Philly Startup Snip Snap, Putting Print Coupons In The Digital Space

Snip Snap founder Ted Mann presenting at TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2012 (photo: nibletz inc)

A new startup mobile app called Snip Snap presented today during the first session of Tech Crunch Disrupt’s Battlefield. Snip Snap is in the pool of 30 other startups competing for 50,000 dollars and the Disrupt cup.  I loved the idea so much that I started writing this article while Snip Snap founder Ted Mann was still presenting.

The idea for the app is incredible (hence why I am writing about it right this second). Basically you take a picture of an actual print coupon out of your newspaper or direct mail. The picture uploads to the app, makes note of the barcode and the expiration date and goes into your virtual wallet.

Once in your wallet the coupon can be shared with other users. That gives the app a second life. I remember when I moved away from home my mom would send me her coupons from the Baltimore Sun and the Washington Post now with this app you can get coupons from major stores across the country. If you didn’t know, sometimes a Bed Bath & Beyond may have a great deal on something in California and not in New York and vice versa.

MC Hammer questions Snip Snap founder Ted Mann At TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2012 (photo: nibletz inc)

With all this nationwide coupon sharing, there is a function in the app that lets you report back to the Snip Snap network on whether or not the user was successful redeeming the coupon.

The judges met Snip Snaps founder with the immediate questions you would think of like, what about coupon fraud. Right now it’s totally up to the merchant on whether they are going to a) accept the coupon via an image on  your phone and b) whether they want to honor the deal.  Surprisingly there is still an 80% success rate with the coupons currently in snip snap.

Other features include:

  • Expiration date reminders
  • In store reminders (when you enter a store that you have a coupon for, Snip Snap lets you know)
  • Use for any coupons, it doesn’t matter what the coupon is for
  • Share with friends

You can find Snip Snap in the app store now.

Philly Startup: Interview With The Student Founder Of Neo-Cover

Every once in a while we come across some great tangible goods startups, either ideas that are just full of awesomeness and win or ideas that are being grown in the US. Neo-Cover is one of those ideas. Add that to the fact that it’s founded by a college student and designer in Philadelphia and it makes it an even better story.

So what’s a neo-cover? Well the idea is so damn basic you’ll be asking yourself why didn’t I think of that? Well the reason you didn’t think of that or I didn’t think of that is because 22 year old Jake Frey did. Neo-Cover is a magnetic light switch wall plate. Don’t go and try and steal it this 22 year old has his ducks in a row and has the patent. Once he bulks up his sales Kevin O’Leary and the sharks on Shark Tank would gobble this idea up.

A magnetic light switch plate, what would I use that for? Well for starters you could hang your keys, a mini flashlight, a dog leash, a money clip anything that you often forget can go right up on the light switch. Presumably you turn your lights on every now and then, and now it’s easy to find. The magnet is so powerful it can hold a decent sized hammer, or a screw driver. I told you this idea is both basic and genius.

So let’s meet the 22 year old behind neo-cover…

Interview after the break
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Philly Startup: TicketLeap Is The First Ticketing Startup To Offer Reserved Mapped Seating

Of course sites like TicketMaster, LiveNation (part of Ticketmater) and stub hub offer arena and venue maps for ticketing but the do it yourself event ticketing companies like Eventbrite have yet to offer that service. A Philly ticketing startup called TicketLeap has just leapt in front of the San Francisco’s event/ticketing startup giant.

Now smaller venues, self organized events and even larger conferences can sell tickets to an event by seat number, and incremental pricing the way you would purchase a ticket to an NBA game or a rock concert. While EventBrite allows you to offer different tickets to the same event, like a VIP ticket or an early admission ticket, once through the front door all the tickets are pretty much general admission.

TicketLeap’s new service will allow clubs, bars and other venues to seat auditorium style if they want, build a map and sell tickets accordingly.

“Our goal is to continue refining and simplifying the ticketing process for event organizers, and we’re stoked to be the first company to bring the self-service, reserved seating functionality to market,” said Chris Stanchak, founder and CEO of TicketLeap, in a statement. “We’re all about catering the ticketing experience to the needs of all our customers, and this new feature allows us to further the personalization and customization process of creating events and selling tickets.”

 TicketLeap has been around since 2003 but started gaining major traction in 2008 with a venture funding round of $2 million. In 2010 they had another venture round of $2.53 million. Their most recent funding round was a $25,000 investment from Philadelphia’s Ben Franklin Technology Partners (source: Crunchbase)
Source: Venturebeat

Philly Startup: Lokalty Combines Local Loyalty Reward Cards With The Power Of One

Three University of Pennsylvania graduates, Balu Chandrasekaran, Philip Tribe and Bipen Sasi created a startup last October that puts an entire new spin on recommendation, reward and loyalty at the retail level. We’ve often suggested that the recommendation/reward space is going to become hotter than daily deals as merchants focus on retaining and growing their customer base through loyalty. While Lokalty is only available in Philadelphia at the moment, these three entrepreneurs get that.

According to their website Lokalty was born in February 2011 out of an idea that the three had at a Rittenhouse gym. They started working on the project seven months ago and went live just five months ago.  As we suggested above, they were growing tired of daily deals and wanted to find something more effective for both the merchant and the customer.

The idea behind Lokalty has been tricky as Chandrasekaran told FlyingKitemedia:

“Growing the company has been tricky”, says Chandrasekaran, who says he and his partners have taken on a difficult task, marketing to businesses and consumers at the same time. “It’s the classic chicken and egg problem.” While Lokalty means marketing for retailers, “most small business owners would rather hear sales pitches that address the cost side instead of the revenue side.”

After the trio gets over this hurdle, the benefits to a platform like Lokalty are easy to see. A customer in the Lokalty program, like may of us, has a key ring full of rewards cards. With Lokalty you get one card for all the network merchants. Lokalty makes it so if you buy enough coffee from Elixr you can get free bagels from Spread Bagelry . You can use points from one merchant in the network with any other merchant in the network.  So not only is the Lokalty program encouraging repeat business at one merchant, but they’re encouraging discovery and repeat business at all the other merchants in the network as well.

More after the break
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