Gladwyne man opens portal to sweepstakes, online prizes

Tired of watching video advertising on the Web? Well too bad, because that’s just about unavoidable.

However, one Brown University student has created a website that he hopes will entice consumers to watch. Loffles.com is a platform that allows consumers to qualify for online prizes and enter sweepstakes by watching video advertisements.

It is free and legitimate; users must register with the site and answer certain demographic questions and prioritize the types of prizes they prefer so that Loffles can tailor which video ads to show.

Gladwyne native Brandon Yoshimura, 22, along with three others founded Loffles.com in Providence, Rhode Island, this year. The site went live last month and has already amassed 2,500 registered users.

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Yoshimura, company president, says the site is result of a lack of legitimate online sweepstakes presence.

“We really thought there was a lack of an online destination where you can go to enter sweepstakes and win prizes from a reputable source,” he said.

The company, which raised $500,000 from individual investors as well as various private equity firms, now has an office space in Providence with six employees. The curious sounding name comes from combining the words lottery and raffle.

Yoshimura does plan to finish his degree at Brown but, for now, growing the new company will remain his top priority.

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