Epiphanies happen when you least expect it. Newton was under an apple tree, Archimedes was in a public bath, and Jordan Silverman was sitting on the John.

In 2010, Silverman was on his smartphone doing his business, when an ad popped up on his screen. The University of Michigan philosophy major quickly realized that advertisers have a captive audience when it comes to people in the can.

Jordan approached his brother, Bryan, a high school student at the time, with the idea of advertising on toilet paper. Not long after, the two co-founded Star Toilet Paper, which features advertisements on each square. The company’s toilet paper debuted in stalls around Ann Arbor, Mich., and soon expanded to New York City, the brothers’ hometown, and North Carolina, where Bryan’s currently a junior studying neuroscience at Duke University.

The business model is relatively simple: Star Toilet Paper sells cheap ad space to businesses looking to reach people, then places its paper at places like movie theaters, libraries or even college campuses, and in return the locations that stock the ad-laden toilet paper receive it free of charge.

“It really is a mutually beneficial relationship,” says Bryan Silverman, who was named College Entrepreneur of 2012 by Entrepreneur magazine.

Starting this fall, the business will begin supplying TP in toilet stalls at San Jose City College. For Joe Andrade, SJCC’s facilities manager, Star Toilet Paper’s appeal was fairly obvious.

“I just Googled ‘free toilet paper’ and it was the top result,” he says.

Hygiene supplies constitute 80-85 percent of SJCC’s supplies budget, Andrade says, and he anticipates he’ll save $15,000 to $20,000 per year by switching to the Silverman brothers’ paper.

SJCC isn’t the only one saving money though—thousands of students who use the TP could as well. Many of the ads printed come with coupons for local businesses.

“Once we pick the venue, we can analyze its demographics and figure out what kind of ads would be best,” Bryan Silverman says.

The paper is made from 100 percent recycled material and ads are printed with water-based ink, which apparently helps to prevent abrasion. Advertisements come from a range of local, regional and national businesses, and roughly 70 companies have partnered with Star Toilet Paper, according to the Silvermans.

Printing on toilet paper is not entirely new—other businesses offer people the chance to wipe with the face of their least favorite president—but Star Toilet Paper might be the first to bring a positive spin to the No. 2 business.

Thankfully though, would-be savings seekers won’t have to carry around two-ply rolls of coupons, since the coupons will be printed with text message codes and QR codes for scanning with a smartphone. This helps Star Toilet Paper and its advertisers track the coupon’s effectiveness.

“The goal for the coupons is to utilize mobile technology in an advertising context,” Bryan Silverman says.

Star Toilet Paper is looking for local advertising partners as it plans to expand across California, “with a heavy focus in Silicon Valley.”