Online cash: How to connect visionary entrepreneurs to young target audiences

"I had the idea for Freebiebox when I was 13," says Moritz, responding a little belatedly to an interview request, as he had homework to finish. "I thought about whether to act on it for a while, but in the end said to myself: Just do it! You have no own family and no children, what's the worst that can happen?"

An extremely remarkable attitude for a 15-year-old. At that age, shouldn't you be playing football, skateboarding, kissing a girl for the first time or playing video games long into the night?

 

A venture capitalist at the age of 12

But Lechner always dreamed of being an entrepreneur. At 12, he wrote to Marie-Helene Ametsreiter, a partner at Speedinvest, and was rewarded for his ingenuity with an internship at the venture capital company. At 13, he founded Freebiebox with EUR 100 of pocket money and began fulfilling orders from his bedroom. And at 14, the business became a limited company, even though it was thought actually impossible for Moritz to do so in Austria at that age.

Lechner is ambitious, he has ideas, he is eloquent, and wants to design.

 

The product

But what is Freebiebox, actually? Customers can order a package online for EUR 25 which contains a collection of high-quality marketing samples. Specially developed software customises each box of products, matching the items exactly to the needs and preferences of the customer who has filled out a corresponding questionnaire in advance.

The boxes contain different products in each delivery, such as headphones, high-quality rubber boots, sunglasses, sweatshirts, or USB sticks. The mutual benefit: consumers receive items by post that they really want at up to 70% discount from the retail price, and by precisely matching items to target groups, companies provide marketing materials free of charge to a target audience, and at the same time avoid wastage by disposing of surplus marketing stocks. 

 

Gain new customer groups

Young people are a particularly interesting target group for this business. They usually have limited resources from their pocket money and are very brand-conscious. In addition, many do not yet have a bank account. "I've known paysafecard forever," says Moritz, when asked about the brand awareness of the alternative prepaid payment method in his age group.

"In particular, my gamer friends use paysafecard PINs routinely." So I was already aware from a very early age what potential this kind of payment option has to attract young target audiences." With Paysafecash, Lechner is expanding his customer base further a different target group. His figures show that, for security reasons, many older people are reluctant to pay for the Freebiebox by credit card.

"We tested Paysafecash for two months before integrating it and were very satisfied with the results," Moritz says. And the integration itself? Was it difficult? "It's just a plug-in on our Wordpress page. So no problem."

Customers can now order a Freebiebox online, print out a voucher, and pay in cash at their nearest Paysafecash payment point e.g. a tobacconist's or petrol station. If someone wants to pay for something online, this is the most secure way of doing it.

In addition to the consumer benefits, a further benefit for the merchant is that there are no chargebacks. When the money has been paid, it is received by Freebiebox and cannot be reversed. For Moritz, this also played a huge part in the decision to implement Paysafecash.

 

Perfect match Paysafecash

So the young entrepreneur and the innovative Paysafecash payment method are a perfect match. "I also see a shared spirit in the people who work for Paysafecash," Moritz says. "They have the same start-up mentality that we do."

No wonder: the story of paysafecard began as a start-up nearly 20 years ago. So what would Lechner advise paysafecard CEO Udo Müller today, speaking as one entrepreneur to another, from his fresh perspective?

"The joy of innovation in a company needs to be kept alive, otherwise it stagnates," he says whimsically, knowing that the whole Paysafe Group with its enormous portfolio is among the most innovative payment service providers in the sector.

Moritz has great plans for the future of Freebiebox. With the new money from investors, he plans to conquer the whole German-speaking market next. And then perhaps the world? Just like paysafecard.

"It would be a dream one day to run Freebiebox from an office in Silicon Valley," he says. "But that's still a long way away. In any case, Freebiebox will certainly not be the last company that I set up." At age 15, he certainly has enough time to fulfil that promise.