Colorado Springs based app to help veterans save money

Finding nearby military discounts just got a lot easier. The app, Deal Patrol, uses your exact location to find the best deals closest to you.

Colorado Springs native and co-founder, Gavin Light, came up with the idea while he was a Freshman at The Air Force Academy. He and Darren Smith have been working on Deal Patrol for the past few years.

“So when I open the app… it’s gonna pull up pins near us that have military discounts. If you need directions to those places, you can get directions. If you need their phone number or website…it’s great,” said Light.

The app is completely free and money raised from the app goes to support other veterans.

“Ten percent of the ad revenue that we get, we’re giving back to military charities and the charity we’re starting with is a locally based charity, The Home Front Cares. They provide a lot of emergency funding to vets in need,” said Light.

Right now, there are over 400 local discounts in Colorado Springs. Light says he wanted to focus on the area specifically.

“There’s a great military presence in this city and we think we can have a great impact on the military around here,” said Light.

Creating Deal Patrol wasn’t all fun and games, though. Creating an app takes a lot of hard work. Light offers the following advice.

“It’s really important to find an app specialist that specializes in what you’re wanting to create, said Light. “With over a million apps in the app stores, there’s an app specialist out there. You just have to find that person.”

With the right team, Deal Patrol has grown to become a useful tool for service members and their families.

They hope to one day expand nationally.