FOXBUSINESS.COM PROFILES ENTREPRENEURS AGE 35 AND YOUNGER

Even Ben Lerer, 27, and Adam Rich, 28, concede that the idea behind their startup wasn’t exactly a “Eureka!” moment worthy of Wilbur and Orville Wright. It had been done before. In fact, their brainstorm can probably be directly linked to partying too hard in college. 

Nevertheless, Thrillist, a site targeted at young guys in major cities, has turned into a $5 million business in a little over three years. 

"[Thrillist] is a great idea. But it's an evolutionary idea, not a revolutionary idea,” says Lerer. “Daily Candy [which is a fun and witty Web site targeted at women] has been very successful. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out it could maybe work for guys." 

But, Lerer emphasizes, it wasn’t as simple as “taking the Daily Candy girl and switching it to a guy.” 

Adds Rich: "The one thing we've found in this market is that it's a very particular one, and [readers] can spot phony guy talk very quickly." 

Thrillist, essentially is a city guide with attitude that has "editions" geared to New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago. It will launch in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Washington in the coming months. 

"Basically what we've tried to do with the content is provide a trusted voice, as if you had a big brother living in whatever city we're writing about a little longer than you. We try not to be experts per se, but almost as if we were the reader's friend who has no other job than to find things that we're both into" explains Rich.

The site itself can seem a tad obnoxious, with the line "Tell your mother I said hi" popping up repeatedly on a recent visit to the homepage. But as Lerer and Rich stress, Thrillist is for a very targeted audience. And maybe it's because they have done such a good job of honing in on such a specific market that advertisers are eager to support the site. What they stay away from, says Lerer, is the overly general content flooding other sites with a young, male audience.

So how do these two guys know what other guys are looking for? They say their partying days at UPenn gave them plenty of experience in what might be called leisure pursuits. 

"We never went to class" says Rich. 

Lerer, whose father is Huffington Post co-founder Kenneth Lerer,  is slightly less candid. 

"We were probably a little too irresponsible in college and focused too much on having fun," he says. 

But while cutting class helped lead to a multi-million-dollar company, Lerer says he wishes he had studied a bit harder.

"Now doing the books and doing the finances for the business, I've had to completely learn everything from scratch because I had no background at all in accounting or finance or economics, and it's been kind of a learning curve, a bit of a hassle....But, you know, things have worked out OK, so I'm not losing sleep over it."

Watch the video for an inside look at the guys behind Thrillist.com

THE SIX SHOOTER

1. Where were you the moment you decided your business plan?

Lerer: Adam and I were on the roof of my apartment building complaining about the fact that we couldn't find online city-guide information that we trusted.

Rich: We were in black nylon hammock chairs, facing southwest toward the Hudson.

2. What was the one thing you didn't know that you had to bluff your way through? 

Lerer: One thing? Everything at first. Specifically though, I think we knew least about the best practices for deploying large volumes of email.

Rich: The technology. Even though I'd studied digital media and tested software, I really didn't know the first thing about maintaining a Web site.

3. What one life lesson did you learn that helped you build your business?

Lerer: Nothing comes easy -- you can't just sit back and hope to be successful. You have to work hard every single day.

Rich: Sweat the little stuff. The company is basically the result of millions of tiny challenges and decisions, so no matter how small a task seems, it’s critical to do it 100%.

4. Who is your role model or inspiration?

Lerer: My Dad, for sure. He's been able to be successful in his career, while still spending more than enough time with the family just being a father. He's taught me that nothing about work is a life or death issue, which has helped me weather tougher times and enjoy when things are going well.

Rich: Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you watch "Pumping Iron" you see a portrait of pure confidence, tirelessness, and ambition -- enough to fuel his rise from professional steroid abuser to what's arguably the second- or third-most-powerful executive office in the U.S.

5. What do you wish you had more of: time or money?

Lerer: I think if I had more time, I'd have more money. That's sort of a loaded question though.

Rich: If I could defer this, I'd love to give more time to my staff. They crank relentlessly to keep up with our content schedule -- so I'd want to donate an hour daily to each of them to kick back with a margarita and recharge their batteries.

6. What is the one word your employees would use to describe you? 

Lerer: I would hope, passionate. For all the many shortcomings I have as a manager, the one thing I don't screw up is caring deeply about the success of the brand and everyone associated with it.

Rich: Focused, because we publish a lot of content every work day. I work very hard to keep everyone on track and make sure we all are laser-focused on whatever the task at hand is.

 

Want to know who's next? Check back every other week for more Young Guns...And if you know a young entrepreneur with an interesting story, e-mail us at youngguns@foxbusiness.com.

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