While youth might be a deficit to some in the business world, it is a benefit to Tyler Barnett and Jason Ellman co-founders of Beverly Hills-based public relations firm Barnett Ellman LLC.

The two friends started Barnett Ellman in January 2007 to focus on a younger, edgier crowd. A crowd they belong to.

“In PR, it’s so easy for the 18-to-28-year-old demographic to see when someone is faking it, when someone is trying too hard to get an edgy message across,” Barnett said. “That’s where actually belonging to that demographic sets us apart from other firms.”

The two met at a medium-size general PR firm in Los Angeles right out of college and became friends instantly.

Taking on edgy clients was early fare for both. Ellman cut his teeth working on marketing projects for Quentin Tarantino’s A Band Apart production company, while Barnett got his feet wet working with viral marketing promotions for Island/Def Jam records.

They got the idea to start the firm over some cold Coronas and a game of pool at Q’s Billiards bar on Wilshire Boulevard when they realized that the intellectual capital they acquired at their jobs could be spun into their own firm.

The two then landed a client who believed in them enough to put them on a three-month retainer. They began hunting for office space.

“The day we came in and saw our names on a sign over the door, that’s when it hit us: We did it,” Barnett said.

Since then, the firm has gotten such clients as Wine Commune, an online wine seller, and Earworms, a company whose software teaches foreign languages with songs. The two have been in talks with local soccer team Chivas L.A. and Chrysler Corp.

“We have an advantage over other firms because we grew up on AOL Instant Messenger and through communicating with our friends via text messaging, the very mediums leading firms are trying to capitalize on now,” Barnett said. “The market we hit is who we are, not who we’re trying to sell to.”

For 2008, Barnett Ellman expects to do more than $1 million in revenues of which $8,000 will go directly to the company’s employees in coffee.

“For every cup of coffee we buy our team, it gives us three more hours of work from each employee. We’re big fans of Starbucks,” Barnett laughed.

Allen P. Roberts Jr.

Tyler Barnett

, 24,

Jason Ellman

, 25, Co-Founders and Co-Principals, Barnett Ellman LLC, Beverly Hills

Business: Marketing, advertising and PR firm that targets the millennial generation

Employees: 6 – 2007 Revenues: $450,000

Fact: The company spends more than $600 a month on coffee, or about $5 a day per employee.