Creating a startup while being a full time student stands as one of the most explosive and satisfying things I have ever done. Building Uproot, a B2B SaaS recruitment platform aimed at connecting students with employers by the nature of their current involvement in specific projects, has specifically opened up my eyes to a lot of dynamics in getting a product from the concept to the client. The process of ensuring that a brand is able to overcome the challenges posed in getting products to the markets, has made me realize that there are several processes that need to be incorporated and appreciated. I have had to plan and use lessons into the development of a product, integrate the feedback given to me by users and most of all concentrate on my studies and still maintain a good performance. Let me detail some of the learnings squeezed from the building of Uproot and how these learnings serve as encouragement to every individual with a mission to change an idea into a business product.

Start with a Problem, Not a Solution

When I started building Uproot, I knew I had to nail down exactly what problem I was trying to solve. I've seen so many of my fellow student founders fall into this common trap - they either try to solve really vague problems or just start building something without really knowing why.

The idea for Uproot actually came from talking to other students. They kept telling me how frustrated they were with traditional resumes. It made sense - how do you show all the cool projects you've worked on in a basic resume format? Companies want to see what you can actually do, not just where you went to school or what your GPA is.

I noticed this disconnect between what students wanted to share and what employers were looking for. Students were proud of their hands-on work and wanted to showcase it, while companies were struggling to really evaluate candidates' actual skills from just looking at their resumes.

Once I clearly understood this problem, everything else started falling into place. Uproot became this platform where students could create these proof of work profiles - basically showing off their projects and real experience in a way that actually made sense to recruiters. Having this clear focus on solving a specific problem kept us on track while building the product. Every time we thought about adding a new feature, we'd ask ourselves, "Does this actually help solve our users' problem?"

Building Customer Trust Through Transparency

One thing I learned pretty quickly was that getting people to use Uproot wasn't just about having cool features - it was about getting them to trust us. I mean, we were handling people's career information here. That's very personal stuff. We knew we had to be completely upfront about everything we were doing with their data.

From day one, we made it a point to explain things in plain English - no fancy legal jargon or hidden terms. We told users exactly how we handled their information, what we were doing to keep it safe, and what new features we were working on. If something was changing on the platform, we made sure our users heard it from us first.

What really helped us build trust was treating our beta users like actual partners in building Uproot. Instead of just asking them to test features, we brought them into the conversation about where Uproot was heading. When they gave us feedback, we didn't just nod and file it away - we actually showed them how their input was shaping the platform. 

Being super transparent about everything turned out to be one of the best decisions we made. Sure, it took extra time to keep everyone in the loop, but seeing users genuinely trust the platform and stick with us as we grew - that felt amazing. It showed us that being honest and open wasn't just the right thing to do, it was also good for business.

Balancing Academics with Entrepreneurship

Trying to build Uproot while keeping up with classes has been one of the biggest challenges I've faced. There's this constant juggling act between studying for exams and working on the platform. I can't count how many times I've had to choose between fixing a bug or finishing a homework due at 12 am.

What's really helped is drawing some clear lines in my schedule. I basically had to get super organized about when I was a student and when I was a founder. Otherwise, everything just blends together and nothing gets done well. All the classes I'm taking have actually come in handy in ways I didn't expect. For example, I'd be sitting in my operations management class thinking about how to make Uproot run more smoothly, or using what I learned in data analysis to understand our user behavior better.

There have been plenty of late nights and missed social events. Sometimes it feels like I'm living two completely different lives. But every time I see someone create a profile on Uproot or get positive feedback from a user, it makes all those sacrifices feel worth it. 

Being both a student and a founder is teaching me things you can't learn from just sitting in class - like how to bounce back when things go wrong, how to be patient when progress feels slow, and how to squeeze the most out of every hour in the day. It's tough, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Conclusion

Looking back at this whole journey of building Uproot, it's kind of wild to see how far we've come from that initial idea I had in class. Building something from scratch - actually turning lines of code into something people use and value - has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life.

I've learned so much along the way. Like how important it is to really listen to your users (even when the feedback is hard to hear), how to run things on a shoestring budget, and why being upfront with your community matters so much. And let me tell you, figuring out how to balance everything - from debugging code to studying for finals - that's been a crash course in life management I never expected to take.

What started as just another project for class has grown into something real, something that's actually helping students showcase their work to employers. Sure, it hasn't always been smooth sailing, but staying focused on solving that core problem - helping students better present their real skills and projects - has kept us on track even when things got tough.

To anyone out there thinking about starting something while in school: yes, it's challenging, and yes, you'll probably lose some sleep. But if you really believe in what you're building, stay flexible enough to adapt when things aren't working, and keep a clear picture of what you're trying to achieve, you'd be amazed at what you can turn a simple idea into. Trust me, the journey is worth it.