Senior entrepeneurs reflect after 2 years

In fall 2005 seniors Peter Margulies and Mike Rolland launched Btownmenus.com with six participating restaurants. Two years later, more than 100 menus are listed on the site, which allows people to order online, place take-out orders and see various specials.\nAs they reach the end of their college careers, Margulies and Rolland must determine the future of the business they have been planning since their freshman year of college.\n“Since we’re graduating, we’re looking for students to run the site once we leave,” Margulies said. “We’re going to help expand, but we’re not going to stick around here for another four years.”\nIn addition to determining the future of the company, they have their own futures to consider as well.\n“We’re both very driven not to be working in an office nine to five,” Margulies said. “We’ve had a lot of experience working with restaurants, so we have options either going into the restaurant industry or continuing this, but we’re not going to be out applying for jobs.”\nThough the company is Internet-based, Margulies and Rolland said the job involves more than maintaining a Web site.\n“A lot of people are like, ‘You don’t have to do anything,’” Margulies said. “People don’t understand that we’re both in full-time classes and running the business. It’s a full-time company.”\nMargulies is in charge of meeting with all of the restaurant owners and getting new companies to sign on, while Rolland does all the marketing and advertising. \n“I was a 19-year-old kid coming up to these 50-year-old men who had been in business for over 20 years,” Margulies said. “I had to gain their trust and that was a huge challenge.”\nHowever, after establishing a base with their first six restaurants, the site grew from there.\n“I’ve continued to use them and I wouldn’t do that unless they do a decent job,” said Kyle Hawkins, owner of Greek’s Pizzeria. “You see their advertisements everywhere. It usually pays off pretty quickly.”\nIn addition to Margulies establishing a good relationship with the owners, it was essential for Rolland to maintain good marketing and reach out to the students. The company has done everything from chalking and offering free pizzas to sending out about 100 personal e-mails to students daily on Facebook.\n“The first class we spoke in and asked how many students had heard of Btown Menus, one person in a 200-person class raised their hand,” Margulies said. “Now when we ask, nine out of 10 people know. That’s a great gauge for us that it’s working.”\nOther sites offer the same type of services, but Margulies and Rolland’s three years on campus sets them apart, Margulies said.\n“We’re students also,” Rolland said. “This is a company for the students, by the students.”\nRolland said being students themselves, they understand the pressure of school and how things such as midterms really affect students. After taking a semester off last year to focus on the business, they’ve also learned how to effectively manage time, he said.\n“I try to think of it as a daily, three-credit-hour class that’s mandatory,” Rolland said. “It’s always in the back of our minds.”