Who wants to save money? College students are looking for more and more ways to save cash. If you’re tired of Groupon giving you deals for places 30 miles away, SaveWave is the app for you. It’s the newest thing hitting Conejo Valley.

“SaveWave is a local savings app serving Conejo Valley,” Saveway app  co-creator Erin Chisolm said.

All you have to do is download, open and start saving.

“Our target audience is 18-35 years old, but primarily college students because everyone is on a budget and looking for new ways to save money. The best part is there are companies within a five mile radius, so no car no problem,” co-creator Manda Gannon, said.

Many students visited the table on the spine to learn about the app, enter in a raffle and eat some pizza. One of those students was sophomore Erin Scuoler, who was very excited about the app.

“I don’t have a car, so getting a job hasn’t worked which means I am constantly on a budget,” Scuoler said.

Scuoler said this is a great app to treat herself without hurting her wallet too much.

Another student, Chad Taylor,  said  the app was a good idea because all of the deals were all in one place.

The app is set up with various sections, from education to fine dining. The app has over 300 businesses signed up offering deals to the community. Some of these include buy-one, get-one- free from SweetXO, buy-one, get -one-half-off at Fresh Donuts, $1 off your purchase at Just Coffee or a discount at Winner’s Pizza. Some other businesses around campus include Draughts and Crazy King Kong Sushi.

“We go out ourselves and approach the businesses about offering deals. Through the app, we give them an opportunity to advertise without paying out of pocket. Because the advertisement is free, they can afford to give discounts,” Gannon, said. “There isn’t a profit share, no one is losing money.”

Chisolm and Gannon got the idea for the app from their boss, a local construction businessman who was looking for a way to integrate saving money with giving businesses a place to advertise. The idea was to make the app hyperlocal, which means most of the deals offered to the user are within five miles. The user has the ability to change the radius up to 20 miles if they so desire.

“The main idea behind SaveWave is to keep money in the community, to shop local, spend local and save local,” Gannon said.

Chisolm and Gannon said  the app is different than Groupon in many ways, but mainly because the radius is smaller and the deal is not pre-purchased.

“You don’t need to enter in your credit card or pay for anything through the app. All you need to do is show the discount at the business, your phone is the medium,” Chisolm said.

One of the cool features the app has is the ability for users to suggest businesses they want or businesses have the option to add themselves. Chisolm and Gannon said this way they can get real time feedback about what users want to see.

“Our main objective right now is to get users. We need to create foot traffic in these businesses so they see that their advertisement is being seen and business is increasing,” Chisolm said.

SaveWave is available on all mobile devices through the app store. The app is free to download.

Coral Hasley
Staff Writer
Published April 20th, 2016