Pascal on business financing...
“I didn’t start the business until I was out of my bankruptcy. I went in with a business partner who I was working with at the time. We began by approaching our family and friends, and once we had the first round of investment we considered how we would deliver Raffle.it to people.
“By the time we managed to get the last bit of funding from our investor Julian Ranger, I was on my own and we had to scale back the project entirely. I started social networking and that opened a lot of doors.”
On how Raffle.it differs from a traditional raffle...
“The gameplay for Raffle.it is based on reverse auctions, where the lowest unique number wins. So there’s no random draw - it’s a game of skill and there’s only ever going to be one lowest unique number.
I ultimately think in the business world being sociable opens more doors
“There’s a finite number of tickets in any raffle and if all those tickets sell then the raffle automatically ends, plus there’s a safety catch of an end date. We try to encourage users to come back, buy another ticket and hopefully stand a better chance of winning.”
His advice to social entrepreneurs...
“Identify how much money you need to start up. It’s fashionable to say you don’t need a lot of money to start a business, but in reality you must make sure the finances all stack up.
“If you have an idea, don’t sit on it, execute it. If it’s a good idea it will soon become apparent, so don’t be shy about telling people.
“I was scared to talk about my idea because I was convinced people would steal it, but the reality is everyone’s got their own dreams and they’re busy pursuing them.
“Social networking is crucial, especially for online businesses. It’s only when you converse with other people who are in a similar position that you can bounce ideas off each other.
“They may have a different viewpoint and change your opinion on some aspects for the better. I ultimately think in the business world being sociable opens more doors.”
