| Website | CheckPoints.com |
| @checkpoints | |
| Category | Mobile/Wireless |
| inquiries@checkpo... | |
| Employees | 13 |
| Founded | 4/10 |
| Description | Product Discovery & Rewards App |
| TOTAL | $1M |
| FUNDING TOTAL | $1M |
| Series A, 5/10 Mark DiPaola Todd Dipaola | $1M |
CheckPoints is a mobile shopping platform founded by veteran entrepreneur brothers Mark and Todd DiPaola, which launched at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2010. CheckPoints can be downloaded here.
CheckPoints users accrue points which are instantly redeemable for real-world prizes, by checking-in to over a million retail locations across the U.S. and scanning barcodes on advertised products. CheckPoints launched with several product partners, including Belkin®, Energizer®, Seventh Generation® and Tyson Foods®.
For Shoppers
CheckPoints helps shoppers discover and interact with featured products by leveraging GPS and UPC scanning technologies on smartphones. Shoppers earn points just by checking in, as they arrive at a store or restaurant. In many locations, they can earn additional points by scanning barcodes on featured products and by playing bonus mini-games. Shoppers can instantly redeem their points in the Rewards Store for gift cards, airline miles, or must-have gadgets. CheckPoints are a universal currency, meaning points accrued from a specific product or place are not limited to redemption from that brand.
For Marketers
Existing location-based services (LBS) have focused primarily on connecting person with place. CheckPoints adds the missing link – product – to deliver a robust LBS platform that drives shoppers past the initial check-in and into the aisles. Brands can now drive foot traffic to a specific product and interactively engage the consumer; creating a “virtual endcap†anywhere that product is sold.
Several brands joined CheckPoints as featured product partners at the launch, including Belkin®, Energizer®, Seventh Generation® and Tyson Foods®. When shoppers enter a store that carries a partner brand, CheckPoints features their selected products by offering rewards points and interactive content to engage consumers. Partner brands can customize the product interaction to include specific and timely messaging, recipes, instant coupons or other special deals.
In August 2010, CheckPoints closed a $1 million Series A financing round from co-founders Mark and Todd DiPaola. The brothers founded performance marketing agency Vantage Media in 2002 while PPC marketing was in its infancy. Before age 30, they self-funded and bootstrapped Vantage to #31 on the Inc. 500 list, selling the company (valued at more than $150 million) in 2007.
