advertisement

Elgin's HotVouch wants to make you a deal

A father-and-son team from Elgin have jumped into the highly competitive deal/coupon mix with HotVouch.com.

It started when Brandon Scheffler graduated from Rockford College in 2010 and put his business administration/management degree to use by becoming an entrepreneur, starting Xtreme Industries.

His father, Mike Scheffler, who runs an electrical contracting firm, mentioned the Groupon phenomena. The men discussed their own model for a deal website, deciding to focus on local suburban companies.

“It was a tough job market when Brandon graduated and the electrical contracting business was slow because the things were down in the construction industry at the time,” Mike Scheffler said.

At first, they tried to develop the site on their own, but later hired a web developer to provide all the necessary functions. The site then launched last July. They soon offered deals from companies in Elgin, St. Charles and Algonquin. They recently hired a sales manager to help boost their reach, Scheffler said.

The bigger deal sites have companies offer up to 50 percent discounts and then the remaining cost is reduced further by the site's commission. Scheffler said HotVouch.com takes a 15 percent commission, compared to up to 50 percent that larger sites take from local businesses.

To date, the site has roughly 1,700 registered users and is on Twitter and Facebook. And for every 1,000 people who register, a random winner will get $100, Scheffler said.

“We're hoping to get as many as 20,000 signed up,” he said.

Surfing: Naperville-based Sourcebooks launched the Agile Publishing Model, an interactive development of books, e-books, videos and other material by authors where the content evolves with the help of the author and their community. It makes content available faster, than depending on the longer print process of getting a book published. To learn more about the publishing process, see www.enteringtheshiftage.com.

Ÿ Arlington Heights-based Restaurant.com iPhone mobile app is now available in the apple App Store, giving diners the ability to scan nearby dining options, purchase a paperless savings certificate and redeem it for money off their bill, while using their iPhone.

Ÿ Libertyville-based Motorola Mobility's Droid Razr Maxx, which was announced a few weeks ago at the Consumer Electronics Show, arrived at Verizon Wireless stores this week. It costs about $300 with a new two-year contract. Verizon Wireless' Midwest headquarters is in Schaumburg.

Ÿ Citizens Utility Board, the Chicago-based consumer watchdog, has unveiled a redesigned website at www.CitizensUtilityBoard.org. It provides easier access to consumer information, allows you to more easily share CUB information on Twitter and Facebook, and can translate the site into different languages, including Spanish, Polish ad Chinese.

ŸFollow Anna Marie Kukec on LinkedIn and Facebook and as AMKukec on Twitter. Write to her at akukec@dailyherald.com.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.