Hold AS

Hold is an innovative mobile application that rewards students for using their smartphones smarter. The idea is simple: Students can activate Hold when entering the university area and start
collecting points for every 20 min they do not use their phone. The points can be exchanged in the application’s marketplace, where commercial partners provide rewards. This can be everything
from free coffee or snacks from 7-Eleven to discounted phone bills or interest rates from banks as well as scholarships every week. In addition, students could compare their high scores in the application and compete with other students. The intention of this solution is to provide students with a tool that can help them focus better in school as well as provide them with better purchasing
power. For commercial partners, the application provides the most engaging platform for marketing towards students. Thus, Hold is a two-sided platform. The solution applies elements from gamification and incentives models to motivate and engage users to change their behavior. The application was launched in Norway in February 2016 and so far, has an adaptation rate of 40% (over 140,000 registered users) among Norwegian students in higher education. The company has over 30 national and international brands as clients, such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Egmont, WASA, Danske Bank, and Uber. Today, the team consists of five members and funded by competent angels, top incubators as well as governmental institutions such as Innovation Norway and the Research Council of Norway. Hold has evolved from being a student application into dealing with a larger challenge in society: the increase in technological distractions. The company’s aim is to claim a position as the force that is motivating people toward smarter use of technology.

Now the company is looking outside of Norway, eager to tap into new markets around the world with UK as first the stop.