Learn entrepreneurship the Silicon Valley way with SPARK

Juliana and Nicklas applied to the program with two separate ideas, but as part of the program the scholars go through a so called “customer discovery” process, where they interview key actors in and around the target market. This often leads to a pivot, a redefinition of the initial idea, as the student get a better understanding of what the customers actually want and how they can address it. In this case Juliana and Nicklas realized that working together on one idea made them stronger as a team and that Nicklas technical background from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) complemented Juliana’s business background from Copenhagen Business School (CBS) well.

Start-up idea

In the process of doing their customer discovery Juliana and Nicklas pivoted the original idea and started building a start-up called Tamarin:

"Our start-up idea: During our semester at UC Berkeley, we have been building a start-up called Tamarin. Tamarin is a financial services company that aims to disrupt the FICO score and consumer short-term credit in the United States. Instead of relying on credit history (the basis for any consumer credit decision in the US), Tamarin analyzes actual financial behavior in present time. The FICO score especially disadvantages young people, as it only looks at your credit history. If you don’t have a credit history yet, you are severely disadvantaged in the US. Unlike in Denmark where your credit is by default good, your credit is by default assumed bad in the US. Using modern technology, Tamarin gives credit to people who would not get credit elsewhere but need credit to overcome financial shortages – making consumer credit fairer and helping consumers who are in need.”

The Journey

Throughout the program, the scholars learn how to develop a start-up company. From identifying a customer need and testing your assumption through customer feedback:

"Coming up with this idea was a tough journey. We learned early that we had to focus on the problem – not the solution. In the beginning, we struggled since we were thinking too broadly and did not really dive deep into the problem. What was the solution to this dilemma? Customer discovery. Learning by doing is not just a phrase in Silicon Valley. To find out more about the financial struggles of Americans we visited a check-cashing store in Oakland, actually talking to people whose only alternative to credit was payday loans. Talking to these people gave us the necessary insight to understand why consumers struggle and what they need. Based on the customer feedback and many hours of research, we identified the critical issue: Credit scoring. Guided through exceptional professors and mentors in entrepreneurship at UC Berkeley, we successfully developed a business plan and vision for our project.”

Luckily, the scholars’ hard work paid off and they come up with a solution based on the customer discovery and feedback. Tamarin showed great potential and was therefore also selected to compete at the prestigious student pitch competition, Collider CUP hosted by the UC Berkeley Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology.