Oct 16, 2025
From School Shooting Witness to $640M Emergency AI
An interview with Michael Chime, Founder of Prepared
Founder Focused
Most 25-year-olds are worrying about student loans and entry-level jobs. Michael Chime just sold his AI startup for $640 million.
At age 12, Chime witnessed a school shooting in his Ohio community that killed four people. That childhood trauma didn't break him—it built him. Today, his company Prepared powers 911 systems across 49 states, processing over 30 million emergency calls annually with AI that helps save lives in real-time.
In this raw interview, Chime reveals how he turned personal tragedy into a mission-driven company, why he gave away his product for free to 1,000+ cities, and the counterintuitive strategy that cracked the notoriously difficult government market—proving that sometimes the hardest problems make for the best businesses.
Watch the full interview now on EO's YouTube channel! Below is the complete transcription of the interview. Minor edits have been made for clarity and readability.
Key Highlights:
"I kind of landed into technology and startups just by seeing that emergency happen in my community as a kid."
"Technology all around us is moving really rapidly, but it's not in public safety. Somebody calling 911 and having a really bad experience, that's happening everywhere."
"I actually don't know if I'll be successful, but I think I'll regret not having tried."
"Within our first week, people used it to save a life. I think it was a CPR call."
"We are on track this year to process well over 30 million calls."
"Our first roughly 1000 cities, and we have over 1000 cities now across the country that use us, paid us nothing."
"I think it's actually easier to build a hard company than an easy one."
"If we just stop tomorrow, the world would be less safe."
"Technology all around us is moving really rapidly, but it's not in public safety. Somebody calling 911 and having a really bad experience, that's happening everywhere."
"I actually don't know if I'll be successful, but I think I'll regret not having tried."
"Within our first week, people used it to save a life. I think it was a CPR call."
"We are on track this year to process well over 30 million calls."
"Our first roughly 1000 cities, and we have over 1000 cities now across the country that use us, paid us nothing."
"I think it's actually easier to build a hard company than an easy one."
"If we just stop tomorrow, the world would be less safe."
When the Darkness Came
Tell us about the event that changed everything for you as a kid.
Michael Chime: I kind of landed into technology and startups just by seeing that emergency happen in my community as a kid. It was an active shooter event when I was 12. I was in 3rd grade, I think, and yeah, someone came on site and brought a weapon, shot students. And I think there were 4 people that passed away.
My town borders the town where the emergency happened. My school locked down cause it was so close. And as a young kid, right, I was 12 when this happened, and so like, you just recognize like, hey, safety is something that's not a given.
I don't think pre that event, I haven't really thought about safety or the idea that I wouldn't be safe. And you know, like as a kid, you're like, oh my goodness, this is not a drill, and the teachers are actually nervous. Becomes real quickly that, you know, you're not always safe.
Seeing that happen in a place where you actually knew the people, I think it really hit home. Emergencies could happen and they could impact people you actually know or you. That was, you know, in the back of my head, it was a thought that I had all throughout my childhood.
My town borders the town where the emergency happened. My school locked down cause it was so close. And as a young kid, right, I was 12 when this happened, and so like, you just recognize like, hey, safety is something that's not a given.
I don't think pre that event, I haven't really thought about safety or the idea that I wouldn't be safe. And you know, like as a kid, you're like, oh my goodness, this is not a drill, and the teachers are actually nervous. Becomes real quickly that, you know, you're not always safe.
Seeing that happen in a place where you actually knew the people, I think it really hit home. Emergencies could happen and they could impact people you actually know or you. That was, you know, in the back of my head, it was a thought that I had all throughout my childhood.
How did that experience shape your path from wanting to play sports to building a startup?
Michael Chime: So I grew up in a small town outside of Cleveland. I think I wanted to play sports after college. I was always naturally drawn towards things that were challenging to do and felt important. And so sports was the best way for me to do that. I probably would have played sports or just taken a fang job after school. That's probably what I would have done.
When I went to high school and was thinking about these things more, March of Our Lives is at its peak. And so our generation was really starting to take a stand and say, hey, this is not so great. We should change things here. And that was compelling and exciting to me.
When I went to college, I met two classmates that turned out to be co-founders later, Dylan and Neil, grew up in a very similar environment. They, in the town over from them was Sandy Hook. And so I think just generally speaking, we thought about it more as kids, and we didn't think we would build a company. We just thought we would build this simple tool schools would use in college, and then we would go off and do whatever our jobs after.
When I went to high school and was thinking about these things more, March of Our Lives is at its peak. And so our generation was really starting to take a stand and say, hey, this is not so great. We should change things here. And that was compelling and exciting to me.
When I went to college, I met two classmates that turned out to be co-founders later, Dylan and Neil, grew up in a very similar environment. They, in the town over from them was Sandy Hook. And so I think just generally speaking, we thought about it more as kids, and we didn't think we would build a company. We just thought we would build this simple tool schools would use in college, and then we would go off and do whatever our jobs after.
The Accidental Discovery
How did you transition from building a school app to working with 911 systems?
Michael Chime: Yeah, so our first product was an app for schools, and we had a couple 100 schools across the country launch that solution, and that's how we got into 911 was schools would say they were running a drill, right? They would take a picture of something on site and then they'd want to share it to 911, right? Because 911 would respond to that situation.
In doing that work, we'd want to share data to 911 centers. But what I realized is that that simple idea, sharing a picture to somebody in an emergency, that the current 911 systems weren't set up to do that. I don't think many people know this, but still today, most of the 911 centers are using technology built on the assumption those calls are landlines.
So the first problem we attempted to solve was that how do we make sure that when we call, the systems are intelligent enough to take that information in? I think we can hold the line and say, OK, when somebody has that situation, how do we hold a really high bar and make sure that we use whatever technology possible to try to make that the best possible response.
In doing that work, we'd want to share data to 911 centers. But what I realized is that that simple idea, sharing a picture to somebody in an emergency, that the current 911 systems weren't set up to do that. I don't think many people know this, but still today, most of the 911 centers are using technology built on the assumption those calls are landlines.
So the first problem we attempted to solve was that how do we make sure that when we call, the systems are intelligent enough to take that information in? I think we can hold the line and say, OK, when somebody has that situation, how do we hold a really high bar and make sure that we use whatever technology possible to try to make that the best possible response.
What was it like convincing your parents to let you drop out of Yale to pursue this?
Michael Chime: Who was gonna be senior class at Yale was like taking the year off school. So I'm like, OK, I guess I'll do that too, and I took the year off. That's when I applied and did the Teal fellowship. And the pitch to my parents, who did not like the idea of me doing the fellowship at all, my mom actually hated it.
So both parents are like, Michael, you're one year away from graduating, why not just finish up? Like, why not just go all the way through? And this was, it was not obvious that we're gonna have any success. It was like, our first office was an apartment and the master was the office, and it was just folding tables with monitors. And so I was like, Mom and dad, I'm gonna go and live here and I'm gonna work on this thing. So it's a hard pitch.
I said to them what I said here, which I really believe is just like, you know, mom, dad, like, the problem that we're talking about here, somebody calling 911 and having a really bad experience, that's happening everywhere. I actually don't know if I'll be successful, but I think I'll regret not having tried, right? And they let me do it.
So both parents are like, Michael, you're one year away from graduating, why not just finish up? Like, why not just go all the way through? And this was, it was not obvious that we're gonna have any success. It was like, our first office was an apartment and the master was the office, and it was just folding tables with monitors. And so I was like, Mom and dad, I'm gonna go and live here and I'm gonna work on this thing. So it's a hard pitch.
I said to them what I said here, which I really believe is just like, you know, mom, dad, like, the problem that we're talking about here, somebody calling 911 and having a really bad experience, that's happening everywhere. I actually don't know if I'll be successful, but I think I'll regret not having tried, right? And they let me do it.
The Broken Reality of 911
What did you discover when you first walked into a 911 center?
Michael Chime: So this is when I just started knocking on the door of 911 centers, and then they, you know, walked me through the center. I remember that moment walking through a 911 center for the first time really vividly. It was like, you know, I again, I'd come in with this assumption that I was about to walk in and see the coolest technology I've ever seen. I was about to see the best technology in the world, and I saw the complete inverse.
I remember the first time I sat next to a call taker, and they were doing their best work, but the guy, you know, like, he's taking a call. Someone was very urgent. He kind of had like the headset on his ear. He's typing as fast as he can every single detail that this person's trying to describe, like clearly missing stuff, and anybody would. I miss stuff if I was in that same seat, but the dash stream of consciousness of notes is what someone was going to run into a burning building with, and my mind was blown.
I remember the first time I sat next to a call taker, and they were doing their best work, but the guy, you know, like, he's taking a call. Someone was very urgent. He kind of had like the headset on his ear. He's typing as fast as he can every single detail that this person's trying to describe, like clearly missing stuff, and anybody would. I miss stuff if I was in that same seat, but the dash stream of consciousness of notes is what someone was going to run into a burning building with, and my mind was blown.
How did you approach the challenge of changing these entrenched systems?
Michael Chime: It's very daunting to rip out their current technology. If you rip out the center and you miss one single call, that's like a really big deal. And so what we had to do was architect, OK, how do we fit within the systems? We sit there and we say, hey, like I can appreciate why the technology is that way. It's very hard. It's difficult to switch systems. How do we actually build our solutions around your concerns, which are valid, right?
And I don't think any vendor's done that or any technology company has done that before. They've just, you know, said, well, why is that so bad? Let's just rip it out. And I think that you need something more thoughtful than that to see real change. We should solve it today. We shouldn't wait 10 years to go and solve that problem. So we thought the best, you know, kind of most speedy way to start making progress was integrating with the systems as opposed to ripping them out.
And I don't think any vendor's done that or any technology company has done that before. They've just, you know, said, well, why is that so bad? Let's just rip it out. And I think that you need something more thoughtful than that to see real change. We should solve it today. We shouldn't wait 10 years to go and solve that problem. So we thought the best, you know, kind of most speedy way to start making progress was integrating with the systems as opposed to ripping them out.
The First Life Saved
Tell us about that first week when your product saved a life.
Michael Chime: I remember when we first turned on our product for 911 centers. Within our first week, people used it to save a life. I think it was a CPR call. So someone calls in, they're with their friend, and they, you know, passed somebody on the street that was passed out, and they're like, OK, we're going to initiate, we're going to do CPR, but they had no idea how to do CPR.
They had never done it before, and the call taker was trying to walk them through it over the phone but couldn't understand where their hands were placed, if they were breathing at the right time and they remembered, oh, I have prepared and they turned on live stream. And so the friends started streaming CPR with the phone on speaker, and the call taker saw it and was able to coach them through live and the guy comes back to life.
And so that was in our first week of deploying the technology and you're like, OK, that's pretty cool. So I think early on that was a real driver and motivator. And now, I mean, we are on track this year to process well over 30 million calls. Every day, you just get stories of how people are using it to save lives.
They had never done it before, and the call taker was trying to walk them through it over the phone but couldn't understand where their hands were placed, if they were breathing at the right time and they remembered, oh, I have prepared and they turned on live stream. And so the friends started streaming CPR with the phone on speaker, and the call taker saw it and was able to coach them through live and the guy comes back to life.
And so that was in our first week of deploying the technology and you're like, OK, that's pretty cool. So I think early on that was a real driver and motivator. And now, I mean, we are on track this year to process well over 30 million calls. Every day, you just get stories of how people are using it to save lives.
How do you ensure you stay connected to the impact of your work?
Michael Chime: One way to make sure that we internalize the weight of what we're doing is spend time with the centers. You go into a center and you see somebody take a call and just kind of like feel the weight and the pain of not being able to handle that call cause they're sitting on language line or they miss a key detail. And so like, the impacts of those things are life-changing.
Every new product that you've seen us launch has been sitting next to a center who's actually using it, and we just watch them have a problem and then we go and solve it. Now, I spent a lot of time just sitting next to them. I think, you know, even as we've gotten big, I've tried to spend 1 week or 2 weeks a month in centers sitting next to them, and it's just been such an advantage for us.
Every new product that you've seen us launch has been sitting next to a center who's actually using it, and we just watch them have a problem and then we go and solve it. Now, I spent a lot of time just sitting next to them. I think, you know, even as we've gotten big, I've tried to spend 1 week or 2 weeks a month in centers sitting next to them, and it's just been such an advantage for us.
The Data-Driven Evolution
How did you evolve from that first simple product to the comprehensive AI platform you have today?
Michael Chime: In our first month where we launched the very first version of our product, which was, again, you could send a link to a citizen and they could live stream and share pictures and videos, etc. Our first month, we had like 350 incidents go through the platform. Shortly thereafter, 3 months later, we had 60,000 monthly messages going through the platform. So you saw a huge uptick in emergencies.
And so you had this large amount of data that you can go in and talk to customers, hey, why are you using it this way? One of the things that became clear was, if you had bad information go into 911, that was actually worse than no information at all.
Language translation is an example. Initially, we would see people text back that link in Spanish. And we literally have centers go into our platform, get that text in Spanish, copy and paste it into Google Translate, translate it, and then go back to us. Like they were toggling between these two screens, and we're like, oh my goodness, like we'll just bring that in. And so our first paid product was this just language translation over text, and centers used it.
And so you had this large amount of data that you can go in and talk to customers, hey, why are you using it this way? One of the things that became clear was, if you had bad information go into 911, that was actually worse than no information at all.
Language translation is an example. Initially, we would see people text back that link in Spanish. And we literally have centers go into our platform, get that text in Spanish, copy and paste it into Google Translate, translate it, and then go back to us. Like they were toggling between these two screens, and we're like, oh my goodness, like we'll just bring that in. And so our first paid product was this just language translation over text, and centers used it.
How did you continue building from those early insights?
Michael Chime: The next evolution of our product was, oh wait, why even text them at all if they don't speak English? Why can't we just, you know, translate it right on the call? And so our next product was, could we plug in, pull out the audio, and start translating on the audio as opposed to moving them to text.
And then, you know, we launched that product in centers across the country, started using that transcription and translation. And then now, this last year, we started launching new versions of our new modules on top of our product because we saw new problems.
We started processing millions of calls a month, and you just look at those calls and you see, oh my goodness, one, we have hold times on non-emergency calls, and 2, when emergency calls come in, I'm rushing between, you know, call to call. Why do we have the critical resource, a human agent focused on noise complaints or parking tickets? AI could do that job. And so we launched a voice agent that could handle non-emergency calls, and now some of the biggest cities in the country are fully offloading those calls to us.
And then, you know, we launched that product in centers across the country, started using that transcription and translation. And then now, this last year, we started launching new versions of our new modules on top of our product because we saw new problems.
We started processing millions of calls a month, and you just look at those calls and you see, oh my goodness, one, we have hold times on non-emergency calls, and 2, when emergency calls come in, I'm rushing between, you know, call to call. Why do we have the critical resource, a human agent focused on noise complaints or parking tickets? AI could do that job. And so we launched a voice agent that could handle non-emergency calls, and now some of the biggest cities in the country are fully offloading those calls to us.
The Bottoms-Up Revolution
Investors told you not to work in government because there's no money in it. How did you prove them wrong?
Michael Chime: I remember when we were first starting and we were pitching investors, they would tell me, don't work in government, don't work in 911. 1, it's very hard to do, very hard to see change, which is certainly true. But also there's not much money in 911. It's not a big enough market. And I remember that advice of like, you know, starting small and focusing on something nature is actually a good thing. And so I stuck to that and it worked out.
One of the things that had blocked innovation was this long arduous process to even get in working with the center. There were startups that in other markets that had faced similar two decades ago, selling to the Fortune 500 companies for a startup was very difficult. Normally, that was just like Oracle or Salesforce or any other big company was able to actually punch at that weight.
One of the things that had blocked innovation was this long arduous process to even get in working with the center. There were startups that in other markets that had faced similar two decades ago, selling to the Fortune 500 companies for a startup was very difficult. Normally, that was just like Oracle or Salesforce or any other big company was able to actually punch at that weight.
How did you crack the distribution problem that others couldn't solve?
Michael Chime: So startups started to change their model. So companies like a Slack or a Yammer started to give their product to end employees. And at the time, that was very controversial. They're like, wait, you can't just give your technology to the end employees. You got to go through IT first. You got to do all these things. And they did it, and it worked, and Bottoms Up was born. This idea of starting with the end employees, then going back to the kind of processes of the big company.
Our idea was that government was the same thing or that procurement was the system's IT equivalent in government, and that if we could get our technology in the hands of end users and make the discussion about technology and not procurement, that we would win. And so that was a big part of our initial strategy.
So our first product was no cost for centers, and the only goal was to get our technology in, build the best solutions, show them that there was a better way, and then we thought that if we did do that, we'd be able to expand from there. And so our first roughly 1000 cities, and we have over 1000 cities now across the country that use us, paid us nothing. But they saw like, oh my goodness, there is a better way, and that was a big part of our initial strategy.
Our idea was that government was the same thing or that procurement was the system's IT equivalent in government, and that if we could get our technology in the hands of end users and make the discussion about technology and not procurement, that we would win. And so that was a big part of our initial strategy.
So our first product was no cost for centers, and the only goal was to get our technology in, build the best solutions, show them that there was a better way, and then we thought that if we did do that, we'd be able to expand from there. And so our first roughly 1000 cities, and we have over 1000 cities now across the country that use us, paid us nothing. But they saw like, oh my goodness, there is a better way, and that was a big part of our initial strategy.
The Weight of Leadership
What's been the hardest part about scaling from that apartment office to 1,000+ people?
Michael Chime: I think the hardest thing is, especially at the rate that we've grown, we were in that apartment office only 3.5, 4 years ago, and now here we're plus 1000 people, might double in the next year. I think the hardest thing is the job is changing every month or every day.
And so, like when we first started, first customers, I was selling. I was going out and having the conversations with them very quickly, we needed to scale that and grow that, and I was no longer selling. And now it was about managing people that are going and having those conversations. Now, selling it actually and managing people who are selling at very different jobs, doing it versus managing it.
And the hard things for me were letting go of the past job and getting good at the new job, because it's not so fun. You like feel like, oh, I'm just starting to get good at this selling thing, and now I got to go and do something I've never done before and that's uncomfortable, and you're not so good at it initially.
And so, like when we first started, first customers, I was selling. I was going out and having the conversations with them very quickly, we needed to scale that and grow that, and I was no longer selling. And now it was about managing people that are going and having those conversations. Now, selling it actually and managing people who are selling at very different jobs, doing it versus managing it.
And the hard things for me were letting go of the past job and getting good at the new job, because it's not so fun. You like feel like, oh, I'm just starting to get good at this selling thing, and now I got to go and do something I've never done before and that's uncomfortable, and you're not so good at it initially.
How do you maintain culture and customer obsession at scale?
Michael Chime: Now, as we have like very professional managers on the team, it's really about building a culture. We don't really compromise on, are we customer-obsessed. I think it's incredibly important that even as we get to 1000 people, that we're still sitting as customers. We're not gonna budge on that. But there's certain things we absolutely need to budge on and change because the company's changing so much.
So like, how do you do that at scale across a lot of people? It's very different than management, which was the last job. Like, letting go of the last job, being like, OK, this is the new job, and being OK with learning against it and the uncomfort that comes with learning. And I think that's where a lot of founders get chirped up is they just keep doing their last job, even though the company needs them to do their new job.
So like, how do you do that at scale across a lot of people? It's very different than management, which was the last job. Like, letting go of the last job, being like, OK, this is the new job, and being OK with learning against it and the uncomfort that comes with learning. And I think that's where a lot of founders get chirped up is they just keep doing their last job, even though the company needs them to do their new job.
The Burden of Purpose
You've said it's easier to build a hard company than an easy one. What do you mean by that?
Michael Chime: I think it's actually easier to build a hard company than an easy one, if that makes sense. There's this thing in the world that nobody's done yet, and us, a group of kind of like ragtag people you put together, we're gonna change it. That's like an inherently confident, maybe arrogant thing to say.
Yet though, it's very easy to get people rallied around that, right? Like, so when you say something like, our mission is to ensure that every time somebody calls an emergency, they get the perfect response. They get the best possible help. People get excited about that. Very, very hard, very, very difficult. We can't take that lightly, but people get excited.
So you attract better talent, you attract people that are willing to work harder towards that thing. It's much easier to get the right talent necessary for a startup if you do the ambitious thing.
Yet though, it's very easy to get people rallied around that, right? Like, so when you say something like, our mission is to ensure that every time somebody calls an emergency, they get the perfect response. They get the best possible help. People get excited about that. Very, very hard, very, very difficult. We can't take that lightly, but people get excited.
So you attract better talent, you attract people that are willing to work harder towards that thing. It's much easier to get the right talent necessary for a startup if you do the ambitious thing.
Do you ever question whether it has to be you doing this work?
Michael Chime: So people are like, why are you building in public safety? That's a unique life choice. I don't know if I ever thought it had to be me. I guess I still think it doesn't necessarily have to be me. I think that one of the most compelling reasons to work on the company is we legitimately believe if we didn't do the work, it wouldn't get done.
And I would say most days it feels quite uncomfortable. I did not come out of a dorm room ready to build a company. And so most of the day is doing things that you haven't done before, but you have to do quickly. You have to learn really, really fast. And so a lot of days I think, oh my goodness, why me?
But it does seem true that if we just stop tomorrow, the world would be less safe. And that the technology would likely kind of fall back into the status quo and being OK with decay, being OK with antiquation, and the result of that would mean everyday lost lives, and I don't feel OK with that.
Yeah, it just feels like we have to do it less that it has to be me.
And I would say most days it feels quite uncomfortable. I did not come out of a dorm room ready to build a company. And so most of the day is doing things that you haven't done before, but you have to do quickly. You have to learn really, really fast. And so a lot of days I think, oh my goodness, why me?
But it does seem true that if we just stop tomorrow, the world would be less safe. And that the technology would likely kind of fall back into the status quo and being OK with decay, being OK with antiquation, and the result of that would mean everyday lost lives, and I don't feel OK with that.
Yeah, it just feels like we have to do it less that it has to be me.
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