Bargain Hunting Entrepreneurs Monetize the “Thrill of a Good Deal” with Hoopla Doopla
0“As a true bargain hunter, I have always been big on saving money,” says Frank DeBlasi, the co-founder of Hoopla Doopla an online money saving site. “I actually enjoy the thrill of getting a good deal! I know how great it feels to save money. But, helping other people save – that feeling is even greater.”
In late 2008, amidst an economic recession, his concept to help people save more took form and DeBlasi started planning to make his business idea a reality. With limited startup capital, DeBlasi and co-founder Tom Cangley decided to build the website themselves. Several years later, touted as online shopping experts, they’re product has been hailed as one of the best online money-saving sites on the web.
Learn how Frank DeBlasi and co-founder Tom Cangley turned their love of bargain hunting into a successful business and why DeBlasi believes entrepreneurs must be able to accept and deal with possible setbacks along the way.
| Company: | Hoopla Doopla, Inc. |
| Founder(s): | Frank DeBlasi, Tom Cangley |
| Location: | Ronkonkoma, NY |
| Industry: | Retail |
| Startup Year: | 2009 |
| Startup Costs: | $5,500 |
How I Got Started:
As a true bargain hunter, I have always been big on saving money.
I like to get the most bang for my buck. It’s not just something I feel is necessary, I actually enjoy the thrill of getting a good deal! I know how great it feels to save money. But, helping other people save – that feeling is even greater.
Owning my own business has been something I have always wanted to do.
In late 2008, I began planning out the concept for my company Hoopla Doopla, an online shopping website. I envisioned a site that would not only save people money when shopping online, it would be intelligent in doing so. I wanted to offer great deals from popular merchants, and share my company’s profits with my members. With the nature of the economy at this time, my idea proved to be a great concept for a business.
By trade, I am a web and digital media professional. With startup money hard to come by these days, my professional skills proved to be valuable in getting my business off the ground. My co-founder, Tom Cangley and I were able to combine our 15+ years of experience, and save lots of money by building the entire site ourselves from the ground up.
Today Hoopla Doopla, Inc. is a leading cash back shopping website, providing coupon codes, discounts, daily deals and cash back from over 1,700 online stores. We exist to provide a better online shopping experience, and to put money where it belongs – back in people’s pockets!
We’ve taken our online shopping and money saving concept a step further by making our members revenue sharing partners in our business via our referral program. Our members receive an equivalent of 20% of the earnings of the new members they refer to us for the lifetime of their membership, creating residual income for them.
Within its first two years of opration, Hoopla Doopla has been hailed as one of the best online money-saving sites on the web.
