At the MSA program, I launched a web3 startup. It bridges real-world and web3 by offering fully automated copyright protection for digital assets. We have already tested the product for 78,000 avatars for a gaming metaverse.

Master of Startup Administration changed the way I looked at pitching and fundraising. I used to consider myself inferior to people who had financial resources. I thought that those with money decide for those who have ideas and energy. Now I have realized that this is far from being the case.

The program helped me to gain more confidence as a founder. I mastered pitching and selling my products. I learned to communicate with potential investors as equals and to filter investors or partners so I don’t get jitters before meeting them: I didn’t get stressed when I negotiated a $120,000 contract with a client.

It seems to me that this mindset removes a lot of barriers to trying something on a larger scale. I have already reaped some benefits: I applied the knowledge I gained at the program to refine my startup’s 26-slide presentation and turned it into a crisp 7-slide pitch which brought me a $10,000 check at the program’s Demoday.

I learned my next valuable insight at a workshop with Sergey Lukichev. It was a fact that coding skills were not mandatory for a CTO, compared to people management and strategy skills. I was well-versed in tech strategy but did not have coding skills, and I have always considered tech-oriented positions off-limits to me. It resonated with me and bolstered me to join two startups as a tech advisor.

After moving abroad, I couldn't find a job for two years. I completed a full-stack course at Starta Institute and learned programming from scratch. Now I work as a QA-engineer in the automation testing department. We write tests in Java. At the moment, I earn several thousand dollars in my new position. For someone who hasn't worked in an international company at all before, I think it's a great start!

After joining the MSA program, I founded GARD, a next-gen bank for gamers. I applied to the program with two goals in mind:

– get more expertise for my projects by solving real-life startup cases
– learn the ins and out of entering the US market: how to interview customers, how to assess and grind different channels, and how to raise funds
The program paid off, and I saw firsthand that guidance and consistent review from US-based venture capitalists and mentors skyrocketed my learning and progress. The program brought on an immediate mindset shift, and I understood what I needed to do to ship consistently.

As an outcome of the program, I launched a startup called GARD. It started as a bank for kids, but after running several customer interviews, I saw a clear pattern: every child has a gaming account. So I made a pivot to gaming finance. So far, I have made 50+ interviews with gaming companies, gamers, and streamers and got first card pre-orders. I am looking toward expanding my network and fundraising during the program’s offline bootcamp in New York.

Before my current role, I worked as an estimating engineer. My background is in construction. I wanted a change in my career, so I enrolled in the back-end development course. I chose Starta Institute because it's the only IT school that teaches this kind of technology in Berlin. What I liked about the classes was that the instructors were responsive and gave very structured information. Also, it was great that we studied for 9 months at a relaxed pace, which helped us to better absorb knowledge and avoid messing up our heads. I got a job a month before the course ended and increased my income by 30%.

I have extensive entrepreneurial experience, but before the program, I was totally unfamiliar with the world of venture capital. I thought that money loves silence and that any investors would be intruding into my business. The program allowed me to look at VC financing differently: as a resource that helps me expand the business. Now I have the tools and the right frame of mind to grow a venture scalable startup.

At the MSA program, I launched Aquajoy, a floating suit, that helps learn to swim easily by increasing buoyancy without adding bulk. I got invaluable support from my mentor. We identified marketing channels and figured out how to start production and moved it to Turkey instead of China, due to logistics, factory, and quality issues.

Currently, we are working on IP rights. During the program, we covered all aspects of building a startup, including fundraising. With a clear plan in mind, I am ready to attract funds to scale.

One of the best parts of the Master of Startup Administration for me was the case studies. I was working on the case of the startup Weje and I was able to put my recommendations into practice. We worked well with the founder and I got an offer from Weje and now I'm helping them with marketing and product development.

The program opened me a whole new world of networking. Now I have no problems with cold outreach and making connections with people and my network expanded considerably.

My previous work did not meet my expectations and I decided to change my profession. I decided to move to the IT sphere and took the «Front-end-developer» course at Starta Institute. I was successfully employed within a couple of months after the training. Now I work as a Junior Front-End Web Developer and finally get the satisfaction and decent pay for what I do.

Before the program, I used to be pretty disconnected from people building startups. So I enrolled in the MSA program to gain a competitive edge in venture capital and join a community of like-minded people.

The program was of high value in terms of practice. Three case studies helped me to make a deep dive into tech and startups: I learned where to look and what questions to ask to notice problems in startups straight away.

I have already put my knowledge into practice and mentored several startups in the course of the program. I helped my fellow student Konstantin make his startup more attractive to investors.

I also took the most out of networking on the program and made meaningful connections with venture capitalists. I asked a ton of questions and found out their criteria to evaluate startups. This was the most important outcome for me: to understand how VC funds make investment choices.

The MSA program vastly expanded my network and resources, giving me the confidence to launch a startup consulting company of my own. I will help startups get startups investor-ready and then pass the deals on to angel investors and funds. The program helped me decide if the startup mentorship was the right thing for me and now I know that I am on the right track.

Before the course, I was a hockey player. I got injured and my career ended there. Later, I found Starta Institute and decided to take a course. At first, I mastered the basic skills of front-end and back-end, Java, Spring, etc. After I finished the course, I continued working on my final project for another month, learning new features. The career department helped me with the job search and resume. I had 4 interviews and received 2 job offers. Now I work for an IT-company, which helped me with the relocation.

After moving, I realized that I didn't have enough training to find a job. I made the decision to study and chose Starta Institute, because I had the opportunity to take a course in Russian. I want to say that the teachers were very responsive and tried to help in any situation. For me, it was important that even when I asked questions off-subject, I still got answers that helped me understand. After the training, I got a job as a full-stack developer. At the time of signing the official contract, I had completed the course 4 just months prior. I have been working in this company on a part-time basis and it has been very good.

For our startup, Biomma, the program was the entrance door to the entire entrepreneurship environment in the US. We understood how to network our way in this market, and what first steps to take with lots of ideas on what we need to improve to scale our product. We have already had meetings with investors and potential partners on the program’s offline bootcamp in New York.

Before the program, we were focused only on our customers and learned how to create and deliver value but overlooked how we can capture this value. In the span of the program, we started focusing on our business and we are on our way to creating a pitch and a commercial strategy for investors. There was a heavy emphasis on investor relations and we were able to work on our fundraising strategy with seasoned investors.

With our mentor, we’ve also crafted a better business model by introducing subscriptions. At Biomma we offset our clients’ environmental impact by growing forests. We used to plant trees every single month, but now we plant a forest offsetting one year’s emissions in the first month. This way we create a real and tangible value for our customers which proves to be leverage. We have already tested the new business model with customers, and the program helped to design those tests.

Besides the knowledge and experience I gained in the program, my mindset changed as well. It's hard to create a startup in Columbia and it's hard to create it in New York, but now I am in the best part of the world to create it. So our team and I are now thinking globally.

The program is a good fit for people with big ambitions as it combines a community of like-minded people, expert-led workshops, practical case studies, and unparalleled support to make your first steps in entrepreneurship.

I joined the third batch of the program with a startup idea. The program helped me realize that my idea was a far cry from what people wanted to buy. I learned how to conduct customer research and reshape my idea so that it was deeply rooted in the customer's needs. As a result, I started working on the soft skill enhancement platform to learn, practice, and master your knowledge.

In the span of the program, I pivoted three times, validated the demand for the product, brought a few clients aboard, and ran experiments with the value proposition. In the end, I was able to hard pivot my idea based on the results I got. I feel that I am on a new level than 4 months ago, for me that’s a lot.

I progressed so quickly mainly because the program staff, experts, and mentors created an unparalleled supportive environment. This is my first entrepreneurial program, but in the other ones I’ve never had someone on my side reminding me of everything, someone really interested and incentivized to help me become successful. When I gain the conviction to start working head-down on this product or a new startup idea, I know where I can come for advice and useful connections.

As it was my first time launching a startup, I found the expect-led workshops extremely useful, the speakers interesting and the content well-structured. I learned a lot about customer research, idea validation, and how to center my pitch around traction and I am feeling equipped to take my next steps in entrepreneurship.