USF grad's '9Yaps' app connects students to local business deals
'9Yaps' app brings digital deals to students
A new app is connecting local students to local businesses, and it was all built by a USF student. FOX 13's Mark Wilson reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - A former food delivery driver turned entrepreneur is finding new ways to connect students with nearby local businesses through a custom-built mobile app called 9Yaps.
USF local business app
The backstory:
The platform, which began with a simple observation while founder Nicholas Eisengrein was out on food delivery, runs around the USF campus.
"A lot of them [businesses] said, ‘I'm right across the street, like 500 feet, and I'm not engaging with students,’" Eisengrein recalled.
That realization sparked a new business idea. What began as the 9Yaps newsletter in late 2024 transformed into a full-fledged mobile application just two months later.
How the app works
By the numbers:
The free app serves as a digital directory for local discounts across nine different categories, hence the name 9Yaps.
More than 8,000 customers have downloaded the platform to explore local bargains, ranging from discount coupons and BOGO promotions to birthday bonuses. Customers redeem a deal on the phone and show it to an employee. Many deals can be used every day.
‘9Yaps’ partners with businesses
Dig deeper:
Around 100 businesses pay a monthly fee to offer deals on the platform, with Eisengrein noting that roughly 80% of them are local mom-and-pop operations.
Barberitos, a restaurant located five minutes east of campus, was one of the app's early adopters. The eatery offers app users incentives like a free side of queso to drive traffic through its doors.
"So, the 9Yaps partnership started with Nick coming in. What makes me feel really good and comfortable about him is that he wants the platform to grow just as much as we wanted to grow. We feel connected," Barberitos Creative Director Cole Loren said.
Community focus over expansion
What they're saying:
Creating those face-to-face connections remains a primary driver for the recent USF graduate. Nearly every partnership on the app started with an in-person visit.
"I like to prioritize our community rather than building the company, so I can go all the way out to Orlando or other states, but I really love talking with those local businesses and students," Eisengrein said.
Merchant partners share that sentiment as both the app and surrounding local businesses scale up together.
"It feels like you are holding hands with someone, and you're kind of both growing. You're in the same garden with each other. You're growing the same plants, and if everything is growing, then you are both succeeding," Loren said.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from interviews with 9Yaps founder Nicholas Eisengrein and Barberitos Creative Director Cole Loren.