Published: Sept. 15, 2022 By

Introducing Christian Dokken, cofounder of Nigh, a digital platform created to connect local businesses and community members!

 Christian Dokken - NighChristian graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in December of 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a double emphasis in finance and marketing. While attending school, Christian was an active member of the Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity. Through Alpha Kappa Psi, Christian met Josh Ritzer, who, at the time, had just come up with the idea behind Nigh. 

Christian worked alongside Josh during the founding stages of Nigh, and is now Nigh’s full-time product manager and cofounder! At Nigh, Christian works with a team of dedicated individuals who share a passion for supporting local businesses. 

About Nigh

 Nigh is an app that allows you to discover spontaneous experiences and support local businesses in your community. 

How it Works

For local businesses, Nigh serves as a platform to instantly connect with nearby customers during off-peak periods. Local businesses can partner with Nigh to produce spontaneous, time-sensitive promotions that are exclusive to app users. Nigh calls these promotions "local drops". 

Nigh has already formed relationships with several businesses in Boulder, Colorado, some of which include The Point Cafe, Pizza 3.14, and T/aco. Through these partnerships, Nigh has produced dozens of successful drops and gained traction among other local businesses! 

For community members, Nigh is a video-immersive app that shares exciting, new ways to connect with local businesses. Operating exclusively within Boulder on an invite-only basis, individuals must find a friend who already has the Beta version of the Nigh app downloaded in order to gain access… or you can use this invite link to download Nigh!

Once you have downloaded the Nigh app and created your profile, you can check to see if there are any live drops near you. The Nigh Zone is a geo-fence created to ensure that a drop is only visible to users who can make it in time. If you are in the Nigh Zone, you will receive an alert about upcoming drops and have limited time to claim your ticket before spots sell out. Nigh’s most-recent drop involved an incredible deal at Half Fast Subs. Users had an opportunity to purchase an 8-inch sandwich for only $5- compared to the usual price of nearly $9! 

This Sunday, September 18, Nigh is dropping an exclusive dance party at the Velvet Elk Lounge.  The event is $5 per person and includes one drink, appetizers, and a live DJ show!

Join the Nigh Team!

The Nigh team is rapidly expanding! If you are passionate about supporting local businesses, building community, and creating unique events, check out Nigh’s available roles here.

CNigh team pictured at local drop in Boulder, Coloradohristian has enjoyed his time working with Nigh. He comments, 

“My favorite aspect of working for Nigh is being surrounded by like-minded, hard-working people. We ensure that everyone we bring onto the team shares our values and passion to make our local communities stronger. We are a small team, but that means we are all close to one another. I consider the people I work with to be some of my best friends.”

Christian, along with several other members of the Nigh team, is a CU alumni. Nigh values community connection, and is excited to connect with more Buffs! They are actively seeking out current CU students to fill part-time internship roles relating to social media and marketing. 

Nigh’s available positions, similar to their drops, are only available for a limited time. If you are interested in assisting with Nigh’s local revolution, select a role that appeals to you and apply now!

Challenges Faced

Establishing trust with local businesses has been difficult for the Nigh team. Many local businesses have been misled or taken advantage of by other companies in the local commerce space. Christian Comments,

“Many of these apps take advantage of small local businesses and charge them crazy high fees. These fees are not sustainable for local businesses, and we are striving to set a new precedent in society. We are focused on trying to make local businesses more profitable and building technology that prioritizes local business success.”

Despite this minor setback, the Nigh team has continued to talk to and partner with various local businesses to show how they are different and worthy of their trust. 

Once Nigh completes its pilot launch in Boulder, the team expects to expand into the Denver Metropolitan area. From there, Nigh will continue to move forward toward nationwide coverage.

Advice

Christian provides the following advice,

“Always enjoy the journey no matter how hard it can be at times. We all get caught up in the end goal or end state we want to achieve, and it’s easy to lose sight of the present moment. I’ve met amazing people and learned invaluable skills while working for Nigh, and I can’t wait for the rest of the journey."

Nigh's local commerce revolution is about putting Main Street before Wall Street. They are beginning this revolution in Boulder, and thank those who have supported Nigh on this journey to make society better for everyone. 

Change is Nigh, download the Beta version and begin experiencing what Boulder’s local businesses have to offer!

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