Information for Prospective Students
Alexander Emms
Alexander Emms and Thirstpass/Monstercard
After running low on money one month, Computer Science student Alexander Emms wondered how he could go about cutting the cost of food and drink on campus – and ended up setting up a successful business with the help of UCL Advances.
Alexander Emms
Alexander and his company secured £12,000 funding after entering the UCL Bright Ideas Award.
Alex and his team came up with the idea of the Thirstpass, a
card giving students a discount on a range of drinks from outlets around UCL’s
Bloomsbury campus. The initial run of 10,000 cards, printed using the team’s
own money, proved incredibly popular and the team looked to UCL Advances to take their idea further.
Alex says: "Two months into creating the company, one of my business partners suggested speaking to UCL Advances, a department that offers advice and guidance for student created companies. I spoke with a lady called Lillian Shapiro who gave us some really good advice and connected us with some people that helped us expand our company. She also suggested we entered the UCL Bright Ideas Awards, where over £100,000 is given to the student companies. We decided we needed to apply for £12,000 and so we did, she really helped us get our pitch perfect and together our team won the company the £12,000 interest free loan!"
In September 2012, Alex and the team launched the
Monstercard – an expanded discount card giving students discounts on food,
drink, shopping, travel and lifestyle.
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