About Us
The Aqwifi was invented and patented by Steve Ghertner and Vince Luciani, who met at Georgia Tech. It was created in response to a recurring problem that Steve’s property management company, Ghertner & Company, was having--high water bills due to leaking toilets. Steve and Vince, both electrical engineers, were convinced that the solution was rather simple; what was needed was a device that could gauge when water was re-filling a toilet’s water tank due to a reason other than a deliberate flush.
Our Team
James Brackett
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer
Jim Brackett co-founded Aqwifi (formerly Leak Beeper) in 2007 in partnership with Ghertner Automation and Greg Greenwell. He developed relationships with property and hotel management companies that enabled him to prove the concept that toilets could be monitored remotely for leaks, and that fixing these leaks in a timely manner could significantly lower the consumption and cost of water.
Prior to his experience at Aqwifi, Jim spent 4 years building and selling 2 businesses--Centralized Office Supply and COS Imaging. He previously worked as an investment advisor for Morgan Stanley where he managed retirement plans for corporations.
Jim holds Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Business Administration degrees from the University of Kentucky.
Steve Ghertner
Chief Technology Officer
Steve Ghertner has been a builder, tinkerer, and maker since his youth. He started pulling apart and building radios, programming computers, and was an avid ham radio operator as a teenager.
He received a BS Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Texas-Austin in 1986. In 1988, he received a MS Management degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology while also completing the graduate Certificate Program in Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems (CIMS). He was a graduate research assistant in the Management program and in the CIMS program while at Georgia Tech.
Following school, he spent six years designing and installing factory automation systems for The Clorox Company. He was amazed that someone would pay him for such fun work. In 1993, he joined his family’s property management business, Ghertner & Company, where he is currently a co-owner and primarily responsible for operations.
Even within the property management business, he was able to keep building and making. He saw the need for a device to cut large water bills at the properties his company managed by accurately detecting leaking toilets. This need led him, along with his good friend Vince Luciani, to invent and patent what is now called AQWifi. He continues to pursue his geek passion for building and making with microcontrollers through his involvement in the Middle TN Robotics Arts Society, NashMicro and other local maker groups.