Jack Bloomfield is a self-made millionaire who started a company called Disputify when he was 17 years old. Originally, he ran a smaller business that involved him buying and reselling gift cards. Today he is twenty years old and has raised about 2.25 millions dollars for his disruptive e-commerce fraud detection tool, not to mention the youngest member of the Australian Institution of Company Directors. Most of his team are actually about double his age. There are only about 3 others currently, but he plans on expanding as he continues on this path. He was an e-commerce merchant who “struggled with customer trust” and started Disputify as a way to protect against return abuse. Unfortunately, as seen with his prior business, people were trying to scam him with fake refunds and he realized that it was the same people every time. “We’d spent thousands of dollars on credit card fraud solutions, but these people were using their own details. There are refund forums with thousands of people who talk about merchants that are easiest to rip off.” According to the US National Retail Foundation, these fraudulent refunds cost the United States about $25.3 billion. With his tool, merchants no longer have to fear fraudulent refunds and customers no longer have to be punished for the selfish actions of those who would take advantage of trusting businesses. Behavior patterns are tracked during the transaction of the original person and also when any person requests a refund. Merchants are then notified of any suspicious patterns that might arise. If someone had established a “habit” of buying the wrong size, Disputify also alerts the merchant to talk with this person in order to make sure they do in fact buy the correct size. He wanted to make sure people felt confident and comfortable whenever they shop. Bloomfield even came up with a new product (instant refunds) to reward faithful and proven trustworthy shoppers.
This young entrepreneur inspires me because he began at such a young age and has grown to astounding heights within only a couple of years. He saw a problem, knew he had a solution, and didn’t stop to think about things that could be obstacles. He just kept pushing forward. He refused to let his age become a boundary that stopped him from pursuing this evidently lucrative venture. I hope that I also take risks and push ahead like he does in whatever journey I choose to take next. “What if” is a powerful question. It is better to just ask than think about what could have been.
jack bloomfield: https://www.jackbloomfield.com.au/motivate
disputify: https://www.disputify.com/about-disputify
the financial review on Jack Bloomfield: https://www.afr.com/technology/blackbird-bigcommerce-founder-back-brisbane-20-year-old-s-start-up-20220520-p5an3c
That’s such an interesting concept, not what I would normally think about. I always appreciate young entrepreneurs because of their tenacity. Fraud is a huge problem and this seems like a great solution. I would be interested to see how they do in the long run.