Disrupting the online shopping business model: Student Alert!

Want to buy an iPad, but not pay for it? DiscountIF launched in July out of TAKEOFF (the University of Malta start-up business incubator) and they might let you do just that, with a twist.

To get your money back you need to back an event; will Liverpool win their next game by 2 goals or more? Or, when will the next royal baby be born? Will it be a Monday? If you guess right, your wallet will be happier. If not, you might find this approach to online shopping a hell of a lot more fun.

DiscountIF are on the way to breaking into two of the biggest online markets: shopping and gambling. The brains behind cannot compete with these companies on volume today, but have identified gaps in their respective markets. DiscountIF has gasified the online retail marketplace by creating a new, innovative trading platform that creates engagement for the consumer and the brand or retailer alike.

Want to be part of this disruptive budding startup? CEO Lewis Holland knows and appreciates the power of interns. The company wants students to approach them and take on the challenge of growing with them. ‘Students and young graduates learn a lot more with a startup than a big business, and Instead of being a small cog in a machine, they can contribute much more broadly within a developing business environment’, Holland says. ‘Interns at DiscountIF would be working with a vastly experienced team having previous roles at large brands such as Betfair, Ratesetter, Paddy Power, Eurosport, QPR, O2, and Vodafone.’

DiscountIF encourages any interested students to pay them a visit at TAKEOFF and learn more about them.

And this is not vaporware; apart from obtaining the TAKEOFF Seed Fund Award back in June 2014, DiscountIF has already placed second (out of 30) at the Excellence in iGaming Start-Up Launch Pad in Berlin in October 2014 and were finalists for the prestigious Innovator of the Year Award at the International Gaming Awards at the beginning of February 2015.

Prof. Juanito Camilleri (rector, University of Malta) remarked ‘DiscountIF is one of those rare gems in these times, of a brilliant and unique idea which is so beautifully simple, I’m sure major retailers wish they had thought of it. It’s a real credit to the University of Malta’s incubator, TAKEOFF, to have nurtured this team to where they are today.’

Check out their site, or come by for a chat at the incubator.

Follow DiscountIF on twitter @discountif or search #ShopCheerWin and #nobrainer