
Story by
Paul Sawers
Paul Sawers was a reporter with The Next Web in various roles from May 2011 to November 2014. Follow Paul on Twitter: @psawers or check h Paul Sawers was a reporter with The Next Web in various roles from May 2011 to November 2014. Follow Paul on Twitter: @psawers or check him out on Google+.
Jess Ratcliffe is the 21-year old founder and CEO of GaBoom, a video-game swapping website launched in 2010 during her first year at university.
Jess first had the idea to create a video-game swapping website when she was 15 and swapping games with friends and neighbors. She ended up leaving university after her first year to focus on GaBoom full-time, and she was recently named in MCV’s 30 under 30 for 2011.
However, GaBoom has now changed its model, ever so slightly. “No matter how good something is you can always improve it”, she says.
Virtual currency
GaBoom has also introduced a virtual currency called ‘Booms’. One swap costs 100 Booms which can be purchased through the Boom Store, or they can also be earned by inviting friends to use GaBoom which gains you 50 Booms when they make their first swap, and positive feedback from other users gets you 25 Booms. For the record, 100 Booms cost £1; 600 Booms cost £5; and 1200 Booms will set you back £10.
The browse and search functionality has also been enhanced, making it easier for gamers to add and remove titles from their lists, and its ‘Match Me’ technology automatically finds swaps for a user based on their Swap and Wish Lists.
Meanwhile, you can watch Jessica on UK TV show Dragons’ Den in September last year, where she pitched for £60,000 of investment.