USF graduate turns food delivery job into growing local deals app

USF graduate Nicholas Eisengrein’s app, 9Yaps, connects students with discounts from more than 100 local businesses in the Tampa Bay area. ORACLE PHOTO/AUDREY KOCZANSKI

Nicholas Eisengrein, a USF alum who graduated in 2026 with a degree in business management, spent long days delivering food around Tampa for Uber Eats and DoorDash while studying at USF. Few of those orders, he noticed, went to college students.

The gap between USF students and local businesses became 9Yaps, a mobile app that connects students with discounts from local businesses. Eisengrein said the app now has more than 15,000 downloads and more than 100 business partners in the Tampa Bay area.

“I think I did about 2,000 deliveries in Tampa, and maybe a dozen of them were to students,” Eisengrein said. “Obviously there, that’s where the gap was.”

Users can browse participating businesses and available deals through the app, then visit a location and redeem a discount directly at the checkout. Rather than ordering through the app, users make their purchases in person and use 9Yaps to save money, Eisengrein said.

He said local businesses near USF wanted to reach students, but many struggled to get their attention.

At the same time, Eisengrein was looking for a way to combine his interest in business with his life as a college student.

“I was looking for a business student organization to be involved in,” he said. “There weren’t any clubs like actually running a business, so why not start my own?”

The idea started as a newsletter in late 2024 and became a mobile app two months later, he said.

Building the company while studying full time was not easy.

He said he chose his classes based on how much time the business needed. He dropped accounting for a second time, even though he had an A in the class.

“I could study for the final and put off the business for a couple months, or I could just move accounting to the next semester again and continue working on the business,” he said.

Being a student also helped Eisengrein understand his target audience, he said. He knew where students spent time and which businesses they visited.

“I knew where people were walking on campus. I knew where people were eating,” he said.

Eisengrein said he expected students to download 9Yaps quickly after it launched. Instead, the first year was slower than he expected, so he kept giving presentations, spending time on campus and talking with students and businesses.

“I really had to build trust with students,” he said.

He also had to build trust with local businesses, some of which took months to agree to join. Eisengrein said he used to bring a 12-page packet when he approached a business. Now he directs owners to the 9Yaps website, where they can sign up.

He said he also pays attention to the mix of businesses on the app so students see different options instead of the same type of deal over and over.

“I like to make sure that we have at least a couple of everything on there,” he said.

One of those businesses is Barbaritos, a Mexican restaurant near USF. Cole Loren, the restaurant’s creative director, said the partnership began when Eisengrein came into the restaurant.

“What makes me feel really good and comfortable about him is that he wants the platform to grow just as much as we wanted to grow. We feel connected,” Loren said.

Loren said Eisengrein’s personal involvement sets the partnership apart. Instead of simply listing the restaurant on an app, Eisengrein visits Barbaritos, tries the food and creates content himself.

“It feels like you are holding hands with someone, and you’re kind of both growing,” Loren said. “You’re in the same garden with each other. You’re growing the same plants, and if everything is growing, then you are both succeeding.”

Divi Zamora, a junior American Sign Language interpreting major, downloaded 9Yaps in September after seeing its promotional materials around campus. She said the app has helped her discover local businesses and save money.

Having several businesses and discounts in one place gives students more options, Zamora said, and the savings can help students who don’t have much money to spend.

“Being a student is so expensive, and every dollar counts, especially when you support yourself.” Zamora said. “It feels great to know I have saved money for things that really matter.”

Eisengrein said 9Yaps used to focus on posting lists of deals. Now the team makes relatable social media videos and works the app into them.

One video filmed at the USF Education Building reached about 3 million views, he said.

“I was like, this is what we have to do for content,” he said.

Eisengrein said 9Yaps now gets about 5 million to 10 million social media views each month without paying for advertising. Staying visible and keeping the message simple have driven the app’s growth, he said.

USF recognized Eisengrein’s work this year after he applied and was selected for a $5,000 Hafer THRIVE Pre-Seed Award through the Nault Center for Entrepreneurship. The award supports student entrepreneurs as they build their businesses.

Eisengrein said he wants to keep building connections between students and the businesses around them, and eventually see 9Yaps throughout Tampa Bay.

“I want to be walking around and I want to see [that] ‘That business is on 9Yaps. That business is on 9Yaps,’” Eisengrein said.

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