Taiyr Begeyev (Kazakhstan) | Class of 2021
In the summer of 2019, Taiyr Begeyev from Kazakhstan, and Tianyao Chen from China, both came up with the idea of creating a marketplace for Jacobs students to sell, exchange and buy products on campus. It took them a few months to turn the idea into a finished project, they both share that it was a lot of work to get there. Taiyr was working on the website, while Tianyao was working on the Android and Apple apps. The road was not smooth for either of them, considering that they need to manage between lectures, labs, seminars, homework, and also find time for their passion project. However, both share that they do not regret putting the effort and doing their part of making the Jacobs experience easier and more flexible for student who would like to sell and buy things on campus.
“The best moment is when you launch the site (…), the feedback was great. Some people met me on the street and told me that they sold their listings straight away”, shares Taiyr. “I was able to sell everything I listed”, laughed Tianyao in response.
Tianyao Chen (China) | Class of 2021
JStore has been a passion project for both, Tianyao and Taiyr, from the very beginning. They have invested time, effort and money into an idea that came to life, gaining nothing more but knowledge in return. Both creators share that they have learned a lot through the experience and share their advice to anyone who is also planning to start their project:
“Check if there’s a need for your project, there needs to be a demand for it to be successful. Make sure that your idea is good and even if it’s not - you can always learn something new from it”, advices Tianyao.
As for the future, both of them are unsure what it holds but know that they will be looking towards more ideas to develop and are excited to see what time brings after their graduation in 2021.
You can explore JStore here.
BY KREMENA TERZIEVA (BULGARIA) | CLASS OF 2021
