WATCH ABOVE: The vision behind NetSecure’s mobile payment technology wasn’t always so clear – now it’s a multi-million dollar business, with the help of an ‘Angel investor’
REGINA – It’s as easy as a quick swipe and you’ve paid.
Daniel McCann’s mobile payment system appears easy for customers and the vendor. But the vision behind NetSecure wasn’t always so clear.
“I looked down at my keyboard and thought, ‘Jeez, why can’t somebody swipe their credit card at their computer?’ ” McCann said. “That was kind of my ‘A-ha’ moment.”
Now it’s a multi-million dollar company.
In 2007, McCann needed a lot of help.
“You’ve got to hire developers, hire engineers, do a lot of work and then buy your inventory. It takes millions of dollars, frankly, which I did not have,” said McCann.
Part of the initial funding came from what’s called an ‘Angel investor’.
“It’s about trying to give Saskatchewan entrepreneurs a hand up.”
David Brundige of the Saskatchewan Capital Network is one of them.
“(An Angel investor) isn’t just looking at the rate of return, because there has to be a rate of return for them, but they’re also looking at the person they’re investing in,” Brundige said. “They want to believe in that person and help them succeed.”
The sentiment is shared by more than 30 Angel groups across the country.
Text2Car is another Saskatchewan company touched by an Angel. It helps control fleet vehicles.
Investors say revenues have grown by 1,000 per cent.
“It’s about trying to give Saskatchewan entrepreneurs a hand up,” said Brundige. “We don’t know what the great idea is around the corner.”
The NetSecure idea was formed well before paying through a phone app had become a reality.
McCann is just happy someone believed his product would become what it is today.
“It’s a pretty good feeling.”
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