Student Edge was a concept that was first developed in 2001, branded as ‘Student Oasis.’ The founding members were Jeremy, Craig, Simon and Damien. Simon was constantly pressured by his brother to decide what he wanted to do at university when he was still at school. Simon then wrote a book about similar student issues. However, when he showed it to Jeremy and Craig, they made the point that kids won’t read a book, and would instead need a website.

The site was created as an online student community, to help solve student’s problems, whether this be to help them find information, jobs or how to save money. In essence, the guys wanted to ‘help young people and enhance the lives of students.’

The group decided to head out onto the streets to find out about other student’s struggles, and if they encountered the same things. Naturally, they found most students had the same problems. They ventured to Willeton SHS where they talked to both students and teachers. Teachers found it hard to get information to young people and agreed an online community would make communication easier. The card was developed and was handmade by the guys. The original card contained a photo of the student due to problems with students not being able to get photo ID for things such as M-rated movies. This was eventually scrapped and the card has had several different versions, until the one that is offered today was developed.

With 400 members from Willeton SHS, the launch party was held at the school which was host to one of the biggest outdoor screens in WA. The website was launched as a one page site, with the discount card being charged at $20 to cover business costs. Student Oasis became Student Edge began in 2004, with Jeremy, Craig, Damien and Simon sitting around a kitchen table, late at night. They were all still students themselves, and were talking about their own experiences and struggles of being a student. Membership grew very quickly, reaching as far as Warnboro and Ocean Reef.

Today Student Edge has developed into an exciting student community with over 210,000 members. It is still rapidly growing and became a national site in July of this year.