Schmoozing their way to success - The Jewish Chronicle

Imagine a job where you can dress how you like, team-building means go-karting trips and there are jelly beans in every corner of the office. Imagine the fantasy for life after graduation.

For James and Michael Eder, it's a reality. Five years after they launched discount and lifestyle business studentbeans.com, the Golders Green brothers oversee a team of 25 and run a website that gets 10 million page impressions every month.

More than 300 people applied for their latest job opening, and they've gone from using the smallest office in their building to the two largest.

Now on every campus in Britain, for most students the site's printable vouchers, offering bargains on software and cinema tickets to big names like PizzaExpress and The Economist, are a staple of campus life. They have an online magazine, are developing a jobs section and have just launched a site for cash-strapped graduates.

Not bad for a company that began as a piece of final-year coursework for James' business degree.

Michael, who graduated in 2004, had been dabbling in selling toys imported from China. Seeing himself as an entrepreneur, not a corporate type – "I didn't want to get up at 5am and sell my soul" – he abandoned a lucrative job with JP Morgan to help James bring studentbeans.com to life.

Armed with £5,000 from toy sales and some sponsorship from The Prince's Trust, over summer 2005 they went door-to-door bidding for clients.

Anxious not to let slip how small-scale they were - "It was just us, and I was working from my bedroom," says Michael - they ran a smooth operation. James would leave a meeting and within 20 minutes Michael would email the company a personalised proposal.

The work paid off. By freshers' week more than 250 Birmingham businesses were involved. After a year of lecture shout-outs, leafleting and "Beans patrol" round Selly Oak, there was scarcely a house without a Beans sticker in its window – "they're still there, students don't clean" smiles James – and they were able to expand across Britain.

James, who had planned to reapply for a graduate job he'd missed the year before, found himself in the unexpected position of hiring an intern.

The recession helped the business thrive as people looked for ways to save money. Their proximity to the student market was also vital. "It's a difficult area for business because students are fickle," said Michael. "We understood what made them tick."

Having a business mentor also helped. James called an old family friend, Figleaves founder Daniel Nabarro, for advice.

"There are so many successful people who are only too happy to help young entrepreneurs," says Michael. "Don't think that you can't ask for help round the Friday night dinner table.

"Schmooze, schmooze, schmooze. We wouldn't be here today without that."

And aside from the odd-brotherly spat, it's been an ideal collaboration, says James, 27, who values Michael being "the sensible one".

"Ultimately it can be lonely trying to take over the world by yourself," says Michael, 29. "You need that person to bounce ideas off, and with a sibling you don't have to tread on eggshells."

For all that Michael wanted to avoid a city lifestyle, the site has meant 18 hour days, seven days a week. "I feel like I've been working 50 years," he says.

James is still coming to terms with having created a nationally-recognised brand: "When we hear people talking about us, it's amazing. It's like being a musician and hearing someone sing your song."

Beans of wisdom

James
● It doesn't need to be new, it just needs to be better
● A brand is only as good as its worst person on their worst day
● Be persistent, but also know when to give up
● If it doesn't work you'll have learned from
the experience

Michael
● Under-promise and over-deliver
● Keep it simple - focus on one thing

www.studentbeans.com

studentbeans.com