Realizing that one day she will have to have a serious job, Washington, D.C.-native Julia Pockros decided to pursue a college-specific business opportunity, College Coupon, in the hopes of enhancing college life and perhaps making a few bucks along the way. College Coupon will be a collegiette’s form of , a group purchasing website that offers daily deals and discounts for popular businesses. Read on to learn how you’re going to save money here in St. Louis.
Her Campus: Tell me about College Coupon. When did you come up with the idea?
JP: I had a really boring job this past summer, working for the D.C. government, so I had a lot of time to sit and ponder and play on the internet. I knew someone who was starting a business called “Deals for Deeds,” which is a D.C.-based group purchasing website that supports local businesses and green businesses – kind of a social action movement. One day my friend and I were talking about how we were broke and wanted to make money. First we thought we would start a taxi service for drunk people at Georgetown; we would pick them up and bring them get-sober snacks, like a water bottle and goldfish. But then we realized that was unrealistic so we came up with the idea of doing something like Deals for Deeds in a college setting.
Her Campus: What has your experience been like starting a business?
JP: It has been much harder than I expected. Little did I know that when we signed the WashU ResLife Housing contract, we agreed to not start a business that was not approved by StEP (Student Entrepreneurial Program). We had to make a series of proposals, conduct field research and make a presentation in front of the StEP board in order to get approval.
Her Campus: Do you get the sense that StEP wants students to start businesses?
JP: Yes, definitely. Recently they have been giving us a crazy amount of encouragement. No one has started a business here in a while and there haven’t been any online businesses recently either. People in StEP seem excited about College Coupon.
Her Campus: What obstacles have you faced while trying to get College Coupon off the ground?
JP: There are so many things I am unqualified to do. I had no experience registering with the state as a small business, paying taxes, or creating bank accounts. I also had to learn how to professionally deal with credit cards online. Also, designing a website long-distance is really challenging.
Her Campus: Have people been taking you seriously as a college woman trying to start a business?
JP: Well, my boyfriend doesn’t really believe that I will get it off the ground, but I think that is just because I have been working on it for a while. Mary Zabriskie, our StEP advisor, has been really supportive and thinks that it is great for girls involved in Greek Life and a sports team to be taking initiative [Clara Jaques, goalie of the Women’s Varsity soccer team, is the co-founder of College Coupon].
Her Campus: What role do you see College Coupon playing in the every day life of a WashU girl?
JP: Deals will be posted online every 2-3 days. I imagine a girl getting up in the morning, and checking her email, checking her Facebook and then checking collegecoupon.org. Then I imagine her seeing that there is a deal at a nearby nail salon or at Kayak’s Coffee or at Tani Sushi, in Clayton. If there is a deal at a more expensive venue, I believe that she will be willing to spend the money because it will be a sincere discount at that place.
Her Campus: At what sort of venues will College Coupon offer deals for students?
JP: I feel pretty strongly about introducing WashU students to St. Louis. We all know the businesses on the Loop and the businesses in the neighborhood around campus. I plan to find more obscure businesses, businesses that aren’t as supported on a daily basis – more mom and pop type places.
Her Campus: How will College Coupon respond to the needs of WashU community?
JP: We want to coordinate deals so that we are supportive of the WashU Community. So for example, during Diwali we want to have deals at Indian restaurants or Indian dance classes. During Parent’s Weekend, we want to have deals for activities that kids would want to do with their parents, like going up in the Arch or at local restaurants.
Her Campus: Besides supporting local businesses, will College Coupon have an impact on the community outside of WashU?
JP: Initially we wanted to donate part of the revenue to non-profit organizations. We decided however to do specific philanthropic arrangements. For example, the St. Louis KIPP School needs new basketball hoops. So, for one deal of the week, 5% of every purchase will go towards funding new basketball hoops for KIPP. Each service project could take a few weeks to fund.
Julia Pockros, along with co-founder Clara Jaques, plan to launch College Coupon during the fall of 2011.Â