Kevin Weitsman, CEO & Founder
AccuMount Tools® CEO and Founder Kevin Weitsman was born and raised on Long Island, New York. After earning his bachelors and masters degrees in electrical engineering at Cornell University, he headed to the west coast where he continued his education at Santa Clara University, earning an MBA.
Kevin spent the bulk of his career at Hewlett Packard, holding various engineering and management positions, including senior management positions in IC manufacturing, backend manufacturing, supply chain management, marketing, and quality.
After spending more than 30 years at HP, Kevin moved on to start a private consulting business, unitizing his vast experience to assist others with business management and operations.
In his spare time, Kevin enjoys traveling with his family and doing home improvement projects. Once such project led to the original concept behind what is now the Keyhole Companion.
The Products
The Keyhole Companion idea was conceived after battling with mounting a power strip under some cabinets following a home office renovation. It was a 3-attempt battle with ultimate success, but the frustration convinced him that there had to be a better way - one that would get it right the first time in just a matter of minutes.
Using the measure-between-the-slots method, it went something like this… On the first attempt he forgot to consider the cord coming out of the end of the power strip, so it would not mount as it was too close to the adjoining wall. Holes were filled and he tried again; this attempt would not mount because the measurement for the fastener spacing was off just enough.
For the third attempt, he tried an idea that would become the basis for the Keyhole Companion. He put a machine screw in each keyhole slot, tightened it with a nut at the end of the slot, and put some lipstick on the tip of each screw; pressing the screws to the wall left two perfectly spaced marks. The marks were spot-on and the location was perfect as he was able to see any potential physical interference given the power strip was being used as its own template. That evening saw the generation of the very first Keyhole Companion prototype.
Over the years, the design was refined to the point of being patentable and ready for the next phase of becoming an actual product. Partnering with WAGIC, Inc, a product design and development firm in Silicon Valley, led to further product enhancements and refinement.
The design objectives that Kevin set forth for what would become Keyhole Companion:
- Accurately mark fastener locations for common keyhole slots without the need for measurements
- Tighten on any type of material
- Be able to use simple DIY adapters for most unique keyhole slot applications
- Not leave extraneous marks on the mounting surface while positioning an object
- Be able to be used repeatedly for many mounting events
- Be robust and reliable
The concept for Security Companion came about quite by accident. On a trip to Hawaii, Kevin was able to gain access to some timeshare floors that were being renovated; he wanted to talk to tradespeople and find out how art/frames are mounted in more commercial spaces. What he found is that keyhole slots are not used at all. Instead, unique T-screw hardware is used that allows the art/frame to be locked in place on the mounting surface for both safety and anti-theft purposes. He quickly realized that the Keyhole Companion design could be easily modified to work for this application as well. Again working with the Wagic team, his new design became the current Security Companion product that saves not only time and frustration for the installers, but also labor costs.
Intellectual Property
AccuMount Tools® Keyhole and Security Companion products are protected by U.S. patents; U.S. and foreign patents pending.
For a full list of patents, click here.