At Taylor, Computing majors learn to solve problems in all areas of life. Cyber security majors learn the skills to protect those around them, and Digital media majors have the opportunity to combine computer science with creative and artistic abilities. Students can add Systems at any degree as well, which is a special program that teaches students to think critically about how the world works.
For senior Tim Swanson, these, in combination with Taylor’s basic liberal arts program, led him to develop his own software startup as a student.
Academic struggle leads to startup idea
Swanson moved between several majors in first year, eventually landing on IT – Digital Media with Systems. But after realizing that his goals went beyond the course material in the program guide, he began to manually sift through graduation documents and do his own academic planning. By coding a simple algorithm to help him with part of his spreadsheet, he realized the difference it made and the shortcomings of current tools for anyone with an academic anomaly.
While working on Taylor Department of Computer Science and Engineering website, he was tasked with developing hypothetical four-year plans for prospective students. He ran into some difficulties and it became clear to Swanson’s mind that something had to be done about it.
He spent his entire second quarter of January working on coding for the tool, using what he knew to create a well-coded, design-friendly prototype. That’s when To consider, its degree planning software, was born. After showing it to the teachers, the word entrepreneurship has come. Assistant professor of computer science Josh Hibschman and other professors put him in touch with people experienced in technical entrepreneurship, as Sawnson had no background in business.
Hibschman has become a personal mentor for Swanson, offering professional and coding skills whenever needed. He seeks to help students develop their startup ideas and help them network with career guidance professionals to find jobs directly at Taylor.
“Students come to me with all kinds of ideas,” Hibschman said. “Three or four of (these ideas) a year are things that have a potential of at least $ 10 million, and I really encourage them to move forward. Tim (had) the first of these ideas during my stay with Taylor.
Understanding entrepreneurship
Swanson took a redemptive entrepreneurship course to learn more about what he could do with Envisage. He learned that entrepreneurship can be a positive tool in the Kingdom of God rather than just a money-making machine. Students in the class work on a major project for the entire semester, and Swanson worked on a pitch for Envisage.
With this pitch, Swanson ended up winning Shark aquarium, Taylor’s annual entrepreneurial competition. He realized that his idea had the potential to succeed, and Swanson saw every small step as an affirmation to be pursued.
“As long as I have that validation, I’ll keep putting my heart, body and soul into it because it’s difficult, and I just want to keep going as long as God called me to,” Swanson said.
The beauty of collaboration
Shark Tank put him in touch with other entrepreneurial experts and mentors, including Jamie Haenggi, Director of Clientele for ADT Security. During the Christmas holidays, Haenggi helped Swanson create a one-year business plan. Together, they set a launch date for Envisage in August 2021.
Computer science students have the opportunity to do advanced projects, where they work on real projects for credits. Swanson assembled a group of students to help him prepare the rest of the necessary programming. Apart from periodic advice from teachers, the project was entirely student-led.
“It was cool to sit down and watch what they are building,” Hibschman said.
Swanson, along with Liz Yieter, spent their J-Term working on wireframing; they took what he had from the prototype, sketched out the web application they wanted, and then started developing it from scratch again. Yieter notably helped develop an interactive and human-centered design process.
He then received a generous donation from an anonymous donor who believed in Envisage and the work of students and wanted to remove the financial hurdle they faced to continue development. With this funding, Swanson was able to hire two students and go through a gradual onboarding process. With everything in place in advance, they could prepare before the summer and run a coding marathon after the semester ends.
While Swanson built the interface from the front end, his colleagues Connor White built the back end and David Chalifoux built the architecture. Together, their job was to create a web application ready to launch from scratch in just three months.
“Each person had their duties to cover, but the good thing about small teams is that there is very little communication overload,” Swanson said. “Adding functionality is to hover your head over your monitor and talk to them (and) have a conversation for a few minutes. It’s nice.”
At the end of summer, Considering successfully launched their beta and is now available to any student with a Taylor email address.
Convenient planning solution for students
Helping students create great four-year plans is a need at almost every university, which is why the team has structured Envisage as a tool any university can use. Some large universities have just developed internal tools, but small schools like Taylor have a harder time developing good solutions. Swanson hopes that soon a student at any school can enter their information to make a personalized plan.
In the spring of 2021, he met with senior leaders at Taylor where he presented what Envision could do for this college. He has also focused on advancing Envisage at the student level, participating in counseling sessions and meeting people to help them with their plan while learning how to improve Envisage.
“One thing that has to happen this semester is for people to decide they like it,” Swanson said. “If the adoption takes place, I will think more seriously about securing larger investments and continue to work on Envisage after college.”
Shaped by Taylor’s Unique Culture
For Swanson, being at Taylor made Envisage possible. He was particularly marked by the quality of the teaching and the Foundations of Christian Thought course. These experiences shaped his theology, his faith, and what he does academically and professionally, and gave him the stamina to continue with Envisage.
“The ability to discover my own identity, find a family in my first week at Taylor, and meet all of my other needs as part of such a healthy community has made me a healthier person,” said Swanson said. “Then I was able to have the spiritual, mental, emotional and cognitive resources to implement something as great as Envision. I would never have created a startup and put so much energy into it if I had not been able to integrate it into my spiritual energy and my convictions.
Swanson’s experience in Residence life has also influenced his approach to personal projects. As a junior he was a staff assistant (like an RA) on his floor. The leadership and problem-solving skills needed to help 30 men during the Covid-19 pandemic were a test by fire, but prepared him well to lead the Envisage team.
Swanson encourages high school students to investigate all of their interests. In high school, he couldn’t see how making cinematic video game videos, coding, and interacting with various people could all come together. At Taylor, however, he was able to use his relationship skills to find out what others needed, code everything, use his cinematic experience to create tutorials for Envisage, and build relationships with the professors.
“Being a student was a really safe time to do something like a startup. If that fails, I still learned a lot from the process and that was what that education was for. It’s a really nice way education has done its job by equipping me well.
Hibschman encourages prospective students not to limit themselves to the first area with which they come into contact and to use the resources and support that professors can offer.
“If your classes aren’t what you expected of them, find a plan to gain hands-on experience and learn. Billion dollar companies like Facebook were started by students, ”Hibschman said. “I can see the magic with some of the students when they come in, they just have the energy. It’s really fun watching them and cheering them on so they can keep going.
Learn more
Taylor Department of Computer Science and Engineering allows students to use their skills to improve the world. Plan your campus visit today to see it in action for yourself.
