Frozen Assets

What: Advertisements on the back of paychecks and direct-deposit slips
Who: Dana Bromberg and Andy Robinson of ChekAds
Where: Columbus, Ohio
When: Started in 2001

Payday is a happy day. That's partly what inspired Dana Bromberg, 31, and Andy Robinson, 32, to start ChekAds, a firm that sells advertising placed on the backs of payroll check stubs.

Bromberg, who has a background in theater advertising, had always wanted to find new ways to get ads in front of consumers. The partners' initial idea was to place ads on the backs of personal checks--until they realized that bill-paying was often a negative experience. Receiving a paycheck, on the other hand, was a positive one. "I thought 'Why don't we place advertising on the backs of paychecks?'" recalls Bromberg, whose company received nearly $100,000 in venture capital funding. "There's regularity in it, it's a qualified audience, and receiving a paycheck has a good association."

Today, Bromberg and Robinson have agreements with check-printing companies and payroll businesses. With advertisers such as Jiffy Lube, Papa John's Pizza and Wendy's--as well as a few deals in the works--ChekAds projects sales to be well into the seven figures for 2003.

This article was originally published in the June 2003 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Frozen Assets.