[SmarterGroup]

Hello all :-)

I graduated from the University of Warwick in 2005 and immediately founded the Smarter Group. The long term purpose of the company is to act as a Venture Capitalist/Angel Investor specifically targetting entrepreneurs at school, college and university level. Before this is possible, however, we need to make some money!

The real reason for starting up in businesses and turning down a potentially very lucrative Mergers & Acquisitions job in the City of London was that my estate agent(s) (all 3 of them) during my undergraduate years seemed to take great joy in stuffing students with hidden fees and taking their deposits without reason. Not to mention the fact that it was bloody hard work trying to find a decent student house....

So, I founded Smarter Housing Limited.

Smarter Housing provide high quality accommodation to students through Smarter Housing - Student Accommodation Online, initially operating at the University of Warwick. Now into our second year of business we have offices open in Coventry & Leamington Spa, serving students at the University of Warwick and Coventry University, with a portfolio of 100 properties.

From January 2008 we have contracts to let properties to Nottingham University and Nottingham Trent University and will be opening two further offices.

For anyone wishing to visit us - feel free! You can find us at:

Smarter Housing
Sir William Lyons Road
University of Warwick
CV4 7EZ

Smarter Housing
2 Spencer Street
Royal Leamington Spa
CV31 3NF

Over the next 18 months we're trying to meet some high growth targets, opening offices at every major UK university by January 2009. We're 6 months away from launching our intern business in major cities, starting with London in June 2008. We're also launching a software only side of the business which will be open to all non-student letting and estate agents, and will compete directly with Rightmove. Within 24 months we hope to add in the business management side to this software, allowing us to sell franchises and compete directly with Yourmove.

Aside from student property, Smarter Holidays will offer holiday rentals and sales for those with the desire to invest overseas. We already have deals signed up with some big developers in Dubai and will go live in late 2008.

Away from property entirely, we're launching Smarter Nights early in 2008 which will initially offer a booking service for food - to eat out and for home delivery. Within 12 months of launch this will be expanded to include many other services and will be a comprehensive tool for arranging a night in or a night out.

I've got some ambitious plans for the Smarter Group and having launched a company on a shoe string, ridden with student debts, I see no reason why these won't happen. My main reason for turning the Smarter Group into a VC/Angel investor for young entrepreneurs is that I had plenty of ideas before working for a large business consultancy and going off to University, I just didn't know what to do with them. I kick myself many a time for failing to do anything with SchoolLeavers & UniLeavers.com aged just 16 - friendsreunited and facebook anyone??? That said, I'm sure Unilever might have had something to say about the latter name!

If anyone wants to pick my brains on getting a business going or life within the big consultancies (I'm not sure if I can name names here?) please feel free. I've been doing a lot of talks at schools and universities lately and love the thought I'm passing on some useful knowledge.

Good luck to anyone starting up in business!

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[2gould]

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you are doing great!