The topic of my research at Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (MEPhI) was the use of computer graphics to solve data analysis problems. Capabilities of 3D modeling inspired me and I wanted to continue growing in this direction.

Prof. Alexander Pasko, my future supervisor, suggested me to join Skoltech, when I finished my master thesis. At the time of my graduation from MEPhI, we had written several articles in co-authorship with him. It seems that I worked quite well, and Alexander called me into the newly created team of the Center for Materials Technologies.

The offer of Prof. Alexander Pasko seemed very attractive to me. Working at the center gave me the opportunity not only to go deeper in 3D modeling, but also to bring the designed shapes into the real world with 3D printing.

I was very often alone with my thoughts during the coronavirus pandemic. My colleagues and I used to convince each other that our research was important and useful. However, I suddenly doubted it, when I was alone with myself.

Function representation was not widespread in commercial solutions, and I wanted to understand why. There is exactly one company in the world that has developed a significant computer-aided design tool based on function representation. I figured that if the path in this direction is free, it leads to either an epic failure or a great opening. The fact that our competitor has been in the U.S. market for 5 years makes me confident that the second option is more likely.

After all, this is Skoltech! Every self-respecting student of Skoltech should take part in the creation of a startup.

Late one night in November 2020, I opened my laptop and started writing a browser-based modeling tool. After a few sleepless nights, I finally said to myself, "It works". Now I wanted to share it with someone to make sure that I had actually done something meaningful and not started to lose my mind because of self-isolation.

After a video call with my friend from MEPhI, the fledgling startup obtained one more developer. The rapid prototyping of the system began, with its small victories and intense arguments. My colleague Evgenii Maltsev joined us soon. After a couple of months, the system's development progress became a regular topic of weekly meetings with our research supervisor Prof. Alexander Pasko and regular meetings with the director of our center Prof. Iskander Akhatov.

Unfortunately, after a while my comrade stepped back from our project. He was afraid that it would become just another scientific study, the results of which would not reach the end user. Thus, the problem of finding team members opened up, which largely has not been solved to this day.

Despite my love of planning and order, each my day is different. Because of the small size of the project team, I have to do everything at once. There are days when we spend the whole time talking to our partners and updating business plans and roadmaps. Sometimes it is possible to "relax", sit back and work on a system prototype at our pleasure.

However, I do not forget that I am a graduate student at Skoltech first. Especially now, before the final review of my theses, I spend a lot of time on scientific activities. In the last few days, I have been processing the data of mechanical tests of the designed samples, editing the article for its resubmission and completing the text of the thesis.

iziCAD is mostly an application of the theories I use in my PhD thesis. Thus, the research I conducted at Skoltech could sooner or later be incorporated into the developed system.

Fortunately, I was already third year PhD student, when I seriously thought about the startup. By this time, I already achieved almost all academic goals necessary to complete my studies. I think that if I had tried to combine my studies and the development of our project during my freshman year, both would have suffered.

For students who want to develop their own project, I advise not to be afraid to try and do it, and I suggest them to learn how to prioritize.

If you don't try to create your own project, based on a certainly brilliant idea, in a couple of years you will be very saddened by the news that there is a new successful product on the market that works exactly in the way you once intended. And, most likely, it may even be less cool than you imagined.

But on the other hand, you have to be able to pause and reflect. In the pursuit of success, it's easy to miss opportunities or, worse, to miss a growing problem that could instantly ruin your habitual life.