Whir to find hyper-local deals: Startup launching app to help newcomers, natives connect to small biz exclusives

A side quest for $5 burger baskets and cheap beers has matured into a tech platform built to help a wide range of users easily discover local deals, said Blake Coffee, noting his startup deepens small businesses’ engagement with their communities.

“We definitely thought it would be more of a college app at first,” said Coffee, co-founder of Kansas City-based Whir (pronounced “Were”), alongside Lucas Kern. “But it’s become a grassroots community tool. It’s about connecting people to their neighborhoods and giving small businesses a voice.”

The concept sparked during Coffee’s time at the University of Iowa, when he and his friends wondered how much of the local business community’s offerings they were missing simply because they were unfamiliar with the scene.

“We would always hit up the same spots for food and drink specials, but we were like, ‘What about the ones we don’t know about?’” he recalled. “You can’t just Google these hyper-local deals. What if there was a central place for all of them?’’’

That lingering idea became the foundation for Whir, which Coffee began developing  in 2021 after moving to Kansas City. By chance, he reconnected with Kern, a fellow Iowan who brought the technical expertise needed to bring Whir to life.

“I knew I didn’t want to do a 9-5 forever,” said Kern, who also serves as CTO. “Blake had already started putting together the idea, and I knew I could help on the backend. So I jumped in, and the stars kind of aligned from there.”

Blake Coffee and Lucas Kern, Whir; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

A two-sided discovery tool

At its core, Whir is a two-sided platform, one for small businesses to post their deals and another for customers to find them based on proximity.

“It’s what we call proximity-based marketing,” explained Kern. “Right now, you don’t have to be following a business or on their mailing list to see their deals. If you’re near them, you’ll see them, on the map or in our discovery section.”

The platform provides businesses a way to post happy hours, events, and exclusive promotions without the high cost or time investment of building a massive social media following or an email list. Customers can browse deals nearby without invasive ads or clogged inboxes.

“It’s a free way for businesses to reach people,” Coffee added. “And for people, it’s a way to explore their neighborhood and discover new places, without being bombarded.”

While the base version of Whir is free, businesses can upgrade to access analytics, such as customer retention rates and engagement insights, that help them better understand their audience.

To even further boost connections for its business users, Whir also has helped spotlight “service industry nights” where bartenders and servers get discounts at other bars that were once only shared in private Facebook groups.

“We didn’t even know that was a thing until it started showing up on Whir,” Coffee said. “It’s not just about saving money. It’s also a link in the community.”

Built in-house, with intention

With no outside funding and both co-founders working full-time jobs, Whir has been a labor of love built from the ground up, they said.

Lucas Kern, Whir; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

“A lot of what we wanted to do was create something with minimal upfront cost,” Kern said. “We used open-source tools, got AWS credits, and built our own backend infrastructure, even our database hosting and security protocols.”

Kern, who works in cybersecurity, oversees security and performance for the platform. Coffee handles the design and front-end development.

“We kind of split it where Lucas does the heavy lifting on the backend, and I do the front-end visuals, animations, user experience,” Coffee said. “That’s been a good creative outlet for me too.”

The team launched a beta version of Whir in June 2023.

“There’s never been anything we felt was impossible, just things that take longer when you’re doing them after work,” Coffee said, noting they’ve worked consistently on the project for years despite juggling day jobs, burnout, and long nights.

Blake Coffee and Lucas Kern, Whir; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

What’s next

Early adopters have played a key role in shaping Whir, including businesses like Border Brewing Company, Fric and Frac, Fern Bar and more.

“Border Brewing Company was our very first sign-up,” Coffee said. “Mark over there has been super supportive, not just with feedback, but also by connecting us to other local businesses.” 

The app is currently live and free to download, with a full launch planned by the end of July. 

“Right now, our focus is growing the number of deals on the platform and getting more businesses to sign up,” Coffee said. “It’s definitely a chicken-and-egg situation, but we’re learning to balance both sides.”