The students met during groupwork exercises and were inspired to act during one of IE University’s renowned Tech Venture Bootcamps, when they spotted a real need in the solar energy sector. They realized that an important element of solar energy project management was still being carried out with outdated or limited tools, even on large-scale projects. Determined to solve this problem, they launched Sunship, and they’ve already pitched it to real investors in our Venture Lab accelerator. Tell us a little about yourselves and why you chose IE University. dk : I was born in Sweden but grew up in Monaco. Growing up, I had no idea what I wanted to do, but my love of tech was already there. Around high school, I realized that the things I enjoyed as a hobby could actually be a career, and decided to study computer science. I chose IE University because I wanted something international, which you don’t really get in Sweden or Monaco. Also, the idea of learning in English, in an environment that encourages entrepreneurship, really attracted me. I wanted to be part of a place that was more than just a traditional university. ap : I’m from Milan, and I’ve enjoyed fixing things since I was a child—I thought I wanted to be an engineer. But I came to realize that the teaching methodology at the best engineering schools was all super-theoretical, and you’re one of 300 in the classroom. IE University was one of the first to offer computer science and AI, which I was interested in. And here, it’s hands-on right away. I think that’s super important for computer science—you can know all the theory in the world, but if in the end you can’t solve the problem… pra : I grew up in Cannes, southern France, but I traveled a lot with my parents, mainly in Asia: Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. I was always interested in the startup world; my dad built his own company and that was my vision of work. I never actually even thought about doing anything else other than building my company later. I decided to pursue computer science because I think, in today’s society, it’s important to be a well-rounded individual. I’m bad at coding, for example, so I really force myself to do the things I’m not good at. Tell us about your project, Sunship—what does it do? Sunship targets the early stages of solar farm development. There’s no tool designed specifically for this; currently, it still relies heavily on Excel. There’s a lot of management, a lot of people and a lot of paperwork involved, with no single tool to do everything; to find and acquire the land, secure the rights and manage the installation. So these tasks are often managed inefficiently, especially for larger developers working across different regions with varying regulations. By creating Sunship as a centralized ERP tool, we aim to simplify this process, reducing delays and improving overall efficiency. It’s particularly valuable for large solar developers juggling multiple projects in different locations. How has your IE University experience contributed to launching Sunship? First, the classes and practical experiences of the program itself. A course called Designing and Using Databases, for example, was life-changing—we learned a lot through this course that has actually helped us build Sunship. And the Machine Learning Foundations class definitely provided a better idea of where to go with a feature for the website that features AI and machine learning, too. As well as the mentoring, networking and resources available at the Venture Lab, we gained the chance to pitch to real investors by winning the Bootcamp startup competition. We got over 25 interviews with industry leaders and really came to understand the problem and think about iterating what a solution would look like. We came to understand the customer, too, and created a list of potential clients before moving on to making a real working version of the website. What would you say to aspiring entrepreneurs thinking about IE University? The international community is incredible, and there are so many opportunities to explore things beyond just academics. We’re encouraged to think about how the things we’re learning can be applied to real- world problems. We’ve learned a lot through our journey, and managed to build something essential. “They encourage us to think about how we can create something new, and they give us the tools to do it. We’ve had workshops, speakers and even competitions that are all about starting businesses or solving real-world problems”