“My calls to big brands led to me asking for samples and raffle prizes,” Eder recalls to Fortune. “Soon, my student hall bedroom was filled with condoms from Durex, Jelly Belly Jelly Beans, Coffee from Starbucks, Pot Noodles and Lush soaps that made it fragrant for months after.” 

At the same time, Eder was working as a brand manager for Yell, where he says he’d already worked with more than 30 brands. A business plan assignment in his degree became the perfect place to shape the concept.

So after graduating, he and his older brother—who worked at an investment bank and had his own side hustle, selling titanium power on Ebay—bootstrapped what became one of the U.K.’s defining student platforms, with a £3,000 loan. 

Over 15,000 students signed up to get exclusive discount vouchers from over 200 local businesses in its first year. By year three, Student Beans had 150,000 users. And today? It’s rebranded as Pion, works with over 3,500 brands from Gymshark to Uber, with over 5 million customers in more than 100 countries. 

While Eder still holds a 35% stake in the £30-million-a-year turnover company, he walked away from day-to-day operations 10 years ago to pursue another idea: A location-based rival to LinkedIn called Causr, where you’d be able to see professionals nearby and connect. 

But despite raising £500,000 and attracting 3,000 users, Eder’s second startup collapsed. A heart condition diagnosis forced him to rethink everything. 

Having a defibrillator implanted in his chest quietly reshaped how he approaches purpose, work, and the limited resource none of us get back: time.

Today, Eder spends up to half the year in Méribel. He skis most mornings, and is fresh off the launch of The Collision Code—his book, which hit No. 1 on Amazon’s “Most Gifted” list and has already raised more than £8,500 for heart-health charities.

Yet even with the mountain air and flexible schedule, he says the real “good life” is less about escape, and more about learning how to design a life you don’t need to run away from.

The finances

What’s been your best-ever investment?

The best investment I ever made was £400 on a three-day personal development programme called The Landmark Forum in 2009. A friend invited me to an introductory evening. I was sceptical, but I also knew I had nothing to lose. At the very least, I thought it would be three days of reflection, learning about myself and meeting new people.

But it helped me understand how I operate, why I behave the way I do and which beliefs were holding me back. It shifted how I showed up for myself and for others. It gave me the confidence to speak up, build meaningful relationships and say yes to opportunities that scared me. Everything I have done since, from founding companies to writing my book The Collision Code, traces back to the moment I decided to invest in myself.

Once I became a qualified coach, these stepping stones enabled me to design a life that means I live in the French Alps up to six months of the year, enjoying the mountain air and skiing whilst balancing my clients and health.

And the worst?

My second startup, Causr. I raised £150,000, registered for VAT (value added tax) and qualified for R&D tax credits, which brought the total investment closer to £200,000. I also invested three years of my life. We built an app for both Apple and Android and attracted around 3,000 users, but engagement was almost non-existent.  

I thought with the success behind me, having built Student Beans, I was so confident the world needed this and I could make this work. But I made the mistake of moving too fast. The moment the funding landed, I felt pressure to spend it and scale immediately. If I could go back, I would have continued testing, validating and learning with a much smaller audience before committing to a full build.

What are your living arrangements like?

I’m fortunate to spend time in between London, Kentish Town, in an old converted school with floor-to-ceiling windows, and a roof terrace that gets the sun for most of the day. I moved there when we relocated the Student Beans offices to Kentish Town and when I was there day-to-day it was just a ten-minute walking commute. 

For almost half the rest of the year I’ve chosen to live in the French Alps in a beautiful studio apartment just above Meribel Centre in one of the best and largest ski areas of the world, The Three Valleys. I first fell in love with the mountains, skiing in the same area at around four or five. When I was diagnosed with my heart condition, it was a dream to be able to go back there and make this happen. I feel like I’ve got the perfect balance of the buzz of London and having everything on my doorstep, then mountain escape.

What’s in your wallet?

I never carry any cash. I have two default bank cards I use: The Virgin Atlantic Credit card which affords me to travel regularly in premium and upperclass, or my Revolut, which offers such convenience for different currencies whilst travelling and a brilliant interface.

Do you invest in shares?

I used an advisor for a number of years, making sure I benefited from the ISA tax-free allowances (similar to a Roth IRA in the U.S.). The most fantastic thing I did was invest in a money coach. For the first time, I understood how it works, what a bull and bear market is, what a tracker fund is … I now manage my funds and use Vanguard and Interactive Investor to do the work. I also invest in premium bonds, which are also tax-free investments.

What personal finance advice would you give your 20-year-old self?

I would emphasise the importance of monthly contributions, however small and maximising the tax-free ISA allowances as much as possible.

What’s the one subscription you can’t live without?

My EasyJet Plus subscription. Due to most of my European travel being short-haul with the majority served by EasyJet, it’s a useful perk—priority security, speedy boarding, seat selection and extra handheld luggage.

What’s your most ridiculous ongoing expense?

I don’t have ridiculous ongoing expenses, but I make up for it with travel. Most of my outgoings are on destination travel and related expenses. My annual ski pass for those who don’t ski might be questionable.

Courtesy of James Eder

The Necessities 

How do you get your daily coffee fix?

I don’t drink coffee. I never got into it. My weakness is hot chocolate with cream, which I usually drink daily during the winter in the Alps, and it ranges in price from €5 to €10—so a habit of up to €40 a week.

What about eating on the go?

My go-to when I’m in the U.K. is PizzaExpress and Wagamama, reasonably priced and quick eats. I usually eat out three to four times a week. If I’m in town and in between meetings a Pret-A-Manger is a frequent destination. For meetings, I will often be at The Ivy, The Granary Square Brasserie in Kings Cross, The Wolseley or The Delaunay. Novikov or Sketch are also favourites.

Where do you buy groceries?

When I’m in London, I’ll grab food on the way home from being out—a stir fry, or salmon. In France, I do a weekly shop from Carrefour and feel like I have a better balanced diet as I have more time to spend planning and in the kitchen. It’s just a different way of living.

What’s a typical work outfit for you?

I’m usually in jeans from Citizens of Humanity with a shirt and a tailored jacket, polished but relaxed. Day-to-day, I’ve been leaning more casual and think Uniqlo is great for quality basics. I budget up to £1,000 a year on clothes and focus on things I’ll wear again and again.

The Treats  

Are you the proud owner of any tech gadgets?

My Apple Watch has been a game-changer. I originally got it with my Vitality Health Care insurance plan and it has helped me identify when I had a change in heart rhythm as well as give me more confidence in exercising.

The one gadget that I think would really improve the quality of my life is a kitchen robot. Of course, there are private chefs, but the idea of having something in my kitchen that can cook with anything is wild.

How do you unwind from the top job?

What’s your take on work-life balance at the top?

In the early days of Student Beans, I was definitely working for over 12 hours a day and felt like I was always on. That was the same at Causr. Since I’m now a coach and author, work ebbs and flows.

Some days I’m out first thing for a breakfast meeting, working through the day, having an interview, doing a photo shoot, a lunch appointment, writing content, speaking at an event, recording a podcast and out for dinner. My take on work-life balance is to reframe it as being about life and whether you’re enjoying it or not. 

How do you treat yourself when you get a promotion?

Because I have always worked for myself, promotions were never my milestone. Instead, I celebrated big moments like signing a major client, or raising investment. Those were the times I treated myself to something special. I love the art in my flat and choosing pieces that connect to a memory makes them even more meaningful. One of my favourites is an original limited edition Paul Kenton print of London and the Thames. 

How many days annual leave do you take a year?

Whenever I am in France, it naturally feels like a holiday even though I am working. On top of that, I actively take around three months each year to travel and explore.

Take us on holiday with you, where did you go this year?

When I go on the heart transplant list, I’ll need to be within four hours of Cambridge and the transplant hospital at all times, so it’s made me focus on making the most of travelling. 

I started 2025 in France, in March, visiting Tignes, another ski resort where I was a social host on European Snow Pride, a week-long gay festival. In April, I went to Gran Canaria for a few days. From there, I flew to Geneva and visited Meribel to get the keys to my new apartment, followed by a few days in Paris for my birthday. I spent a couple of weeks in Sardinia, including a sailing trip on a catamaran around Sardinia and Corsica. I then went to Wales for The Do Lectures, a few days of glamping with a community of over a hundred inspiring people. 

Opeyemi savors his attraction to the crypto market, which explains why he spends the better parts of his day looking through different price charts. “Looking” is a rather simple way to describe analyzing and interpreting various price patterns and chart formations. However, it appears that is not Opeyemi’s favorite part – in fact, far from it.

Being able to connect what happens on a price chart to on-chain movements and blockchain activities is what keeps Opeyemi ticking. “This emphasizes the intricacies of blockchain technology and the cryptocurrency market,” he would say. Most importantly, Opeyemi thinks of any market insights as the gospel, while recognizing that he is only a messenger.

When he is not clicking away at his keyboard, Opeyemi is most definitely listening to music, playing games, reading a book, or scrolling through X. He likes to think he is not loyal to a particular genre of music, which can be true on many days. However, the fast-rising Afrobeats genre is a staple in Opeyemi’s Spotify Daily Mix.

Meanwhile, Opeyemi is a voracious reader who enjoys a wide category of books – ranging from science fiction, fantasy, and historical, to even romance. He believes that authors like George R. R. Martin and J. K.
Rowling are the greatest of all time when it comes to putting pen to paper. Opeyemi believes his reading of the Harry Potter series twice is proof of that.

Indeed, Opeyemi enjoys spending most of his time within the four walls of his home. However, he also sometimes finds solace in the company of his friends at a bar, a restaurant, or even on a stroll. In essence, Opeyemi’s ambivert (haha! been searching for an opportunity to use the word to describe myself) nature makes him a social chameleon who is able to quickly adapt to different settings.

Opeyemi recognizes the need to constantly develop oneself in order to stay afloat in a competitive and ever-evolving market like crypto. For this reason, he is always in learning mode, ready to pick up the slightest lesson from every situation. Opeyemi is efficient and likes to deliver all that is required of him in time – he believes that “whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well.” Hence, you will always find him striving to be better.

Ultimately, Opeyemi is a good writer and an even better person who is trying to shed light on an exciting world phenomenon – cryptocurrency. He goes to bed every day with a smile of satisfaction on his face, knowing that he has done his bit of the holy assignment – spreading the crypto gospel to the rest of the world.

The Meteorology Department says that the prevailing showery condition in the Northern, North-central, Eastern, and Uva provinces is expected to reduce temporarily from today (03).

Several spells of showers will occur in Uva province and in Ampara and Hambantota districts, it said.  

Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in Western, Sabaragamuwa and Central provinces and in Galle and Matara districts during the afternoon or night.

Fairly strong winds of 30-40 kmph can be expected at times over Northern, Eastern, North-central and North-western provinces and in Hambantota district.

Misty conditions can be expected at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa and Central provinces and in Galle and Matara districts during the morning.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

Pfizer‘s experimental drug for a common, life-threatening condition that causes cancer patients to lose their appetite and weight showed positive results in a midstage trial, the drugmaker said Saturday. 

Patients with the condition, called cancer cachexia, who took Pfizer’s treatment saw improvements in body weight, muscle mass, quality of life and physical function, according to the drugmaker. The results could pave the way for the drug, a monoclonal antibody called ponsegromab, to become the first treatment approved in the U.S. specifically for cancer cachexia. 

The condition affects about 9 million people worldwide, and 80% of cancer patients suffering from it are expected to die within one year of diagnosis, according to the company.

Patients with cancer cachexia don’t eat enough food to meet their body’s energy needs, causing significant fat and muscle loss and leaving them weak, fatigued and, in some cases, unable to perform daily activities. Cancer cachexia is currently defined as a loss of 5% or more body weight over the past six months in cancer patients, along with symptoms such as fatigue, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The symptoms of the condition can make cancer treatments less effective and contribute to lower survival rates, Pfizer said. 

“We would see ponsegromab fitting into the treatment of cancer patients, really addressing that unmet need in cachexia, and through that, improving their wellness, their ability to care for themselves, and we would also hope their ability to tolerate more treatment,” Charlotte Allerton, Pfizer’s head of discovery and early development, told CNBC in an interview. 

Pfizer has not disclosed the estimated revenue opportunity of the drug, which could potentially be approved for different uses.

The company presented the data Saturday at the European Society for Medical Oncology 2024 Congress, a cancer research conference held in Barcelona, Spain. The results were also published in The New England Journal of Medicine. 

The phase two trial followed 187 people with non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer or colorectal cancer and high levels of a key driver of cachexia called growth differentiation factor 15, or GDF-15. It is a protein that binds to a certain receptor in the brain and has an impact on appetite, according to Allerton. 

After 12 weeks, patients who took the highest dose of ponsegromab — 400 milligrams — saw a 5.6% increase in weight compared with those who received a placebo. Patients who took a 200-milligram or 100-milligram dose of the drug saw a roughly 3.5% and 2% increase in body weight, respectively, compared with the placebo group. 

Allerton said a work group of experts defines a weight gain of greater than 5% as a “clinically meaningful difference in cancer patients with cachexia.” She added that the drug’s effect on other measures of wellness, such as increased appetite and physical activity, is “really what offers us the encouragement.” 

Pfizer said it did not observe any significant side effects with the drug. Treatment-related side effects occurred in 8.9% of people taking a placebo and 7.7% of those who took Pfizer’s treatment, the company said. 

The company said it is discussing late-stage development plans for the drug with regulators, and aims to start studies in 2025 that can be used to file for approval. Pfizer is also studying ponsegromab in a phase two trial in patients with heart failure, who can also suffer from cachexia.

Pfizer’s drug works by reducing the levels of GDF-15. Pfizer believes this can improve appetite and enable patients to maintain and gain weight. 

“For most of us, we have low levels of GDF-15 in our tissues when we’re healthy, but we really do see this up regulation of GDF-15 in more of these chronic conditions, and in this case, cancer,” Allerton said.

Tusker ‘Agbo’, who is currently receiving treatment after having suffered gunshot injuries earlier this year, is believed to be in critical condition after he was reportedly shot at again on Saturday (28 Oct.).

Accordingly, an individual is believed to have opened fire on the elephant from near the Vannam Maduwa river in Thirappane.

Veterinarians have therefore warned that the tusker now remains in critical condition.