Duke student rolls out 2-ply model

Duke University sophomore Bryan Silverman is offering some unusual reading material in the bathroom — toilet paper flush with advertisements and coupons.

Silverman and his older brother Jordan, a recent University of Michigan-Ann Arbor graduate, started Star Toilet Paper about a year ago when Jordan saw the potential for ads while reading in his bathroom.

Although Bryan Silverman originally found the concept a bit outlandish, he and his brother began pursuing advertisers in late 2011, and business has been on a roll since.

The Silvermans refer to their business model as “two-ply” — they first look for public venues such as libraries, bars and movie theaters to offer their toilet paper for free and then appeal to advertisers.

“There’s coupons right at your fingertips,” Bryan Silverman said, referring to the QR codes on the individual sheets of toilet paper that can be scanned with cellphones or typed in at www.startoiletpaper.com for redemption.

“I realize we have a funny, humorous product, and I like to take advantage of that,” he said. “I want people to be receptive to it and entertained by it.”

Lawrence Boyd, associate director of Duke’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization, had that reaction when he first heard Bryan Silverman pitch Star Toilet Paper.

“I almost saw it as a joke at first — people laugh until he gets into detail and then realize there’s actually business potential there,” he said.

Boyd works with Duke’s student business incubator DUhatch, which gives student entrepreneurs advice and 24-hour accessibility to its facility. DUhatch has adopted the Silvermans’ idea, allowing Bryan to work on Star Toilet Paper at Duke while Jordan is employed with the business full-time in Michigan.

“I think the business has potential,” Boyd said. “Executing this will take a large effort, but they’re doing well from what I can tell. Bryan is passionate — which is very cool.”

The company has seven venues — two in Durham, four in Ann Arbor, Mich., and one in Westchester, N.Y. — and 55 advertisers ranging from The Pita Pit to Smoothie King.

But Claudia Kubowicz Malhotra, UNC associate professor of marketing, said she wasn’t convinced that everyone would be receptive to the thought of a dual-functioning product, especially when one function is so closely associated with the toilet.

“If you think about how toilet paper is used, would you want your brand associated with that? I personally wouldn’t because I feel it would reflect badly on my brand,” she said, adding that she has seen toilet paper ads in Europe.

But Bryan Silverman has high hopes for Star Toilet Paper, which features the motto “Don’t rush — look before you flush!”

He said he would eventually like for it to be the toilet paper provider for every public vendor across America.

Contact the desk editor at state@dailytarheel.com.