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Imagine you鈥檙e driving to work and want to grab a cup of coffee and a bagel on the way. Push a button, tell your car computer and it will respond with a nearby deal, along with directions. As you鈥檙e walking into a grocery store, you get a text message telling you about a discount on one of your favorite products. On vacation with the family, you鈥檙e pinged with special offers at local museums and attractions.

This vision of the future is becoming reality, thanks to聽Danny Newman聽(Aero ex鈥�01), the 31-year-old co-founder of Roximity, a rising star in the fast-moving mobile app market. Launched in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, Roximity sends customized, time-sensitive, location-based offers to a user鈥檚 cell phone or car computer.

Ford was so taken with Newman鈥檚 idea that it will install Roximity in the voice-activated SYNC dashboard computer of more than 4 million of its cars in the next year.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been thinking about location-based marketing for a long time,鈥� says Newman, a creative force who does some of his best work between 2 and 6 a.m.

But the idea wasn鈥檛 technically viable until September 2011 when Newman鈥檚 team cracked the code and won the Ford SYNC App Developer Challenge at the TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon. They had only 24 hours to develop a working prototype of Roximity before delivering a one-minute pitch.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the holy grail everyone has been talking about,鈥� he says.

Unlike such established companies as Groupon, Roximity users can control how often they receive deal alerts and can tailor offers to their particular interests 鈥� anything from sporting events and arts to restaurants and clothing. Co-founder Austin Gayer notes, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not prepaid. That鈥檚 one of our big differentiators.鈥�

Roximity already offers deals from more than 10,000 merchants in 150 cities. Newman and Gayer also are working with other auto manufacturers to integrate the app and are talking to major national and international brands about product deals.

鈥淗e鈥檚 an idea person, but he鈥檚 unique in the sense that he鈥檚 also very technically capable,鈥� Gayer says of Newman. 鈥淲hen he has an idea he can execute it. He can implement a prototype and meet and articulate that with a potential brand.鈥�

In other words, Newman isn鈥檛 going to run out of gas anytime soon.

鈥淚 love being able to have an idea and make it happen,鈥� says Newman, who owns a design and development firm with Gayer and has several other business ventures under his belt. 鈥淚 really just like creating cool new things.鈥�

Photo courtesy of Glenn Asakawa