Yep, these freshmen have an app for that
His hair moussed and neatly arranged, Yep Technologies President JohnMichael Jurgensen presented his project, never stumbling over his words or complicating the message.
In great detail, he explained how his smartphone application, Yep Promos, can help businesses seek out customers in search of deals. He revealed hopes for expansion beyond Orange County – perhaps even a global reach.
Yep’s chief executive, Cole Hersowitz, wrapped in a hoodie, nodded emphatically before launching into a discussion of plans for a version that could reach most smartphones.
Even seasoned businessmen with millions of dollars backing them up might find such ambitions difficult to achieve.
But JohnMichael and Cole are not yet men. In fact, they are navigating their first semester as freshmen at Corona del Mar High School.
Their venture began in January when Cole got the idea to build an app that businesses could use to notify passersby of their latest promotions. Fascinated with programming since the fifth grade, Cole set to work on it, reviving a partnership with JohnMichael that began when the two fired up an aquarium-cleaning service in fourth grade.
The idea is to provide a service for businesses that can’t afford the costs of developing an app. Since Cole does the programming and he and JohnMichael work from their homes, they can avoid big development costs.
Yep Promos is designed for retail and for services like parasailing or sporting events – any business that wants to notify shoppers of a discount.
“We knew there had to be a better way for stores to market to people near them without a poster or sign. This comes up on their smartphone … like a text message,” JohnMichael said. “It’s very engaging. People respond to it because they’re within 100 meters of the store.”
So far, Yep Promos has more than 300 users, the company says. It’s available for free in Apple’s app store.
Businesses that subscribe to the service can track the success of their promotions through an online platform.
The company charges businesses $9.99 a month with a two-year contract and $19.99 on a month-to-month basis. Yep has nine paying customers in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.
But Cole and JohnMichael said they’re not worried about revenue yet. They said they want to ensure they get the user experience right, and said they’re confident the most significant bugs have been worked out of the current version.
“We’re also careful not to bombard our users with spam and different things they wouldn’t want to receive,” Cole said. “We try to filter out non-relevant content.”
The enterprise has plunged into a crowded marketplace of apps; Apple reports 1 million in its store. Software like Yep Promos also must overcome dwindling sales at brick and mortar retail locations and growth in same-day delivery from online retail giants like Amazon.com.
Cole is now at work on the Android version of the Yep app, which he hopes to complete by summer. Once it is finished, Yep Promos will be available to the majority of smartphone users.
Future versions may ask for more user information to better match promotions with app users.
“There are lots of different scenarios,” JohnMichael said. “Restaurants, retail and things like that are where we’re starting. But we can go anywhere with it.”
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