“Everything starts with a fika, that’s just the way it is in Sweden!”, Zeeshan says with a laugh, when he speaks about his networking experiences in Sweden. He’s the Business Administration alumni, JU student, marketing coordinator and idea hamster from Punjab, Pakistan, with one foot in school and the other foot on the run towards the dream of one day running his own business. If you’ve met him you probably know he’s super passionate about entrepreneurship and doesn’t hesitate to share his thoughts on it with others.
Zeeshan takes every opportunity to learn about – and inspire others to explore – the world of entrepreneurship. Before he moved to Sweden to begin his master’s degree, he was an associate consultant at a Management Consulting firm in Punjab. There, he was involved in several startup journeys and got up close and personal with the challenges – and opportunities – that’s part of the entrepreneurial life. A life he wanted to get to know better. And that’s why he didn’t hesitate to join Science Parks community and the student association StartUp Jönköping, when he moved to Sweden.
StartUp Jönköping’s goal is to inspire fellow students at Jönköping University to get interested in entrepreneurship. Science Park works closely with the association and it was through the co-created student event “Pitchers corner” that Zeeshan got in touch with the business developer Yankuba for the first time.
Yankuba instantly introduced me to many new opportunities and contacts. That’s what I love so much about Science Park: the network you get through the community. Because in the end of the day your skills and competence has no value if you don’t have people around you who can provide opportunities, Zeeshan explains.
– You get a chance to explore and develop yourself as a person. “How?” you might think? By always putting your self in to new and uncertain situation. It’s also an opportunity to test yourself and see what skills and qualities you can bring to the table.
What’s the first thing you should do if you want to start a company as a student?
– As an international student – learn Swedish. It’s important in order to create a relationship with your customer. If you can speak Swedish it’s easier to get a good connection, because most people are more comfortable speaking in their own language.
At Science Park we believe that anyone who has a dream of starting a consulting business in their field of studies should have the opportunity to do so. We also believe that anyone that wants to be part of an existing start-up to help them elevate should also do so – especially students. That’s why we would also love to help you get started! Here you can read more about how Science Park can support you in finding assignments as a student consultant, or try your skills in a startup as an student resource.
Turn your ideas into something great
Tova Larsson, got her entrepreneurship game on while studying economics at Jönköping University. In this interview she tells us how she feels about starting her own business while studying.
I had felt that business and running different projects was fun, for a long time. When I began my studies at the University, I realized that it was a good opportunity to give entrepreneurship a go.
You’re young, get student grants and your schedule is flexible. It was also a good way to get the business perspective on things I was learning in class.
My business started as an idea that changed along the way. Now I run a company that offers lectures, classes and challenges about shares and savings, within the brand ”Learn & Earn”. My business is very flexible.
I don’t have a lot of fixed costs and therefore I can teach as much or little as I want or need to.
I think it is a good opportunity, but I have also realized that it takes a lot of time to work proactively with your business. The more focused you are, the better and bigger it gets.
I think it a great strategy to strictly schedule time to work with your business.
For example: every morning I dedicate one hour of my time to work with my business, which helps me to continuously take small steps forward. That’s a strategy that has been working out good, and sometimes less good, for me in different periods.
On a daily basis the biggest challenge lack of time and to prioritize what I want to do. When I started my business I also experienced some difficulties with registration and taxes in Germany that devoured time, energy and money.
Dare to try! Building something takes time but it’s fun and you learn a lot on the way. Once you get started you have no clue of where it might take you.
Yes, I’ve been in contact with Science Park many times. We had contact through a class I was taking at school, but I have also attended different lectures and events that Science Park has hosted. I also joined Science Parks Kickstart program that helped me prioritize my entrepreneurship.
Science Park provides a great network!
Turn your ideas into something great
When Tobias Karlsson was studying Marketing Management at Jönköping International Business School, he started his own company alongside his studies. In this interview, Tobias tells us a little bit more about the perks of being a student entrepreneur and how his experiences led him to his dream job i Dublin.
I saw it as the perfect opportunity to gain real life experience as a complement to my studies, I also saw it as a great way to make some extra money besides my studies.
I have a consultant company, where I help companies with their marketing as well as business development. One of the companies I worked with was Go Banana, during my time there we grew from 3 to 7 stores and my job was to be in charge of both the local marketing in Jönköping but also the overall brand image for the franchise. I also worked as a student consultant at Science Park where I got the opportunity to help some companies with their business development.
I think that it’s a great fit. As a student your schedule changes a lot, it is therefore great to have a job that you can be flexible with and that you can do whenever it works for you.
I urge you however, to plan your time. You do not want to be in the situation where you have a lot with your business when the exams are closing in, but as long as you plan your time, it is no worries.
I was also during my time at JIBS involved in a lot of student projects (Spring Inspiration2019, 2,5 year at Jubel, Head Fadder at the kickoff & Project Manager Nextstep2020) so I would also like to highlight that it works out great to have a company while you are studying and being involved in projects at school.
You grow as an individual by the responsible you get, and you get paid doing so!
You get real life experience, which is a great complement to the academics, this will also make your resume stand out a lot which is great when you are applying for jobs.
It is flexible. If I want to study until eight- nine and then work with my own company, I can do that. I can plan my work for when it fits my schedule.
As mention, having your own business makes your resume stand out. During my last year at school I was in countless of job interviews and applied to several different jobs.
In almost all of those interviews did I get questions regarding my business and what that had thought me. It was not the only reason, but I definitely think that it was one of the reasons why I soon will move to Dublin and start to work at one of the largest tech companies in the world.
It can be hard to find customers, you have to be social and talk with a lot of people to find those that actually want to work with you. Unless you start as a student consultant at Science Park, then Science Park can help you by matching you with companies which I personally liked a lot since it gave me business without having to spend that much time looking for them.
Just do it! The timing is perfect, and you will grow so much as a person! Also, talk with Science Park, they will help you a lot. It is completely free and they can help you with all kinds of questions and matters. Good luck!
Turn your ideas into something great
