LARKY
MOBILE APP | RESCUE PROJECT | GEOLOCATION | PUSH NOTIFICATION
CLIENT BACKGROUND
Larky (http://www.larky.com) is a venture-backed startup rooted in Ann Arbor. It is the brainchild of Co-Founders Andrew Banks and Gregg Hammerman, local entrepreneurs who founded the company in 2012 and have received funding from North Coast Technology Investors, The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, Invest Detroit’s First Step Fund, and several Angel investors.
“Everyone forgets about the perks that organizations work into the fine-print of their membership agreements,” said Banks. “But these perks help define the value of membership and potentially even the cost of membership dues. At the end of the day, Larky is about helping consumers save money and adding value to association membership by making these perks clear.”
THE PROBLEM
Millions of Americans belong to organizations and institutions ranging from health insurance and credit card companies to alumni associations and museums. However, automatic membership perks and discounts are seldom used to their full advantage because consumers tend to misunderstand or forget about these benefits.
The Larky iOS mobile app, which is free on the App Store, helps consumers get more from their paid memberships and loyalty programs by alerting them when they are eligible for in-store savings and discounts because of these affiliations. Users can also browse through the perks that they are entitled to in the app and on the website.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
- Mobile app that tracks membership and association perks and loyalty programs.
- Geolocation to send push notifications and alerts
- Rescue project: Logic took over the Larky app and brought it to the finish line.
TECHNOLOGIES
Geolocation, Objective C, Cordova, Ruby on Rails
THE SOLUTION
The enhanced Larky app tracks membership and association perks and loyalty programs and helps users exercise their benefits.
Getting started with Larky is free, fun and intuitive, and it requires no passwords or member numbers. In the app, Larky users identify their affiliations with groups such as: Alumni Associations, Community & Social Welfare, Credit Cards & Financial, Entertainment, Food, Beverage, Retail, Health Insurance, Travel, and more. This information creates a personalized perks dashboard that displays a user’s active perks and discounts. Larky draws on real-time membership data to categorize these benefits based on location and merchant type, and alerts users when a benefit is immediately available.
Specifically, Larky can notify users while they are shopping (or window-shopping) at a merchant that offers exclusive savings. Imagine walking into a store and getting this reminder on your phone: “Hey Joe, don’t forget your 20% discount. Tap here to redeem.”
“People love getting a good deal,” Larky Co-Founder Gregg Hammerman. “Bargain hunting has become a national pastime, and Larky gives consumers a way to find discounts on stuff they would buy anyway.”
In addition, users can set their alert preferences if they only want to be reminded about certain perk types. Consumers can also use the Larky website to search for a specific discounted product or merchant type based on their membership affiliations.
After assuming the programming of app, Logic worked closely with the Larky team to deliver a reliable, user-friendly iOS app that delivers on its promise to save consumers money.
Logic Solutions CTO, Matt Sarkesian said, “Public-facing mobile apps are exciting and challenging work because your audience is so diverse. The idea behind Larky is amazing because it fuses together the aims of consumers and associations into the singular purpose of financial savings. Who doesn’t want to keep more money in their pockets?”
The app was cited as “One of the 15 Best Financial Sites and Apps” by CNNMoney, and the Larky app fits well with businesses because it places an emphasis the relationship with the customer by building trust, increasing loyalty and enhancing overall customer satisfaction.
