KEY POINTS:
Todd Wackrow is one entrepreneur who is looking for the kind of backing the Halo Fund can provide.
Wackrow established Pocketvouchers 18 months ago, the only company in Australasia to offer retailers a digital discount voucher service.
Customers respond to an advertisement by text and receive a "voucher" on their mobile phone, which can then be redeemed instore via the retailer's Eftpos system.
Pocketvouchers has just won business growth centre The Icehouse's inaugural Fast Pitch competition, beating off 12 other finalists in a Dragon's Den style contest.
The company wins three months residency at The Icehouse's leading incubator Ice Accelerator, plus other prizes.
Pocketvouchers, two full-timers and two contractors, has run digital voucher campaigns for a range of clients including Liquorland and Subway.
It's been backed to date by a couple of angel investors Wackrow contacted informally, but is ready to expand both in New Zealand and into Australia.
"We're looking at really wanting to get some external strategic input and potentially raise additional capital, to help us really ramp things up over the next couple of years," Wackrow says.
He says one of the big advantages of digital vouchers, aside from the ease with which customers can receive and redeem them via their mobile phones, is the measurability aspect.
He believes the recession may work to Pocketvouchers' advantage, as advertisers look for more bang from their buck.
"I think now people are really starting to seek that as things tighten up a bit - guys want to be able to know what their return on investment on their spend is."
