From MSc
to Market.

How a master’s degree becomes a real venture. Five stages, from the problem you meet in a module to a company with customers.

Get the playbook Read the five stages

[PLACEHOLDER] Stage names are working titles.

AGENT.COACH

Tracking you at: Apply

START HERE

Where are you now?

Pick the stage that sounds most like you. The coach shows your next move.

✓ You are at Apply

Your next move is Prove: show your prototype to people who have the problem and watch what they do.

Read stage 03 →

01THE METHOD

The five stages

Each stage has work to do, something you leave with, and a clear line between what AI can help with and what only you can do.

STAGE 01

Learn

Find a problem worth solving.

WHAT YOU DO

+Keep a list of problems you meet in lectures, labs and reading.
+Ask who outside the university has the same problem.
+Pick one you would happily work on for years.

YOU LEAVE WITH

A one-page problem statement

AI CAN HELP

Summarise papers and map who else is working on the problem.

ONLY YOU CAN

Decide what you care about enough to build.

FROM ANWAR’S PATH · Modules at Teesside University spanned AI search, AI ethics, business intelligence, machine learning, deep learning and software, ending in a dissertation on AI product search.

STAGE 02

Apply

Build it on real data.

WHAT YOU DO

+Turn your assignment or dissertation into a working prototype.
+Use real data, or data as close to real as you can get.
+Write down what the prototype cannot do yet.

YOU LEAVE WITH

A working prototype and a short demo

AI CAN HELP

Write and test code, clean data and draft documentation.

ONLY YOU CAN

Choose the trade-offs and own the result.

FROM ANWAR’S PATH · Seven MSc projects that ended with assessment. Explore what it could take to move each towards a practical business application. See Classroom to Company →

STAGE 03

Prove

Put it in front of real people.

WHAT YOU DO

+Show the prototype to people who have the problem.
+Watch what they do, not only what they say.
+Change one thing at a time and test again.

YOU LEAVE WITH

Evidence that someone wants it

AI CAN HELP

Organise interview notes and spot patterns across them.

ONLY YOU CAN

Hear the hard feedback and act on it.

FROM ANWAR’S PATH · [PLACEHOLDER] How TownsConnect was tested with its first users.

STAGE 04

Launch

Form the company and find first customers.

WHAT YOU DO

+Register the company and agree IP with your university.
+Set a price and ask for money early.
+Apply for support programmes and awards.

YOU LEAVE WITH

A company and your first paying customers

AI CAN HELP

Draft pitch decks, grant applications and landing pages.

ONLY YOU CAN

Ask for the sale and earn trust.

FROM ANWAR’S PATH · Digital Towns Ltd, the company behind TownsConnect. Earlier, alphaEats, selected for Enterprise Ireland’s New Frontiers programme, where it won first prize.

STAGE 05

Scale

Grow with AI as your senior team.

WHAT YOU DO

+Hand repeated work to AI agents.
+Hire people for judgement and relationships.
+Measure what matters every week.

YOU LEAVE WITH

A small team that does the work of a bigger one

AI CAN HELP

Research, operations, reporting and marketing drafts.

ONLY YOU CAN

Set the direction and keep people at the centre.

FROM ANWAR’S PATH · “The one-person company: running a startup with AI as your senior team”.

“I’m exploring how AI can practically serve local communities and small businesses.”

ANWAR MALIK · FOUNDER, DIGITAL TOWNS LTD · MSC APPLIED AI

THE PLAYBOOK · ANWAR MALIK

From MSc
to Market.

[PLACEHOLDER] Cover artwork

02GET THE PLAYBOOK

Take the method with you

INSIDE

01A short guide to each of the five stages
02A checklist for every stage
03Worked examples from Classroom to Company
04Templates: problem statement, demo script, first-customer email

Coming soon

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FOR UNIVERSITIES AND EVENTS

Run From MSc to Market with your students

As a keynote for enterprise weeks, or as a hands-on workshop where each student leaves with a problem statement.

KeynoteWorkshopFireside chat

Invite Anwar to speak →

From MScto Market.

Where are you now?

The five stages

Learn

Apply

Prove

Launch

Scale

Take the method with you

Run From MSc to Market with your students

From MScto Market.

Where are you now?

The five stages

Learn

Apply

Prove

Launch

Scale

Take the method with you

Run From MSc to Market with your students

From MSc
to Market.

From MSc
to Market.