. That’s what sparked the idea for a case with a long battery life that could pinpoint where exactly your phone was located. It’s an idea that Williams says basically picks up where the ‘Find my iPhone’ app leaves off.

“Everybody’s on their phone. You have valuable stuff on your phone that you don’t want to lose,” Williams says. “What we’re doing, is we’re protecting your phone, but not only that…we are finding your phone, locating it. I mean, it’s just something that’s innovative and that nobody has ever seen before.”

Everything is controlled through a username and password on the LOCSHARK website and iPhone app. 

“There, you can unlock it, you can see how much the battery is, you can locate your phone, just like if you were using Google Maps. It would direct you straight to where that phone is located,” Williams says.

If the phone is stolen, then you even have the ability to click a button that will alert the local authorities. 

“If that thing is charged, you will always be able to find it, no matter what. With the GPS in there, it’s global positioning, so anywhere in the world you’ll be able to locate it,” says Rex Rose, Vice President of LOCSHARK. “We spent the time researching what people need and what they will use our product for.”

The cases, which come in a variety of colors, are made with military grade material to also serve as protection for the phone. Williams and Rose say the whole process did not happen overnight.

“When we started the business, we had nothing. We just found people that we knew that could help us, and we listened. We found a way to make it happen, so for any younger generation…anything is possible. All you have to do is work hard and keep working every single day at it,” Williams says.

“As far as being an entrepreneur…it takes courage to just step out there. You’re definitely going to hear ‘no’ from a lot of people, probably more than you’ll hear ‘yes’, but when you have the right partners like me and Armani, we know that we’re just going to persevere and keep going no matter what somebody says. We’re going to find a way and get where we need to be,” Rose says.

The cases are available for purchase right now on their website. They also have a campaign going on until November 10th for those wanting to donate or buy their products. For the first thousand customers, the cases are $89. After that, they will be $100 for the rest of the campaign. Once the campaign is over, the retail price for the smart cases will be $120.

“If we can get everybody locally and around the nation, even around the world believing in our product, then we’ll be on our way and we can actually make something and even make a difference,” Williams says.

Once the campaign is over, it will take several months to build the cases. They hope to have them arriving at your door by February or March. 

“We know we couldn’t be here without Lubbock’s help. We want Lubbock to be a part of what we’re doing and to be excited for us and the community to know that we could have something really huge happen right here,” Rose says.

This is just the beginning for the LOCSHARK team. Eventually, they say they would like to make cases for all other types of phones. They also hope to keep expanding in the future to include other products that involve the same features as the iPhone case.

To check out their website and products, visit http://www.locshark.com