Every platform has an origin story. Today, we want to pull back the curtain and introduce ourselves—the people building Memphis Coupon Book and why we’re passionate about connecting our local community with the businesses that make this city special.
Why We Built This
Memphis has always been a city of entrepreneurs, dreamers, and people who support each other. From Beale Street to Cooper-Young, from family-owned BBQ joints that have served generations to brand-new startups taking risks on their vision—this city thrives when we invest in each other.
But here’s what we noticed: national platforms were extracting value from our community without giving much back. A restaurant would run a deal on a major coupon site, pay hefty commissions, and watch customers disappear once the promotion ended. Meanwhile, amazing local businesses struggled to get discovered because they didn’t have big marketing budgets.
We asked ourselves: what if Memphis had its own platform? One where businesses kept control, where users could easily discover local deals, and where the money stayed in our community?
That question became Memphis Coupon Book.
Our Approach
We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. We looked at what worked for the platforms that changed how people discover and support businesses:
Yelp showed us that community-driven discovery works when you keep it local and authentic.
RetailMeNot proved that people appreciate straightforward savings without manipulative tactics.
Groupon demonstrated the power of introducing customers to businesses they’d never have tried otherwise.
Yellow Pages taught us that people need a reliable directory to find what they’re looking for.
Rakuten built a model where merchants maintain control and autonomy.
We combined the best elements of each into one platform, specifically for Memphis.
What Makes Us Different
We’re Local – We’re not a Silicon Valley startup trying to scale to 500 cities. We’re focused exclusively on Memphis because we live here, we care about what happens here, and we believe local deserves local attention.
Businesses Control Their Deals – No negotiations, no commissions on sales, no pressure to run deals that hurt your bottom line. You decide what offers make sense for your business, and you can change them anytime.
No Hidden Agendas – We’re transparent about what we’re building: a business directory and coupon platform. That’s it. We’re not collecting data to sell, we’re not trying to become a payments processor, and we’re not planning to charge businesses based on performance.
Community-Funded Growth – Our sustainability comes from businesses who choose to upgrade their listings for enhanced visibility, not from taking a cut of every transaction. Your success doesn’t cost us money—it’s actually what we want.
Who We Are
We’re a small team of Memphis residents who’ve worked in tech, local business, and community development. Some of us have run our own businesses and felt the frustration of expensive marketing that didn’t deliver. Others have worked on platforms similar to the ones we’re learning from and saw how they could be adapted for local communities.
We’re not here to make grand promises about changing the world. We’re here to build something useful for Memphis—a tool that helps businesses get found and helps residents discover great local places while saving money.
Early Adopters Matter
When Yelp launched in 2004, their first review was for a spa in San Francisco. That single review became the foundation of a platform that now hosts hundreds of millions of reviews.
When Groupon started in 2008, their first deal was for pizza at a Chicago bar. They had no idea if anyone would actually show up and redeem it.
When Yellow Pages first went digital, people questioned whether anyone would search for businesses online instead of flipping through a phone book.
The point is: every successful platform started with people willing to try something new. The businesses who list first. The users who browse and redeem those early deals. The community members who tell others, “Hey, check this out.”
That’s where Memphis Coupon Book is right now. We’re in the early days, and the people participating now are literally shaping what this becomes.
What We’re Asking
From Businesses: Give us a chance. Submit your listing. Try running one deal and see what happens. If it works, great—keep going. If not, no harm done. The basic listing is free, and you control everything about your presence on the platform.
From Users: Explore what’s listed. Try a new restaurant. Support a local shop you’ve been meaning to visit. Tell us what you’d like to see more of.
From Everyone: Be patient as we grow. We’re building this platform with Memphis in mind, and that means we’ll evolve based on what our community actually needs, not what some corporate strategy deck says we should become.
Looking Ahead
We’re not going to pretend we know exactly how this will unfold. Maybe Memphis Coupon Book becomes the go-to resource for discovering local businesses and deals. Maybe it takes time to build momentum. Maybe we’ll learn things that require us to adapt our approach.
What we do know is this: Memphis deserves a platform built for Memphis. Local businesses deserve tools that don’t exploit them. Residents deserve an easy way to discover and support the places that make this city great.
That’s what we’re committed to building, one listing at a time, one deal at a time, one satisfied customer at a time.
Join Us
This works when we build it together. Business owners, list your business. Users, start exploring. Community members, spread the word.
Memphis Coupon Book isn’t about us—it’s about connecting a community that already wants to support each other. We’re just building the bridge.
Ready to be part of the story? Submit your listing or start browsing deals today.
— The Memphis Coupon Book Team
P.S. – We’d love to hear from you. What businesses do you want to see listed? What features would make this more useful? What deals are you hoping to find? Your feedback shapes what we build next.
