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Computer Science majors start a company from scratch in their fast-paced senior capstone class, Startup Essentials

Israel Miles

Senior year in the school of engineering can be full of great risk and great reward. Many senior projects involve partnering with local companies to take academic knowledge and test it against the real world. For self motivated and ambitious students, the option to create a product from scratch can be especially rewarding. Students majoring in computer science through the college of engineering can learn the skills necessary to start a company through CSCI 4348: Startup Essentials. 

“The entrepreneurial capstone project that I’m working on was an idea that I pitched to the class at the beginning of the semester of last year,” Senior Computer Science Major Juan Vargas-Murillo said. “Everyone pitches their ideas and then everyone gets to rank the ideas from one to five, based on if the idea is plausible, if it’s cool, and things like that. We’re going to be participating in the new granted challenge, where there’s a possibility of getting real money and continuing the project outside of class. Zach Nies is an instructor who also works with techstars, which is a startup accelerator. He said to come in with three or four ideas and share them with the class. Students give a quick elevator pitch and then people will decide whether or not they like the idea.” 

Students gain the benefit of mentorship from instructors who have extensive experience in the startup industry. Some of the instructors for the course at CU are also affiliated with TechStars, a startup accelerator founded in ��«����Ƶ that has a combined market capitalization of over $18.2 billion.

“Our idea basically combines Spotify Discover Weekly with a workout log like Strava or Fitbod. We’re making it so that you aren’t tied down to a static playlist on Spotify that says, ‘Top 100 Workout Songs’. It’s a way to dynamically generate playlists for a certain workout you’re doing. And we’re using a lot of research that has already been done, correlating the positive connection between music and exercise.” 

CSCI 4348 encourages students to think independently but also teaches critical business skills to compliment their past three years of technical classes. Students learn how to iterate on their own startup concept, and how to employ the Lean Startup methodology which teaches students to “get out of the building” and develop real customer relationships. 

“There’s a big startup entrepreneurship ecosystem in ��«����Ƶ, and we want to take advantage of it,” Murillo said. “There’s a term that Zach likes a lot, which is to ‘lean in’. It’s an entrepreneurial phrase where you just have to put your foot through the door and initiate those conversations with the right people. Whether it’s randomly stopping someone to do a customer interview to get another data point on validating your idea or seeking out the right technology, technical advisors help you understand how you’re going to approach developing the product.” 

Students enrolled in the college of engineering take pride in being dynamic problem solvers. However, the entrepreneurial projects course demands more. Students are shown firsthand that finding a viable problem is just as important as coming up with a solution. 

“I definitely thought it was just come in and build something and see if you can sell it,” Murillo said. “That assumption was broken down on day one. The initial mindset of being in an engineering school and getting an engineering degree. You’re taking courses where you are tested on finding the right solution for the specific problem. And in this way, Zach taught us that this is where that approach most of the time fails. Yeah, you can build something cool, but if no one wants to buy it then you just wasted your time. So instead it was focused on what type of problems do you want to solve and what are the types of questions you want to ask.” 

While the course does give students startup experience in a low-risk environment, there is the daunting reality that the vast majority of startups fail. To counteract this deterrent, the class also makes sure that students are getting experience that will benefit them whether their project is able to gain venture funding or not. The class also has guest speakers that give students insight into what companies are really looking for. 

“Starting your own company, you know, you hear that statistic, upwards of 90 percent of all startups fail within the first year,” Murillo said. “So just from a risk assessment, you want to be developing skills that you can use to better your chances for employment. I think this class is doing exactly that, because it’s basically giving you a sense of how companies work overall and how they’re structured. We just had a guest speaker today talk about the skills that he sees recent grads lack when he interviews for them. Of course, if I could keep this idea going and make real money, that’s the goal.” 

With ��«����Ƶ continuing to develop into a startup hub, the entrepreneurial capstone is giving students a headstart in carving their own path. Computer science is at the forefront of the technology revolution of the 21st century. Students already majoring in Computer Science can apply to be accepted into the capstone during the spring semester of their junior year.