It’s easier than ever for people to order from fast-food giants and chain restaurants. Still, for Iowans looking to buy local and support small businesses, the “deetz” app represents a fun way for customers to get the best bang for their buck. Founded in 2020 by Iowa State graduates, and in collaboration with entrepreneur Steve […]
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It’s easier than ever for people to order from fast-food giants and chain restaurants. Still, for Iowans looking to buy local and support small businesses, the “deetz” app represents a fun way for customers to get the best bang for their buck.
Founded in 2020 by Iowa State graduates, and in collaboration with entrepreneur Steve Shriver, the app began when CEO Rahul Ethiraj noticed a “desperate need” for real-time information on which restaurants, stores and gas stations were open during the COVID-19 pandemic and following the aftermath of the derecho. This community-oriented focus eventually extended beyond the crises of that year.
“Rahul was living in Toronto at that time,” said deetz COO Grace Rigdon. “He and all his friends at work would sit around a table and ask, ‘Where should we go eat?’, but it would take them so long to decide where to go. They ended up going to Chipotle every day. In the back of his head, that was a problem he really wanted to fix.”
Since then, the app developed into a one-stop destination for Iowans to see daily drink and food deals and live events at participating locations – perfect for anyone looking to try a new spot or capitalize on special deals they wouldn’t have known about otherwise.
The idea — backed by Techstars, the Iowa Economic Development Authority and John Pappajohn through the Wellmark Foundation — exploded in popularity. Last year, their internal metrics showed that the app brought over 39,000 Iowans to small businesses and generated more than $1.2 million in revenue.
And 2022 could be even stronger. After finishing rollout across Iowa, they hope deetz will grow to 100,000 active users and generate $10 million in revenue this year. Next, deetz will be heading to three campuses in Arizona, and they’re working with Stanford University students to launch deetz in California.
“A large demographic for us is college students, many of which are coming out of state or are out on their own for the first time,” Ms. Rigdon said. “They’re trying to discover their local community, and young professionals are trying to do the same thing. Or maybe there’s a resident that has lived in the city forever, but they don’t have the capacity on their Instagram to follow every single local business. This helps residents and visitors find that information quickly and discover and explore what a city has to offer in a fun way.”
Users can access real-time deals by scrolling across an interactive map, letting people see exactly where the best deals and live events are taking place. These deals refresh every 24 hours. More than 1,000 businesses are featured on the app weekly.
Small businesses can apply to be on the deetz app, while the deetz team (made up of three founders, two other full-time employees and five part-timers) often conducts outreach and marketing strategies to find bars and restaurants that may be interested in participating.
Deetz makes money from the businesses that sign up for their subscription service. They’re able to show businesses exactly how much foot traffic they’ve generated for them with different promotions or reward items they put on the app.
Using college students and local influencers, known as deetz ambassadors, the startup holds events and parties in new cities to attract new users. Each launch party typically works in partnership with local businesses.
But for Ms. Rigdon, one of her favorite parts is getting to see so many small businesses use and appreciate the app.
“All throughout high school and college, I worked at, I’d say, eight or nine different small businesses in the fashion realm,” she said. “It’s so important for a small business to stay relevant in a technological world that is ever-changing. I feel it’s really difficult for small businesses to get the results they want.”
“It has been really, really exciting and humbling for Rahul and I to see the impact and the foot traffic that we’re generating for small businesses,” she continued. “The businesses that we work directly with are equally as excited and thrilled to work with us. It’s really rewarding.”
