New Deal Startup Aims to Boost Lincoln Square Nightlife

By Andy Ambrosius

The new local startup Audum Live is gaining traction on the North Side, boosting small business in Lincoln Square while offering up deep discounts to partiers in Chicago.

It works like this: those looking to make plans for the Blackhawks game or Fourth of July Weekend log onto Audum Live, type in their zip code and find local hotspots participating. From there they can buy deals like 30 percent off your bar tab for $6.

Now less than a year old, the online deal website is the brainchild of Chicago resident and co-founder Mike Tatarowicz  28, as a way to promote local businesses. He says it’s his goal to rebrand the online deal scene by making it better for local business owners.

“It’s been one of our biggest challenges to differentiate ourselves from the Groupon train, but there are a few key differences,” Tatarowicz said. “… If a Groupon deal comes out today for $20 for $40 at Joe’s Crab Shack, they would keep $10 of that $20 you pay to Groupon and send Joe’s Crab Shack the rest. Right off the bat, the earning potential for (local businesses) is better.”

That’s combined with promoting certain events like sports games or holidays rather than having a six-month window to use the deal. Tatarowicz says Audum Live is like an event promoter geared toward area businesses.

“If you’re a corner bar in Lake View and your Hawks traffic kind of sucks, what we would do is run an offer that we’d market around the games, making it only valid on the days the Hawks play,” Tatarowicz said. “It’s more of an event promoter twist on the general idea of online offers.”

And right now the site is all about promoting Fourth of July. Deals around Lincoln Square range include $6 for 30 percent off your tab at Brownstone Tavern. Users buy the deal online then show the servers a voucher sent to their smartphone.

“It’s very easy to do,” Tatarowicz said. “And it gives specific businesses attention by trying to drive traffic there during the week. It’s really a very simple process.”