Growing up in Los Angeles, U-M student Jake Fleshner and his brother liked to visit a local deli, and then nearby stores before heading home. These local businesses often attracted similar customers, so why weren’t they promoting each other to their customer bases? That question eventually led to creating Spade America—a mobile app that lets consumers scan discounts as they visit their local businesses. Fleshner, now a sophomore studying sport management, connected with Logan Levin, a freshman at the Ross School of Business; Noah Witus, a School of Kinesiology sophomore; and Isaac Haft, a freshman LSA, to commercialize the idea. “We hope to be on every college campus,” Fleshner said. “A lot of our sales force is college students. It’s all student-based. They want a discount and are always on their phones.”
(From left: Noah Witus, Jake Fleshner, and Logan Levin)
