"Today, we meet James Eder, the 42-year-old cofounder of Student Beans (a discount coupon company targeting the college crowd), who is now a work-life coach splitting his time between London and the French Alps, and author of The Collision Code.Eder was inspired to build Student Beans in 2005 after organising his university's summer ball-a party for over 600 students where he was responsible for sponsorship. "My calls to big brands led to me asking for samples and raffle prizes," Eder recalls to Fortune."
""Soon, my student hall bedroom was filled with condoms from Durex, Jelly Belly Jelly Beans, Coffee from Starbucks, Pot Noodles and Lush soaps that made it fragrant for months after." At the same time, Eder was working as a brand manager for Yell, where he says he'd already worked with more than 30 brands. A business plan assignment in his degree became the perfect place to shape the concept. So after graduating, he and his older brother-who worked at an investment bank and had his own side hustle, selling titanium power on Ebay-bootstrapped what became one of the U.K.'s defining student platforms, with a £3,000 loan."
James Eder founded Student Beans in 2005 after noticing strong brand interest in student audiences while organising a large university event. He and his brother bootstrapped the company with a £3,000 loan and quickly grew from 15,000 users in year one to 150,000 by year three. The platform rebranded as Pion and now works with thousands of brands and millions of customers worldwide. Eder retained a 35% stake but exited day-to-day operations to found Causr, which raised funds and users but collapsed. A subsequent heart condition prompted a personal and professional reassessment; Eder now coaches and splits his time between London and the French Alps.
Read at Fortune
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