Student entrepreneurs expand online menu service

Student entrepreneurs expand online menu service

University Park, Pa. -- Three undergraduate students at Penn State's Smeal College of Business leveraged their entrepreneurial spirit and founded their own Internet company in spring of 2002 with the hope of providing State College residents and visitors with an easier way to order delivery and take-out food. After nearly two years of operation, seniors Justin Goldman, Christopher Jeffery and Jason Kwicien plan to expand LionMenus.com, an online restaurant menu guide.

Beginning in January 2004, LionMenus.com will feature a new design, online ordering capabilities and a new coupon system in which customers can mention an offer over the phone to receive "verbal coupons," instead of printing a restaurant's coupons from the Web site. The Smeal student-owners also hope to offer online ordering through LionMenus.com for all delivery restaurants in State College, eventually earning a percentage of every order generated by the site.

"The idea for the business emerged because we noticed that many pre-existing menu guides in State College were incomplete," Kwicien said. "To cater to varying tastes and preferences, our belief is that you need to feature every single option out there."

Divided into food categories such as pizza, cheese steaks, ice cream and wings, LionMenus.com is a comprehensive listing of the area's more than 100 restaurants that offer food delivery and take-out. Visitors to the site can view complete restaurant menus, determine which restaurants are open for business, and access coupons.

"One of the hardest aspects of the startup was devising a revenue model," said Jeffery. "For us to make money, we had to decide how to charge restaurants for use of the site."

When it was launched, LionMenus.com earned money solely through restaurant listings. Eventually the founders switched to free restaurant listings, choosing instead to charge a fee for advertising on the site. As of fall 2003, 100 percent of the revenue generated by LionMenus.com came from banner advertisements.

Beginning in 2004, restaurants will also have the opportunity to purchase site statistics, which rank the month's "most-viewed" restaurants and help gauge the effectiveness of advertising both on and off the site.

Jeffery explains that the LionMenus.com model is unique because advertising occurs at the point of sale. "It's an extremely targeted market," he said. "The ads are effective, and restaurants see a return on their investment because Web site visitors are already looking for something to eat."

Following graduation, the owners plan to stay in State College to continue developing on their current business model.

"We really don't have anything to lose at such a young age," said Jeffery. "We are experts in one of the most lucrative markets today -- college students."

In the future the three plan to market the company in other college towns, and possibly franchise or license the site.

"It's all about developing a vision and having enough passion for that vision -- the rest of the pieces will fall into place," Goldman said. "Launching a business has been the most gratifying experience of my college career."