Owen McCrink – StartupSmart

Name: Owen McCrink

Business name: ReGadget

Age: 23

State: Victoria

 

Owen McCrink is the founder of ReGadget, an online service offering instant cash prizes in exchange for mobile phones, digital cameras, MP3 players and consoles.

 

“We calculate the price based on a few questions answered by the users. After the user completes the checkout process, a prepaid shipping bag is sent to them,” McCrink says.

 

“After the gadget is received, the user is paid directly into their bank account.”

 

Despite launching on the back of barely any advertising, relying instead on word-of-mouth and media coverage, ReGadget paid out $30,000 to customers in its first four months.

 

“Having launched on a minimum budget to test the market, we are working on a large backend system upgrade as well as new branding,” McCrink says.

 

The business will set its sights on organisations, clubs and charities to help them fundraise, while partnering with retail stores to offer customers trade-ins when they upgrade.

 

“There is a large opportunity to grow in this area and, with no major players servicing the market, we feel we have huge room to grow,” McCrink says.

 

“With an online business and low start-up costs, age is not a barrier. You can look like a million dollar company on the internet with very little investment.”