Imagine building a company and working on its brand and product for years only to notice that someone has replicated your business.

According to an Estonian company Checktocashup, counterfeiting is a bigger problem than ever before. As reported by Industryweek, one of every ten technology products sold is counterfeit leading to an estimated direct loss of over 100 billion dollars a year globally.

Checktocashup, founded in 2012, is highly focused on counterfeit protection. The company was recently included in Prototron and EAS Enterprise Estonia’s list of Top 20 fresh startups in Estonia. Amcham Finland got the chance to have a chat with Artur Zaitsev from the member company’s client-relations department.

Artur, what was the driving force behind the founding of Checktocashup?

Counterfeiting has become a more serious issue than ever before. Brands aren’t getting the revenue they expected and they are essentially being cheated out of real success. That was the big insight!

So, your products are essential in today’s world?

Absolutely crucial. At Checktocashup we see that the more popular a brand is, the more likely it is to be counterfeited or replicated. We want to provide cost-effective solutions to help companies protect their products and their revenues.

What makes Checktocashup unique amongst those already operating in the same space?

When we look at our product, we can proudly say that there aren’t any competitors in this field. We’re using Aztec code, which is completely open-source.

When it comes to counterfeit protection, everyone wants to protect the label, but we focus on protecting the code. All of our codes are offline so you cannot hack them. In fact, it’s so difficult to bypass our security that it isn’t even worth the time for pirates and hackers.

How does being a part of international business networks like Amcham Estonia and LaunchpadUSA benefit Checktocashup?

International business networks open a vector of development that allows brand ambassadors to go out and reach out to people we had no access to before.

Amcham and LaunchpadUSA have helped introduce us to reputable partners and provided connections that will allow us to continue to thrive and grow. Great problems attract great people to bring great solutions!

What does the future hold for Checktocashup? How will you work to achieve your goals?

We would like to become one of the largest and most successful companies in our sector. Our goal is to be listed. To achieve that, We’ll have to be super determined and truly tap into our entrepreneurial spirit.

We will always focus on perfecting of our product to fill our customers’ needs and to fulfill their desires. We know that by paying consistent attention to and prioritizing our go-to market strategies in all areas of business, we will be able to ensure a sustainable growth for the years to come.

Thanks so much for the chat. We look forward to seeing you at the next Launchpad event!