First, your stomach flips, followed by throbbing heart palpitations. Your perspiring head spins as you suddenly realize you haven't exhaled in the past 17 seconds while desperately searching for the missing electronic organizer you thought, no, were certain, was in your briefcase.

If Winnipeg's Trackitback has its way, your panic attack will subside quickly and be replaced with the consolation that as soon as it is found, your organizer, PDA, cellphone, laptop, camera or iPod will be on its way back to you.

"As gadgets are getting smaller, there's an increase in the number of items lost every day," says Trackitback president and founder Jason Wagner.

In fact, a 2005 Pointsec Mobile Technologies survey of 900 taxi drivers reported that tens of thousands of portable electronics were left in cabs worldwide over a six-month period. Chicago rated the most losses, with an average of 3.42 mobile phones and 0.86 PDAs forgotten daily.

J.J. Ali, Business Edge
Company president John Wagner says Trackitback's services are in demand.

Compounding the problem, the smaller the gadget, the more sophisticated the technology and data storage capacity, making reprogramming a new digital device a nightmarish prospect.

"A cellphone or a Blackberry can be replaced, although that's not always the affordable or most practical option," says Wagner, who admits knowing the frustration of losing personal items first hand. "When we're talking valuables, it's not only the item itself, but the information it contains."

Founded in 2003 and now the leading consumer loss-protection and recovery service provider in Canada, Trackitback assures gadget users of "worry-free living" in the information age. According to its website, it used to be that only five per cent of lost tech toys were ever returned due to lack of identification and convenient process, but with new services like Trackitback, recovery rates have jumped as high as 88 per cent.

The concept is simple. Consumers buy Trackitback's uniquely coded identification labels (available at major electronics or office supply stores, including London Drugs, Staples and Future Shop), affix them to their personal electronics, then register through Trackitback's website.

Should the item become lost, finders can call the toll-free number or report the discovery online. Owners' identities remain confidential.

"On average, we can have it back in two days, but in one case, we had it back within the hour," says Wagner.

Completing a successful transaction offers benefits to both owner and finder. As an added incentive, finders receive $30 worth of their own Trackitback labels and now, about 70 per cent of owners choose to offer an additional cash incentive.

"There were a lot of Good Samaritans out there before we even offered money," says Wagner, explaining that many grateful owners wanted to give something back for the safe return of their item. "Surprisingly, we still have finders who turn down any additional reward."

One of the key differences between Trackitback and competitors, including Colorado-based StuffBak, is that there are no additional shipping or recovery fees incurred by the owner. Regardless of where it is found, Trackitback traces the item's origin and couriers it to the rightful owner free of charge.

"My first thought is that it's a neat idea. It's a low-risk proposition for consumers, so it's very compelling," says Rick Broadhead, a Toronto-based analyst and renowned expert on technology, e-business and innovation. "But much like insurance, it's always a challenge to get people to pay for something they don't see an immediate need for. Of course, when you lose something of importance, you discover that need."

Broadhead says that Trackitback's lost-and-found concept reminds him of the War Amps keytags, a safeguarding service that has returned more than one million lost keys to Canadians for more than half a century.

"My only concern is that there is proven longevity with the War Amps, while Trackitback is a relatively new company," Broadhead says. "Especially in the face of dot-com companies, consumers want assurance in the viability of the service - to know that the company will be around at least for the lifetime of their gadgets."

Broadhead figures that Trackitback will need to generate a significant number of subscribers to pull in a profit, although he says that if the company keeps overhead low while maintaining a high ratio of users to gadget losers, "it could work out quite well for them."

Things seem to be going well for privately owned Trackitback. A recent article in Entrepreneur magazine pegged the company's 2005 projected earnings to be $1.5 million, which Wagner confirms is an "accurate" figure.

"Revenue has increased 450 per cent over last year, and we hope to increase it 400 per cent by the end of next year," he says.

Now that its labels are available at major retailers across North America, including New York electronics megastore J&R, Trackitback is using strategic alliances to expand worldwide.

After attending the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Wagner was approached by companies interested in carrying the product or opening their own Trackitback locations - and he continues to get at least two inquiries a week about franchising.

"Of all the interest we've received, only eight or nine are really viable," he says. "You have to be careful about who you're partnered with when the reputation of your product is at stake."

He is particularly pleased with the company's expansion in markets outside Canada. In addition to the Winnipeg head office, Trackitback now has offices in Phoenix; London, England; and Brisbane, Australia, as well as distribution in Ireland, Portugal and hopefully soon, the Netherlands and Hong Kong.

"Eventually, we hope to cover about 70 per cent of the world," Wagner says, explaining that establishing a local presence is preferred over one centralized location because knowledge of local systems and couriers is vital to Trackitback's efficient recovery and expedited return service.

Trackitback is planning to expand its product line to include luggage tags and pet identification tags, and at the same time, is considering interest from major computer and cellphone makers to have Trackitback tags adhered to products at the point of manufacturing.

(Barbara Chabai can be reached at chabai@businessedge.ca)