For Wisconsin natives Luke Jenkins and Jackson Rohde, finding the next big idea has been a life-long pursuit. Whether it was looking for the next big backyard project as childhood friends, or trying to find a better way to stay in touch after high school when they went separate ways–Jenkins to further his hockey career, Rohde to study economics at the University of Wisconsin–they wanted a way to take their energy for big ideas to the next level.
Their solution? That’s Winning, LLC. Considering themselves the owners of an “idea development company,” Jenkins and Rohde maintain that the focus of their startup is to “build winning ideas.” Focusing primarily on software development, Jenkins said their first big idea came two years ago, during another one of the duo’s all-too-familiar brainstorming sessions. That night, the two were focused on making something relevant for college students.
“We came up with a bunch of ideas about specials and deals for things to do and maybe even starting a company that just throws really cool college parties,” Jenkins said. “All we knew is we wanted to curb some of the boredom that can come from the daily grind.”
The result of that brainstorming session would become the company’s first major project: the Stream Nightlife app. Designed for users to submit comments, ideas, tips or places to visit respective to their local community, Stream Nightlife allows users to browse the various topics and suggestions from others who have downloaded the app and see what’s going on for the night.
As Jenkins explained, at its core Stream is a social nightlife app, meant for inspiring users to get off their couch and out of the house.
“Everyone has that one friend, the one who came up with the brilliant idea for the night that became a night to remember,” Jenkins said. “Each individual student on a campus at one point or another knows about something fun to do. Therefore, if we give them a place to share those ideas, we can build a community that can always find that next great something.”
With some categorical organization, the Stream app lets users submit their ideas in an easy-to-use micro-blogging style.
To ensure that the users of Stream get the best possible variety of tips and suggestions, all submissions are moderated prior to publication within the app. This form of “back-end administration” gives moderators the ability to review the postings for accuracy, relevancy and legality (particularly regarding privacy laws).
Jenkins hopes that though the app is marketed toward college students, Stream’s value as a tool in the community will be realized. Included amongst the app’s features is a section designated for community events and local places worth visiting.
Looking to the future, Jenkins has high hopes for Stream. While admitting that as a company they have some concrete statistical goals they’d like to reach, their main focus with Stream is simply establishing themselves as a dependable social tool within the community.
“If we can earn that trust in a user, to be known as a reliable resource for finding the ‘what, where and when’ for students while planning their evenings, we can become a staple in making their years in college the best they can be,” Jenkins said.
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Jenkins also highlighted another That’s Winning project currently under development, named OweYaa.com. The website serves as a platform for users to exchange goods or services via a bartering system, instead of traditional currency. Users can bid on projects or services to receive virtual currency, known as “Favors.” They can then use these Favors to bid on other postings and services. According to Jenkins, OweYaa seeks to serve “as an effective platform where users’ skills have more value than their wallet.”
