At the C-Level program, I launched a startup called IpSign. 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.

At the C-Level program 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 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.

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.

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 the right thing for me and now I know that I am on the right track.

As a tech guy, I joined the program to supercharge my entrepreneurship skills and network. In the span of the program, I have already sorted out my existing knowledge and experience. I was able to broaden my non-technical perspective while my technical background was valued by my fellow students.

I liked working on a deep tech startup case, as it was so distant from my activities that I came up with out-of-the-box solutions helpful for my projects.

The MSA program encouraged me to get my startup off the ground: I started exploring the needs of creators and with proper user research and advice from the program mentor I narrowed the idea down to helping creators who sell on TikTok and Instagram. Now I am set on validating my idea and connecting with potential investors during our bootcamp in New York.

Finally, the program was valuable in terms of networking: I met a group of peers who are going through the phase I was in and can help me in the journey. I created meaningful connections and I think more opportunities will arise from my experience being a part of the MSA community.

While in the program, I founded Pompel.io, a universal text analytics platform without the use of a traditional AI/ML-based approach.

I had a startup idea I was keen on and I joined the program to level myself up as a founder and to figure out how to take my idea from zero to one: how to prioritize the problems and industries that my startup’s technology can solve.

After 5 months of the program, I have a plan in mind: we start with GEO data services and product catalog management and incorporate the company in Europe. Then we expand to healthcare and help to analyze medical records and receipts and then we ride the wave into international exposure.

Where Master of Startup Administration helped me the most was understanding what investors look for in startups. My product applies to different industries and now I can tailor my pitch to different investors and it works! My team managed to launch two pilot projects with partners and we penetrated new market niches.

Case studies were also very helpful. One of the best insights for me was that I can unbundle my product into smaller ones, improve them and sell them separately.

I found great value in networking. I got access to an incredible community and all of the resources that came with that. We started contemplating joint projects and opportunities for collaboration. Luckily, I’ll continue to be a part of this community even after the program is over.

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.

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.

Marvin Liao is an ex-partner at 500 Startups, running an SF-based accelerator program as well as investing in Seed stage startups. In 6 years, Marvin invested in and worked with over 414 pre-seed and seed-stage startups. He also worked at Yahoo! for over 10 years as Commercial Director for EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa). Marvin has expertise in media, mobile, marketplaces, advertising technologies, MedTech, IoT, FinTech, and enterprise SaaS.

Ricardo Taveras founded and sold three startups in EdTech and Fintech.

SportVEST: Cofounder — created an investment platform for professional athletes with an educational program to meeting NFL requirements, acquired in 2019; now a venture capital arm of NFL alumni.

SwA: Cofounder and COO — built a platform to deliver personalized music lessons, serving 200+ corporate clients; expanded the team to 112 employees; startup acquired in 2016.

PraxisEMR: Interim CEO and Board Member — created the most efficient electronic medical record software in the industry; with Ricardo's involvement, reorganized and transformed the business, resulting in 300%+ growth in 2 years.

Ricardo is a Managing Partner at TPH Family Office, a New York City based investment firm with 19 portfolio companies. As a serial entrepreneur and investor, Ricardo has advised Fortune 1000 CEOs on topics of Intrapreneurship, Risk Management Framework Strategies, and Operational Turnarounds.

Alexey Girin is an investor with more than 15 years of experience. In 2014, he established $2.5 million Starta Capital Fund I and built an initial portfolio of 5 companies. Today Starta VC comprises Starta Capital Pre-Seed and Seed-stage venture fund, StartaAccelerator in New York and Starta University, a university for tech entrepreneurs and executives. During C-Level program Alexey Girin helps students understand how investors think and build investor relations strategy.

A seasoned venture capitalist, Greg Bohlen co-founded Union Grove Venture Partners in 2014, which invests in venture capital funds, including Tiger Global Management. Greg was the first investor in startup Beyond Meat and 12 other companies that subsequently went public. During the program, Greg Bohlen shares his criteria for selecting startups to invest in.

Eugene Medvednikov is an entrepreneur with 4 exits, co-founder and ex-CBDO at SendPulse, a leading email marketing automation company. Currently Eugene is developing the startup Weje — an online board for remote teamwork.

Before SendPulse and Weje Eugene took part in cybersecurity startup StaffCop, and an international e-mail service UniSender.

As a business angel, Medvednikov invested in more than 10 startups.

Entrepreneur and start-up adviser to 100s of early-stage companies that raised over $200 million in venture funding. Helps CEOs navigate the fundraising process, author of The Pitch Deck Book.

Expert in Product, Brand, and Sales who helped thousands of companies and individuals in 27+ countries. Helps startups with entering and scaling in the US market in Starta Accelerator and Move Partners. Author of the book 'The Social Soul, Mastering Your Personal and Professional Brand with Intentionality and Authenticity' ranked in Amazon Best Sellers.

CMO for such innovative Web3 projects, as Polymarket, Iotex, and Zilliqa, who added billions of dollars in growth to their market caps. Advisor at Columbia University Blockchain Accelerator, contributing writer at Cointelegraph and Forbes.