A Student Startup Journey: From Classroom Idea to App Store Launch in four month

Can you really build a startup while studying for a master’s degree? For the founders behind Versus, the answer is yes.

During their time in Hyper Island’s Master’s in Digital Management (Now called: Digital Innovation & Strategic Leadership), they didn’t just study. They built a company. They developed an idea, tested it, and launched it — all within four months.

Explore this Hyper Island student startup journey to see how a Master’s degree can provide the foundation you need to launch your own business.

Versus was founded by Daniel Karelin, Felix Seifried, and James Raper during their time in Master’s in Digital Innovation & Strategic Leadership at Hyper Island.

What started as a debate over who had won the last table tennis match, quickly turned into a realisation that sparked an idea.

Why wasn’t there a way to keep track of all these friendly competitions? They needed a way to settle the debate by simply keeping score. That’s where the idea of Versus was born: a platform to track results across all kinds of activities.

The trio didn’t enter the program with a finished company. They entered with curiosity, ambition, and a willingness to experiment. Their time at Hyper Island became the environment where that ambition turned into action.

Versus-app by Hyper Island Alumni

Many aspiring founders wonder the same thing:

• Can a master’s program actually help me start a company?

• Or will it just stay theoretical?

For the Versus team, this question became central to their experience. Instead of separating education from entrepreneurship, they decided to combine the two.

Building a startup while studying meant working at a fast pace, testing ideas quickly, and learning by doing.

It also meant letting go of perfection.

The founders describe Hyper Island as more than a place to learn theory. It was a space where ideas were expected to be tested, challenged, and developed.

Through hands-on projects and collaboration, they were constantly encouraged to:

•  Turn ideas into prototypes

•  Test assumptions early

•  Learn from feedback

•  Move forward instead of waiting for perfection

Because they were learning methods around experimentation and rapid iteration, they were able to apply those methods directly to their own startup idea.

Instead of spending months refining a concept in isolation, they built, tested, and adjusted as they went.

That fast, human-centered approach laid the foundation for their Hyper Island student startup journey.

One of the biggest mindset shifts during the program was to let go of perfection and follow an 80/20 approach — good enough to test, then improve.

A prototype is nice, but it doesn’t compare to real-world feedback from a beta version in people’s hands.

This approach helped them:

• Gain clarity on what worked

• Identify what didn’t

• Refine their product faster

Building a startup while studying meant the classroom became their testing ground. Peers became beta users. Projects became opportunities to develop their own venture.

It wasn’t separate from their studies. It was embedded within them.

Versus didn’t stay an idea. While still students, they built and launched their app on the App Store. That milestone answered the question many prospective students ask:

What can a master’s at Hyper Island actually lead to? For them, it led to:

• A launched digital product

• Real-world validation

• A founding team formed through the program

• Practical experience in building and scaling

Their startup founders story shows that a master’s program can be more than preparation. It can be the starting point.

Before deciding whether to apply, many wonder what the program truly adds.

In Daniel’s, Felix’s, and James’s case, the Master’s in Digital Innovation & Strategic Leadership gave them:

• Mindset: Confidence to experiment and move quickly.

• Methods: Tools for prototyping, testing, and iterating in real time.

• Network: A team of collaborators who became co-founders.

• Pace: A structured environment that pushed them to act instead of overthink.

These elements together made building a startup while studying not just possible, but practical.

For future students who want to start something of their own, their advice is simple:

If you’re considering your own Hyper Island student startup journey, the question isn’t only what you’ll learn. It’s what you’ll build.

The Versus team didn’t wait until after graduation to start their company — they built it while learning.

If you’ve been thinking about launching something of your own, the question isn’t whether you need more time — it’s whether you’re in the right environment to start.

Explore the Master’s in Digital Innovation & Strategic Leadership at Hyper Island and see how you can turn ideas into real products, test them in the real world, and build something that goes beyond the classroom.