Bye bye #localgutscheining - A review of our voucher portal project as part of the #JenaVsVirus hackathon.
How it all began
Flashback: April 2020 - Germany is in its first Corona Lockdown. The whole country is looking for ways to deal with the unprecedented situation.
In the middle of this, the city of Jena initiated a digital hackathon. #JenaVsVirus was born.
The goal was, on the one hand, to help the very people who, with their - now closed - stores, cultural and leisure facilities, make up the uniqueness of the city.
And on the other hand, to offer people and companies who want to help with their skills a virtual space to organize themselves and get something up and running in the shortest possible time that will quickly have an impact.
We at wunschlösung also wanted to help and support with what we do best - develop online platforms.
The target group: "our locals".
A team was quickly formed, which was joined by other Jena residents in addition to our wunschlösers. And since some of them worked in the restaurant business themselves, or knew operators of our beloved Jena restaurants and stores, the topic was quickly found after a few phone calls to our "locals" - that is, the local restaurateurs, merchants and vendors.
The problem
The restaurants and stores were closed and many of the small local businesses no longer had any source of revenue. Vouchers as a possible source of revenue had only ever been issued by hand and against cash payment. So what to do?
Online voucher platforms already existed, of course, but - from the point of view of our locals - they were either too complicated to connect or too expensive to operate.
The solution
The idea and implementation of #localgutscheining therefore had to be simple and effective: People should be able to buy vouchers for their favorite places like restaurants, ice cream parlors, cinemas, stores, sports clubs or wellness temples online and give them away. And thus help to cover the running costs of the establishments in this difficult situation. The vouchers could be redeemed after the end of the lockdown. As a small thank you, the Locals gave their voucher buyers a little something extra - everything from a free drink to a free training session was included.
And since money was already tight, we developed and operated the platform free of charge, so all proceeds went directly to the locals.
The supporters
The project would not have been possible without the support of a lot of people. A special thank you goes to the core team around Daniela Böttger-Schmidt & Ralf Schmidt, Felix Jauch, Petra Teufel and the involved wunschlöserInnen.
And also again a big thank you to tax consultant Ronald Enke and lawyer André Stämmler for the super fast, competent and equally honorary advice around all tax and legal questions of our locals!
And last but not least, of course, a big thank you to Domenique Dölz and the team of the Economic Development of the City of Jena, without whom the whole thing would not have taken place at all.
Now what?
After the end of the pandemic, our Jena locals have fortunately returned to regular operations. That's why it's also time for us to end the project. On 25.08. #localgutscheining will be shut down.
In this context, we as wunschlösung and also the #localgutscheining team would like to thank everyone involved:
Thank you to all Jena locals who offered their vouchers and got excited about this idea.
Thank you to everyone who bought vouchers and thus contributed to the diversity of our local economy.
What happens to the vouchers?
All purchased vouchers can of course still be used according to the stated validity period and are not affected by the closure of the online portal. Do you have any questions? Then just contact us or your locals.
Unser Conclusion to the project
Together we have shown how strong and solidary our city can be.
A tidy 5-digit turnover amount could flow directly to the locals and make at least a small contribution to the preservation of local diversity.
For a purely voluntary project without a large advertising budget, a nice result. #localgutscheining will now retire, but the memory of this project and the connection will remain.
Let's continue to support local businesses and institutions. They are the heart of our city. Now that our favorite places have reopened, we look forward to sharing more beautiful moments with you.
Thank you for everything!
Your team from #localgutscheining and the wunschlösung.
More from our blog
Team Interview Wojciech (Frontend-Dev)
Today in the team interview: Wojciech - pixel perfectionist, bug hunter, protector of scalability
Day 2 MACHN 2024: Innovation and networking in Leipzig
Experience the highlights of the second day of MACHN 2024, from exciting workshops and inspiring presentations to practical insights into current trends and technologies.
Day 1 MACHN 2024: Innovation and networking in Leipzig
Experience the highlights of the first day of MACHN 2024, from exciting workshops and inspiring presentations to practical insights into current trends and technologies.
Bye bye #localgutscheining - A review of our voucher portal project as part of the #JenaVsVirus hackathon.
Learn more about #localgutscheining here: how our project brought Jena together in the Corona Lockdown and supported local businesses.
The difference between online marketplaces, shops, portals, platforms and stores
Find out here what exactly the difference is between online marketplaces, shops, portals, platforms and shops.
We make our way to the Start-Up Festival 2023
Our Business Development Team was on the road again last week - at the MACHN Start-Up Festival for Tech, Business and Art in Leipzig. Here are some insights!
What is an online marketplace and when does it make sense?
Find out what online marketplaces are and when it makes sense to have your own. We will help you set up your own marketplace and provide you with the right software!
Team Interview Sebastian (Project Management)
Today in the team interview:
Sebastian - Project Juggler, Keeper of the Overview and Agile Master
How do you keep the development costs of your software project under control?
Learn how to control the development costs of your software project. Get tips on project setup, prioritization, scoping and more.
What billing models are there for software projects?
Would you like to know which billing models exist for software? We show you which models exist and give you tips on how to choose.
What does custom software actually cost?
Are you wondering what custom software costs? We show you which factors influence the price and give you helpful tips for cost reduction.
Your LinkedIn presence - a little more elegant
You want to adjust your Linked-In profile URL? We explain how.