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HALF HOLLOW HILLS
A Hometown
Dotcom Phenomenon
By Luann Dallojacono / ldallojacono@longislandernews.com
Most college students
start applying the knowledge they gain from class after they graduate.
Matt Ackerson, of Dix Hills, however, couldnt wait that long.
At the ripe old age of 21, Ackerson, a junior at Cornell University,
has already built a successful business that is taking off in the
Ithaca area.
Ackersons brainchild is Scrimple.com, a lime-green accented
coupon Web site geared towards offering savings for college students
while driving traffic for local businesses. The companys name
is a clever combination of the words scrimp and simple, and the
basic business idea is scrimple enough. Local merchants
advertise their coupons on Ackersons Web site, and each time
a visitor prints a coupon or texts one to their phone Scrimple pockets
between 20 cents and $1 for the sale.
The site is free for consumers and provides them with endless offers,
from discounts off spring break sunglasses and laundry services
to a free drink and cookies from the Subway sandwich chain. Since
launching the web site, over 11,000 people have visited it and over
5,400 coupons have been printed and texted, Ackerson said.
The budding business student, who spends 30-plus hours a week working
on Scrimple, deemed the Internet phenomenon part of a new wave of
next generation advertising that allows businesses to
track statistics and see how well coupons are performing by comparing
the amount printed with the amount redeemed. Businesses can also
customize their coupons at any time by logging into the Web site,
an advantage compared with print media, where ads are static, Ackerson
said.
The nut that were really trying to crack is convert
online purchase intent to offline purchases for local businesses,
said Ackerson, a sharp, well spoken 2005 Half Hollow Hills West
graduate. Coupons arent anything new, but the way in
which weve built our system and Web site, it is the beginning
of something new. Its great for businesses because it helps
to drive sales for them in a way thats quantifiable and measurable.
Ackerson was using savvy, real world business skills right from
the get-go. When the business began as part of a class Ackerson
was in as a sophomore, he gained momentum and potential future clients
by allowing a few businesses to put coupons on his site free of
charge. Within a month and with very little advertising, other than
some emails that were sent out, nearly 400 coupons were printed.
He incorporated the business that summer and the business has been
growing ever since. It even earned Ackerson a $2,500 prize as the
first-place winner of Cornells Big Idea business
competition where Scrimple surpassed nearly 150 student submissions.
My mouth kind of dropped open when they said that Scrimple
had won. I was trying to convince myself that we hadnt won
in case we didnt, said Ackerson. It was validation
of the idea of the business concept.
As the semester draws to a close, Ackerson and the five other members
of his Scrimple team are focusing on raising money and preparing
for a big push in the summer to bring the company and its
benefits to other locations upstate. But dont fret
yet, Long Island college students; Ackerson said he plans to make
his way down here as well.
Its all been quite a ride to say the least, but I think
were only at the beginning of our journey, said Ackerson.
We really want to bring this to as many local business as
we can.
When hes not in class or working on Scrimple, Ackerson is
a member of a literary club on campus. He also serves as a mentor
for other student entrepreneurs and shares with them the lessons
he has taken away from his entrepreneurial journey, the most important
of which is the idea that there are no barriers in life.
We kind of put up these walls. We see this big, giant Fortune
500 company and say, How did that come to be? The reality
is someone actually built that company, said Ackerson. If
youre willing to learn and acquire knowledge you can accomplish
whatever you want. Scrimple only existed in my mind a year ago.
It was all on paper, all in my mind, but later because there was
a will, because I have the right people, because I was willing to
make mistakes and take risks the vision is something tangible; its
now something real, and were moving forward.
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