By Fiona Wakelin and Nicole Forrest
wiCode is an open and interoperable point-of-sale integrated mobile transaction platform for retail and hospitality businesses. We spoke with wiGroup CEO Bevan Ducasse about starting a business that not only weathered a global economic crash, but also grew in leaps and bounds in the years since.
This is part one of a three-part series. Click here to read part two.
At the age of 24, Bevan decided to follow his dreams and founded wiGroup, a start-up that provides mobile transaction solutions to retailers. We asked him what it was that inspired him to start this unique company.
“I had a burning desire to start something new. I wanted to add value to the world at the same time as creating an environment where people come alive and work with passion in a culture of celebration – doing what you love, with people you love.
“Having just turned 24, with funds that would only last for the next three months, I raised the capital for the company at the 11th hour in December 2007. I wanted to build a scalable business that was annuity-based, founded on the twin principles of people and profit, which lived the maxim ‘pursue the remarkable’.
“Four of us worked from my flat, positioning ourselves so that we looked out of the window at the ocean for inspiration.
“In 2008, ahead of our time, we launched wiWallet. On 8 August (08/08/08), I bought my first coffee using my mobile. We threw away our leather wallets – a bit prematurely, as it turned out – because the world was not ready for this innovation.
“But through failure comes success. We continued to pursue our dream of helping corporates move towards a better future and simplifying how the world transacts. Competition only served to sharpen us – we embrace disruption and love breaching the gap.”
Read part 2 of the wiGroup blog series, Entrepreneurial spirit, here.
