Type Private Number of locations 3 Offices (2016) | Founded 2003 | |
Industry Membership Organisation Founder Craig Chetty, Damien Langley, Jeremy Chetty, Simon Loader Headquarters Perth, Western Australia, Australia | ||
Student Edge is an Australian organisation that seeks to enrich the lives of students across the country. The company aims to do this by helping students save and manage money, prepare for the workplace, find jobs and make informed career and life decisions. The company currently has approximately 750,000 members.
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Founding
Student Edge was founded in 2003 in Perth, Western Australia by university students Damien Langley, Jeremy Chetty, Craig Chetty and Simon Loader. A student advocacy service, it offers Australians participating in secondary, tertiary education and apprenticeships/traineeships to register for Student Edge membership and take advantage of discounts, free job and internship search boards, career advice and well-being services. While it began with a $20 subscription cost as its initial business model, the model was upturned in 2006/2007, making the membership, as well as access to its exclusive deals and competitions, free. The company now relies on advertising and sponsorship for its revenue. Following this move, its membership flourished with major brands such as Apple, McDonalds, Boost Juice and Bankwest - along with numerous Government agencies - coming on board to sponsor the company. The rise in popularity led to the company's national launch in August 2010.
National Launch
On the 27th of August 2010, following a celebration at the State library of Western Australia, the company opened its membership to students across Australia. This roll-out increased the number of affiliated major brands, as well as the overall membership offering. By the end of 2011, Student Edge had 500,000 cardholders, making it the largest student member benefits organisation in the country and as of 2015, the company has more than 750,000 members nationwide.
Development of Product Offering
Building on the success of the national launch and acting on feedback from members, in 2013 Student Edge increased its development team, adopted Agile software development processes and began a transformation of its product and services.
In 2014 they combined their previously independent desktop and mobile websites and built a completely new fully responsive website from the ground up. They introduced their official Android and iOS apps and launched a new section on their website featuring popular articles, news and advice. 2014 was also the launch of Student Edge's research and insights team.
In 2015 the focus shifted to building out the tools to assist their members in their career choices and employment with the introduction of career profile tools, job ready checklists and sections dedicated to career tips and job readiness advice. With the addition of a new editor and the offering of cadetships to members, Student Edge significantly grew their popular culture and news articles positioning it equally alongside its discounts, competitions, careers and job content.
In January 2016 they introduced a Chrome extension and in February they launched forums.
Benefits
Student Edge offers benefits to its membership, including:
Collaborations With Schools
Student Edge's outreach team makes more than 100 visits to schools per year, educating students on social media responsibility and offering career advice. In 2014, Student Edge launched their annual Teacher of the Year competition, awarding NSW's Sefton High School history teacher Thomas Elley the inaugural prize.