The informal and often exclusive nature of staff discounts and mate’s rates leaves many potential customers unaware of available savings, while those with access to discounts have no easy way to share or monetize them. This creates a gap where businesses, employees, and budget-conscious consumers miss out on mutually beneficial opportunities.

How It Could Work

One approach could be creating an online marketplace where people with access to discounts—like hospitality workers or retail employees—list them for a small fee. Users browsing the platform could discover these discounts and connect with the lister to use them. The marketplace might include:

• Details like discount type, applicable businesses, and terms
• A verification system to confirm eligibility (e.g., requiring pay stubs for staff discounts)
• Ratings or reviews to build trust

For example, a restaurant employee could list their 20% staff discount for others to use, earning a fee each time it’s claimed while driving more customers to the business.

Stakeholders and Incentives

The idea could benefit multiple groups:

• Discount seekers save money on purchases.
• Discount providers earn extra income or social credit.
• Businesses gain indirect benefits from increased traffic.
• The platform could monetize through listing fees, premium placements, or commissions.

Unlike existing services like Honey (which aggregates public coupon codes) or Groupon (business-led deals), this would tap into a niche of personal or staff-exclusive discounts that aren’t otherwise easily accessible.

Implementation Considerations

Testing the concept could start with a simple MVP—like a social media group or basic website—where early adopters list and claim discounts. A pilot with a specific industry (e.g., hospitality) could validate demand. Key challenges would include ensuring discount authenticity (through verification) and avoiding misuse (by working with businesses on shareable codes).