Northwestern University and downtown Evanston welcome to its array of businesses a new student-run organization designed to help students and faculty enjoy the city and all it offers at a more affordable price. CouponCat, an online discount business started by Northwestern students Andrew Lim, Gregory Budd and Thomas Kim, launched on Wednesday, May 18.
“While Northwestern has tried to create opportunities to guide students to Evanston, the reality is that students do not have as many opportunities to go out to Evanston and try the businesses without a big financial burden,” said freshman co-founder Lim. “We wanted to create a service not purely for profit, but with motives to help the Evanston and Northwestern community come together more effectively. For us, it seemed like students and faculty at Northwestern did not have the opportunities to fully utilize the advantage of being situated in a suburban context.”
The group began by submitting their idea to the Northwestern Student Holdings business idea contest earlier in the year. Northwestern Student Holdings is an undergraduate student entrepreneurship organization known for its three main businesses: Wildcat Express Delivery, Airhop and NU Tutors. As one of two finalists in the competition, the team received funding to begin their business.
CouponCat is working with services in Evanston to offer students discount prices. The various coupons offered on the business’s website are posted with a time limit for buyers and a required number of purchases necessary to activate the deal. If the minimum number of coupons necessary for activation is not met, the deal is canceled and previous buyers are not charged. According to the website, “CouponCat deals are most fun when used with your friends. Broadcast the purchased deals to your social networks so that the tipping point can be reached and your deal can be activated.”
The businesses’ most recent deal was for Kansaku, a Japanese restaurant, offering a 30 percent discount on meals totaling $50 or more if 25 coupons are purchased.
According to Lim, all three members have had unique business-related experiences prior to launching CouponCat.
“Personally, I ran an online business in high school in Korea where I first experienced the opportunities the internet provided,” said Lim. “It didn’t require an MBA to run a business. Nor did it require a beard and a Rolex watch. Luckily, at Northwestern I was able to continue and develop my passion for entrepreneurship and hope to continue to do so.”
CouponCat is still in its earlier stages, but has already gained some attention from the student population. The members hope to improve the site and raise more publicity for the business with hopes that the service can be a valuable part of anyone’s Evanston experience.
“CouponCat isn’t a perfect venture at all. We are running into small problems that are quickly being fixed and improved,” said Lim. “However, we can promise that we have been and always will provide the best service possible because in the end of the day, a business is there for the customer.”
CouponCat can be accessed at http://www.nucouponcat.com/.