Try2See app works to better connect people, places, things

Lots of startups are trying to master the 21st Century version of customer loyalty programs. A new Ann Arbor-based startup, Try2See, thinks it has found the way to do it. The 1-year-old startup has come out with a mobile app that utilizes QR codes and smart phones that enable customers, businesses and locations to better connect and keep track of who does what where. "We're looking for a way to automate that process," says Barry McDonald, founder of Try2See. The general idea from the three-person team is to enable customers to swipe in their purchases at local stores with the scan of a QR code at the establishment. That way customers don’t need to carry an extra card to scan or wait for a cashier to punch a paper card. All of it can be done with a simple QR code scan. Try2See is working with local businesses districts in Royal Oak, Ferndale, and the Avenue of Fashion along Livernois Avenue in Detroit. So far 62 businesses are signed up and the Try2See team is working to get more businesses owners and their customers on board. "We're trying to get the entire business district to use the system," McDonald says. Source: Barry McDonald, founder of Try2See Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.