From Students to Start-Up: through Hyper Island's Digital Master's

It was during a night out in Zürich that a heated discussion broke out: who had actually won the last table tennis match? Each of them was convinced that they were the reigning champ, and the argument sparked a realisation: why wasn’t there a way to keep track of all these friendly competitions?

As Daniel explains: “Whether it’s Monopoly, beach volleyball, or just a random bar darts night – there’s always that one friend who insists they’re the best”. 

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 – big or small – to fuel friendly rivalries, motivate people to try new things, and bring friends closer together.

Once the idea for Versus was born, the three classmates decided not to waste time. They set themselves a clear challenge: get a first version of the app live as quickly as possible.

“We want to be fast, agile and imperfect,” James recalls.

Instead of chasing perfection, they focused on testing, learning, and improving along the way. That’s where their Hyper Island experience came in handy. They leaned on the same methods they had practiced throughout their studies – sticky-note brainstorms, quick workshops, prototyping, and testing ideas with real people.

Their Miro boards looked just like their Hyper Island projects: filled with IDOARRTs, warm-ups, and ideation frameworks. And with James, a skilled designer, turning ideas into Figma prototypes almost overnight, they were able to put something into people’s hands and get feedback fast.

This fast, human-centered approach was deeply rooted in their Hyper Island experience, where collaboration, prototyping, and reflection are second nature.

Of course, getting an app to launch in just a few months wasn’t without its hurdles. The trio faced plenty of them. Some expected, some less so.

One big challenge was prioritisation. With dozens of possible features and directions to take, it was easy to get lost in the details. Long sessions were spent asking the hard question: where do we actually create value for users?

Perfectionism was another hurdle. It’s tempting to polish endlessly, but they quickly learned to follow an 80/20 approach — good enough to test, then improve. As they put it: a prototype is nice, but it doesn’t compare to real-world feedback from a beta version in people’s hands.

Then there was the bureaucracy. From figuring out the right company setup across three nationalities to navigating Apple’s app store approval process, some days felt like a rabbit hole with no clear way out. Despite this being frustrating and often painful, the team kept adapting, tweaking, and trying again – always moving forward. 

And, like any startup, picking the right partners mattered. Beyond building the app, they suddenly had to wear all the hats. 

Having three founders made that workload manageable, since they could divide and share the load. But finding the right developers was just as important. After experimenting with cheaper options, they landed on a team that not only understood their vision but challenged it – and that made all the difference.

Looking back, the three founders are clear on one thing: without Hyper Island, Versus wouldn’t exist. Not only because it’s where they met, but because of the mindsets and methods they carried with them into every step of building their startup.

The pace of the program itself turned out to be excellent preparation. As they put it, every group project felt like a speedrun – quickly moving through ideation, prototyping, and testing, while constantly applying new theory in practice. 

Perhaps most importantly, the culture at Hyper Island helped them embrace empathy and diverse perspectives. “The diversity of our classmates was one of the key assets,” they explain. “Again and again, we saw how different approaches and ways of thinking made the work better.” That mindset carried over into Versus, not just in how they collaborate as co-founders, but in how they listen to and learn from their users.

When asked what advice they’d give to today’s Hyper Island students, the answer was simple: just start.

As Felix puts it: “When in doubt, I ask myself: what’s the worst that can happen? Almost always the answer is ‘probably not that tragic’ – so let’s start!”

Their message to students is clear: use your time at Hyper Island to connect with people who share your vision, test ideas together, and don’t overthink the next step. Feeling overwhelmed? Break it down. Take one bite at a time. As they learned, progress happens when you put something out into the world – even if it’s not perfect – and then keep improving.

At its core, Versus is about more than just keeping score. It’s about keeping people engaged, motivated, and connected through the activities they love. Whether it’s board games, beach volleyball, or a table tennis match, the app gives friends a way to track their results, celebrate wins, and create memories together.

The team is now expanding the app’s features to make Versus more of a social tool, helping people find new friends with similar skills, discover activities, and strengthen bonds through play. “Competition has had a bad reputation in recent years,” they explain. “But when it’s fun and fair, it pushes us outside our comfort zone and helps us grow.”

The journey of Daniel, Felix, and James shows us what can happen when curiosity, collaboration, and courage come together. From sticky-note brainstorms to launching an app on the global stage, the path from student to startup founder has been fast, imperfect, and inspiring.

And they’re only just getting started.

As the Versus founders advise others: “Start connecting with the people at Hyper Island. A learning experience at Hyper is the perfect opportunity to find people with similar visions.”

Explore our part-time master’s programs to see how Hyper Island can help you shape your next journey.

Download the app on the App Store or Google Play, and follow Versus on Instagram to keep up with their journey. Who knows, maybe your next friendly competition will end up on Versus.

If you want to reach out to the founders, you can find them here: Daniel Karelin, Felix Seifried, James Raper