34 PCWorld APRIL 2020NEWS OWL CAMERAS IS DEAD
the improved 2019 Owl Car Cam
(go.pcworld.com/ow19). Even
though the camera’s $350 price was
very high for its competitive set, it
received largely positive reviews,
and some people bought the Owl
Car Cam—though, apparently, not
enough people to keep the
company afloat.
Things started looking alarming
earlier this year when PCWorld dash
cam reviewer Jon L. Jacobi began receiving
emails from readers who were unable to
reach Owl Cameras for support. As we began
to investigate the Owl Cameras
communication blackout, we found a
company that looked alive on the surface, but
seemed very much dead upon closer
inspection.THE LIGHTS ARE ON, BUT...
If you had looked at Owl Cameras’ website
(go.pcworld.com/oweb) in early
February, all would have seemed
normal, at least at first glance. Its
slickly designed pages were up
and running. The About page
listed the executive team and a
Board of Directors. A Careers
page showed a long list of job
openings. Now in early March,
the site greets you with a pop-up
stating new purchases are being
“temporarily suspended whilethe next steps are being determined,” but just
a few weeks ago, nothing seemed amiss.
Other signs of life could be found on
LinkedIn, where the founding executive team
was still listed as employed by Owl Cameras,
Inc. The LinkedIn profile pages of co-founding
CEO Andrew Hodge and co-founding CTO
Nathan Ackerman went so far as to proclaim,
“we’re hiring!”
Other signs of health: Job postings on
Glassdoor looked recently refreshed, andOwl Cameras, Inc., co-founding CEO Andrew Hodge still
says “we’re hiring” on LinkedIn in early March, long after the
company had closed its doors.The last review of Owl Cameras, Inc., on Glassdoor, dated
October 31, 2019, ends with an ominous “cons” comment.