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The Daily Cardinal Est. 1892
Friday, March 29, 2024
TechBank

TechBank has grossed between $2.5 and $3 million in sales, which was enough to pay off the college education costs of its three owners. Its downtown Madison location opens Tuesday.

TechBank brings opportunity for young entrepreneurs

When Madison area native Austin White-Pentony accidentally cracked is grandfather’s cell phone during a Brewers game, he had to decide whether to repair the phone or sell it and buy a new one.

After seeing a large price discrepancy between the bids on eBay and Craigslist, White-Pentony saw an opportunity to make a profit buying back used and broken cell phones.

“I started buying phones after school and sold them online,” White-Pentony said, who launched his first electronic buyback company, Mad Town Phone Sales, in 2011 as a student at Verona Area High School.

White-Pentony, now a senior at the University of Minnesota, teamed up with Tony Grisham and Aklilu Dimore, two former acquaintances through previous business ventures, to launch TechBank in 2013.

The company is essentially the same, however the new business has a storefront.

TechBank grosses between $2.5 and $3 million annually in sales, and has bought nearly 20,000 devices, including iPhones, smartphones, tablets and Macs, since its founding.

The company has made enough in sales to pay off the college costs of its owners.

TechBank’s newest location opens Tuesday on the 400 block of North Frances Street, which White-Pentony hopes will offer a low cost option to students and downtown restaurants.

The company initially had locations in the Twin Cities area only, but in recent years has opened locations at West Towne and East Towne Malls in Madison.

TechBank employs about 20 employees, which White-Pentony said helps manage the amount of business they get, as two of the three owners are full-time students.

“Being a college student while running a company is a juggling act of sorts between giving enough attention to both while also doing well at both,” White-Pentony said. “You always have a feeling that you’re not giving enough attention to one or the other.”

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