Our Story

Studentbeans.com is an essential part of the uni lifestyle - much like the student favourite baked beans. We help students to stretch their loan with our unique range of discount vouchers and special offers from some of the UK's top companies. The site provides UK students with a valuable resource to help them make the most of their university experience, and gives brands unrivalled access to a loyal student audience.

The company is driven by a team of dynamic entrepreneurs specialising in web development using cutting edge technologies, branding and online marketing techniques. We have embraced the Generation Y mind-set to deliver a forward-thinking, engaging user experience for all our stakeholders.

Launched in 2005 by Michael and James Eder, the site is now a leading student portal which attracts 1.5 million visits and over 100,000 new registered users every year.

Behind The Beans

Having grown up in the age of the Internet, we knew that when students arrived in a new city, they would turn to the web for help. Being in an unfamiliar city and living on a limited budget is tough. But we knew that the Internet and a little entrepreneurialism on our part could solve these problems.

We called it studentbeans.com because we envisaged that our website could become as much of a staple to university life as the beloved baked beans.

So after graduation, we started pounding the streets of Birmingham whilst all of our peers started their cushy jobs as accountants and lawyers. Going door to door to speak to local business owners before we had even created the website or signed up any brands was a real challenge. At times, we felt like we were filming The Apprentice, but with no cameras, no Sir Alan, and a hard floor to sleep on instead of a luxury house.

On many occasions we considered rolling up our sleeping bags and returning to London to find a ‘proper’ job. But as soon as we signed up our first few brands we knew we were on to a winner. After the first six months, half of the Birmingham student population had signed up to studentbeans.com and there was no stopping us.

A year later, studentbeans.com went national. We now have a dynamic team of like-minded individuals working with us and have grown to become the leading student website in the UK

The Bean Brothers

Michael Eder, Operations Director

Michael looks after all aspects of studentbeans.com operations including systems, infrastructure, design and strategy. The nuts and bolts so-to-speak. A Nottingham uni graduate, Michael abandoned a career in investment banking to develop studentbeans.com. He also became the fastest ever eBay powerseller selling toys from China, but now he devotes all his time to ensuring that studentbeans.com is a well-oiled machine.

James Eder, Commercial Director

James heads up the sales and marketing department at studentbeans.com. It's his job to secure all the offers for our members and develop strategic partnerships with our brands. The idea for studentbeans.com came from a brainwave James had during his time as a Business Commerce student at Birmingham uni. Now he's an acknowledged brainbox on marketing to students, and frequently gets asked to speak marketing and enterprise events.