A NEW location-based item trading app is about to be launched by a young entrepreneur.

Rich Woolley, who's from Penarth, is working on Paperclip which is an exchange app for people's unwanted items in their local area.

The idea is to take a photograph of the item and put it on the app, with details, for people to view.

Rich graduated with a degree in business management from Imperial College London in 2009.

The concept achieved second place at the London Start-up Weekend and has received initial seed funding from a New York-based hedge fund.

Rich said: "Everyone has got something in their house that they don't want or need anymore. I thought, what if you could swap these for things you actually want?"

It is available on iPhone and android and is planned to fully launch at the end of September so that university students can get involved with it.

The app has seen 2,000 downloads since its 'soft launch' and has seen items such as speed boats, cars and iPhones change hands already.

Rich said: "Lots of offers are being made everyday with between 50 and 100 new members joining in that time.

“There are a number of ‘handheld eBays’ beginning to gain prominence this year, and it shows that there is appetite and infrastructure to redefine the way we think about getting rid of our unwanted items.

Although our current product offers only item trading, we’re working to add a number of innovative features and refine the platform over the course of the summer before we start pushing the app nationwide around late September.”

Rich is also involved in a new event called StartupWales which will be taking place at the end of October.

The aim is to make the event a regular annual occurrence and to help other budding businessmen get off the ground.

The likes of Google and the Welsh Government are behind the idea with a prize of seed funding available.

Rich said that there has not previously been a place where businesses from all over Wales could get together and hopes this will start a trend.

Tickets and information are available at its website startup.wales