Seven sophomores at the University have worked diligently since October to develop an innovative app and website to help fellow students discover the best deals around Champaign-Urbana.
Nathan Zhang, sophomore in Business, leads this ambitious project. Zhang initially pitched the idea to his friends as a way to increase engagement on campus. The project channeled their creativity into something that could benefit the entire student community.
“I started noticing that there’s a lot of deals around campus, but there’s not really an easy way for people to find out about them,” Zhang said. “Finding out about underrated deals has always been more word of mouth, so I thought maybe we could put them all in one place, like an app.”
From there, their app and web page, Cheepr, was born. Cheepr helps students easily locate premium promotions and discounts at local restaurants, bars, furniture stores and more.
After months of development, the team launched the website on March 7. The website offers students a preview of the mobile app’s services. The team is still refining the app, and is optimistic about its release.
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The website features partnerships with local businesses such as Fat Sandwich, Latea Lounge, Cheese & Crackers and Campus Chai.
As Cheepr expands, the team aims to collaborate with more businesses to maximize student savings opportunities.
Additionally, Cheepr will grant its first 100 student members with reduced membership fees of $5 instead of the normal $7. Members can also win various branding and resource-related prizes.
The app’s development has required immense behind-the-scenes work. Each Cheepr team member brings a unique skill set to the project. Zhang and two others focus on marketing, two team members specialize in user experience and user interface design, one concentrates on graphic design and another is responsible for coding.
“One of the biggest challenges was definitely making an app from scratch because most of my experience has been with redesign,” said User Interface/User Experience team member Isabella Pedraza, sophomore in FAA.
As the app creation process evolves, the students consistently adapt their prior knowledge and acquire new skill sets.
“Creating a deals app has been especially difficult, just because it’s something that keeps constantly changing with new deals, new people and new restaurants,” said UI/UX team member Ana Cuevas, sophomore in FAA.
Despite many technical hurdles, the team remains ambitious in creating an app to make student life more affordable and convenient.
The team said they would welcome other student-entrepreneurs in other college towns that would embrace a similar resource.
“If anyone else is thinking about doing a startup or anything like that, just go and do it,” Zhang said. “If you have the ideas, start working on them, or you’ll never really know what will happen.”
The Cheepr team’s initiative to tackle student expenses proves that necessity truly is the mother of invention.
With the website launched and the app’s development progressing steadily, Cheepr is shaping up to be a game-changer for students looking to make the most of their time — and money — on campus.
