Startup as a diploma in the MIPT master's program. Review of the second semester and participation of the ZNATNO team in the Phystech.Idea accelerator
I continue my review of the MIPT master’s program “IT Product Management”. IN last article I talked about admission, what disciplines the first semester consists of and how much time it took to allocate. This article is based on personal experience studying in the second semester. In it, I strive to share my observations and achievements of the team. It will be useful to everyone who is interested in the topic “startup as a diploma”
Startup idea and team
The idea arose from practice. When I was developing an online tea and coffee store, I encountered the problem of a lack of reliable information about new products. This “emptiness” made it difficult for buyers to make a choice.
At some point, I decided to turn to a famous tea master to evaluate new products. I provided him with tea samples and asked for feedback. As a result, I received a detailed answer for each item and even original recipes. This material was used on the website in product descriptions. Expert reviews improved SEO positions and significantly increased sales due to customer trust.
This experience became the basis for the idea of a startup as part of a graduation project at MIPT. We decided that such reviews could be used in different product categories and set out to create a platform.
Our team of master's students has the perfect combination of different skills! Ekaterina Kiseleva — a tireless leader with corporate experience, obtains resources for development and always finds a way out of any situation. Vladislav Dizhenin has a programmer background, conducts product analytics and effectively manages development. And I, Dmitry PelikI am responsible for product marketing, I know the needs of potential customers, because I am one of them. Together we make ZNATNO.
Participation in the accelerator “Phystech.Idea”
In the spring of 2024, we actively participated in the Phystech.Idea accelerator. This became for us not just a university requirement, but also a unique opportunity to develop a startup at an early stage.
Take part in the accelerator “Phystech.Idea“Anyone can do it for free, not just students from MIPT.
The accelerator program consisted of webinars and master classes on creating a team, how to conduct target audience and market research, calculate unit economics, choose a business model and promote. Meetings were organized about measures to support innovative projects and how to receive a grant. The intensive included work with the tracker and pitches to expert commissions.
At the diagnostic meeting, we set a goal to develop a finished product prototype by the end of the accelerator. What we did in 6 weeks:
We identified the problem area and analyzed the Russian E-commerce market, identifying a priority niche. We have chosen the “Beauty and Health” segment as one of the fastest growing and most popular in online trading.
Conducted research on the target audience (in-depth interviews, quantitative surveys), studied benchmarks on the Russian and global markets.
We studied the competitive environment: we analyzed more than 30 companies.
We worked out a business model for B2B clients.
We developed a prototype in Figma and prepared a business project passport.
Submitted an application for a student startup grant.
During the accelerator, our team became stronger. Product designer Nadezhda Aleksina and ML engineers from MIPT’s master’s program “Data Science” Artem Prisyazhnyuk, Tatyana Bushueva and Yuri Samoilov appeared.
Out of 74 teams we reached the finalswhich was a significant achievement. And in June we fulfilled the goal – we received a prototype. The accelerator helped us develop our idea more deeply.
Second Semester Master's Program Review: Where Theory Meets Startup Practice
In the second semester of the MIPT master's program, in parallel with working on a startup, we continued to study digital product management. 4 disciplines and 1 workshop were given.
1. Product Development Management with Andrey Mironov, where the Agile and Scrum methodologies were discussed, as well as the basics of the software development life cycle (SDLC). Hands-on training included simulations in Jira and working with the risk register and backlog.
2. Business English included extensive material on the LMS, practical exercises and study of topics in English with teacher Elena Rybkina from MIPT. The assessment was formed throughout the semester based on the results of tests on the LMS, a written assignment, a Round Table with presentations and discussions, and examination testing. For students with a high level of English, the course was easy, for those like me it required effort.
3. Basics of design and UX/UI design with Vika Smyshlyaeva and Lilya Akhmetova. We were given the option to choose between UX/UI or Machine Learning. I love design, it’s interesting for me to work with it, to set tasks for designers. My expectations to gain additional knowledge and feedback from practitioners were met.
The modules covered various aspects of design, monetization and cost reduction, design, UX research (interviews, tests, JTBD, User Flow Maps, CJM). Tasks included landing page audits, UX testing, and creating improved visual concepts in Figma.
4. The API concept in the development of modern IT products. This subject also had a choice between Blockchain and SQL Data Analysis. I like the picture that I can connect different services to my product via API and it was interesting to figure out how this is done. We studied the API with Alexey Malyshko (Technical Product Owner from Sber). What happened: introduction to JSON, YAML, XML formats, developing API documentation using Swagger, sending API requests through Insomnia and Postman, and designing microservice interactions.
5. Workshop, as in the first semester, it was held in a hackathon format. The industrial partner was the company Markquiz, which designs marketing quizzes. Our task was to conduct research on one of the market segments, draw an MVP and prepare a plan for bringing the solution to the market. I can’t provide details, in the interests of the customer, but our group’s work took about a month and each person contributed approximately 25 hours to the overall result.
Results of the second semester
According to my diary, in the second semester there was a workload of 396.5 hours (this is 36% more than in the first semester).
The startup took 239.5 hours (60% of the total time).
79 hours (20%) – Lectures, webinars, seminars, tests and exams
78 hours (20%) – Individual and group practice, homework, case solving
On average, I spent 21 hours a week.
During the May holidays there was one of the peak loads for the startup.
ZNATNO has moved from the idea stage to a prototype.
A startup as a diploma has its own characteristics. On the one hand, the team is building a business. On the other hand, each participant methodically carries out research work relevant to the chosen role. The difficulty is to “make friends” between these two tracks and find a balance between business and academic practice.
The history of our team is being built every day. Over the summer, we managed to test a prototype and began developing an MVP. I plan to talk about this in the next article. We are attentive to feedback and open to suggestions! Write in the comments or PM.
