This week, we get to hear from Dan Frkic and Con Apostolopoulos, the duo behind the gift-giving platform PrezentBox. Hailed as the first digital gifting platform that supports kids activities, PrezentBox provides a meaningful gift giving option for children, friends and families through its range of fun, wellness activities being offered while helping small businesses that provide sport and health alternatives achieve growth.
ISB: What is the inspiration behind PrezentBox?
DF: The inspiration for PrezentBox came about from a personal frustration many parents face. We often found ourselves overwhelmed by the amount of “stuff” we received from well-intentioned family and friends for our kids’ birthdays and Christmas year after year – an abundance of unwanted items that clutter the home, get thrown out into landfill, or regifted to another family.
ISB: How were you able to get businesses on board with PrezentBox?
CA: We have been successful in onboarding businesses by demonstrating how our platform addresses parents’ pain points. The decline in kids’ physical and mental health caused by increasing screen time (2.5 hours a day) and sedentary behaviour is a major concern for parents. At the same time, kids’ activities are now a luxury with two in five parents having to remove their kids from activities due to the rise in cost of living. Our mission is to get more kids, more active, more often, and businesses are eager to partner with us once they understand the importance of our mission. PrezentBox is a payment solution that subsidises kids’ activity fees. From a business lens, this will help activity providers boost sales and supercharge their business by attracting, converting and retaining customers.
ISB: How do you choose the activities to be included in the service?
DF: We offer activity-based gifting options for kids in areas including sports, creative arts, and education. Any activity provider that focuses on kid’s health and wellbeing can be registered. We vet all providers to ensure they’re trustworthy and promote our platform’s purpose. We strive to provide parents with peace of mind that their kids are receiving high-quality experiences.
ISB: How do you ensure that the activities being offered are affordable for families?
CA: One of PrezentBox’s core missions is to make extracurricular activities more affordable for families. We know that the cost of activities has become a barrier for many families, with 40 per cent of parents stating its the reason that they had dropped out. PrezentBox believes that every kid deserves the opportunity to participate in the activities that they love, and we provide a means for parents to subsidise that cost. Our platform is designed to help families fund kids’ experiences by funneling money spent year after year on unwanted gifts in categories like toys and video games.
ISB: What is your vision for PrezentBox in the next couple of years?
CA: Our vision for PrezentBox is to become the leader in kids’ gifting and make “activity-based gifting” a household staple for Australian families. We aim to have a comprehensive offer for parents, providing all activity options regardless of their kid’s preferences or their geographical location. Our goal is to make it easy for parents to give the gift of experiences, promoting physical activity, mental wellbeing, and personal growth for their kids.
ISB: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in this business journey
CA: The most important lesson we’ve learned on this business journey is to start with the end vision in mind. With a start-up, particularly with a new service, there is no roadmap, and you will constantly encounter obstacles that require you to pivot. Having a crystalised vision of what you wanted to achieve and deliver for our target audience has been crucial in keeping us focused and motivated. Equally important is surrounding yourselves with the right people with expertise in their fields. Learning from their prior business journeys has been invaluable.
