Food is expensive and Fort Collins is packed full with a variety of places to choose from, which makes the decision process tedious. But the new app Hooked is making that decision process more simple.

First unveiled on January 19, 2016, Hooked has rapidly grown to encompass more than 60 restaurants and reach more than 10,000 users in the three months.

Hooked is free in the app store, android market and on Google Play. The downloadable app features timely and daily deals at a variety of locations in Fort Collins that are near campus. Most of the deals are time based with an average of three hours and change throughout the week. Once a week there are “weekly deals” that feature major discounts or free deals.

Unlike coupons where there is a fine print to every deal, Hooked has no strings attached as long as the app is downloaded to receive the deal. Businesses that are partnered with Hooked in Fort Collins include Qdoba, Cosmos pizza, Coldstone Creamery, Marys Mountain Cookies, DP Dough and Walrus Ice Cream.

After acquiring their first market in fall 2013 at University of Texas at Austin, Hooked expanded by the following year to four more campuses and then 23 campuses including CSU by spring 2016. Hooked is a young company that is quickly expanding to campuses throughout the United States and will soon reach cities with their big picture of becoming an international business, according to Colorado marketing representative Spencer Thompson.

Adapting to customer’s wants and preferences, Hooked is constantly evolving and changing the deals on their apps to better suit their users, Thompson said. 

Founded by Brett Berman and Tim Rothwell, the company is based out of Santa Monica, California. Thompson leads the work in Colorado. 

Thompson seeks to strategically advertise the company to students by gearing his speeches towards that audience. Without pitching the app like a salesman, Thompson has hosted free food events to spread the word and has visited classrooms to discuss how new businesses can succeed in the market.  

“We wanted a way to find places to eat and have a way to decide between places to eat,” Thompson said.

The deals featured on the app are strategically scheduled to have the best deals during a businesses’ slow hours to attract new customers.

“Our strategy is that when there’s a dip in demand, we decrease prices to increase demand,” Thompson said.

Thompson wants to see the business continue to grow and succeed in Fort Collins, but he cannot stay past the end of the semester because he will be introducing the company in other cities. For that reason, Hooked has opened an internship program to continue to lead the company to expand within the town and introduce new students to it.

“We look for those who have value and creativity to see Hooked thrive and want them to share their ideas. It is an extensive experience for a college internship,” Thompson said.

Those interested in becoming a part of the internship program can sign up through the Hooked app or on their website.

Collegian A&C Reporter Connor DeBlieck can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @CDeBlieck1995.