“When I heard about this opportunity, at first I thought it was too good to be true. And it almost is,” says Marc Pascal Landgreen, who is doing a master’s degree in E-business and business administration and is a co-founder of the eSports inspired start-up GameBettor.

Marie-Louise Reade Lomholt, from Novaheim, sits right next to GameBettor at CSE, where they both have their office. She does not know where Novaheim would be at this time if she did not have the chance to do an internship in her own company.

“We wouldn’t have made it this far by now if I hadn’t got an opportunity like this. It has meant so much for the company, as it frees up time to focus on your business 100 percent. We have had the chance to build an extremely valuable network, dig into the a variety of tasks, and we have hired an intern to help us out with the graphic design,” she says.

They encourage other students to make use of this opportunity, as the learning aspect is humongous. Although, their one wish is that this opportunity would be communicated better.

Learning by doing

Apart from getting to work with the business full time, Marc Pascal Landgreen and Marie-Louise Reade Lomholt see other positive outcomes from the internship.

“The outcome of learning about how to handle your own start-up is immense. I had a lot of business courses at CBS. For example accounting. but to actually be able to do bookkeeping and apply it to your own start-up is what really gives you a proper understanding of how it works,” says Marc Pascal Landgreen.

Did you know that you can do an internship in your own start-up, if you are enrolled at the CSE? Marc Pascal Landgreen and Marie-Louise Reade Lomholt is currently doing so. (Photo: Anne M. Lykkegaard)

To Marie-Louise Reade Lomholt, it has meant a lot to meet other start-ups, as they have made her focus on other aspects of her company.

“We are the only girls on this floor, and we don’t work with tech. But sitting with all these people has made us focus on other aspects of our business, as the people here see your business in different ways. It means a lot to sit with people who are in the same shoes as you. People understand the obstacles that you are facing and understand why we want to spend so much time on this. Something that other people might not understand so well,” she says.

The part about having someone around you who understands you, is a big plus, agrees Marc Pascal Landgreen.

“I’ve scaled down my living expenses, as I have quit my student job so as to solely focus on this project. Some people don’t understand that. But I just want to dedicate all of my time to make GameBettor a successful company. Here at CSE, I get all the mentoring and support that I need. And honestly – there’s not much to lose,” he says and adds:

“Spending all of your time on your own start-up while you are on SU, and being awarded ECTS points at the same time, makes it a little less risky. Just think about how easy it will be to start up your next company later on in life when you already have more experience and a large network.”

Better communication

Even though Marie-Louise Reade Lomholt and Marc Pascal Landgreen are both doing their internship as an elective, they found out about the possibility in different ways.

Marie-Louise Reade Lomholt read about it on a roll-up at CSE, whereas Marc Pascal Landgreen was introduced to the opportunity during the intro week of his master’s.

“I was actually surprised that some students had this opportunity presented to them, whereas I had to find out by reading about it on a roll-up at CSE. And then it was actually quite difficult to find the right people to talk to,” says Marie-Louise Reade Lomholt.

For the both of them, it has not been all that easy to get their internships approved by their study boards. This is something that they both hope will be changed in the future.

“It’s difficult to help one another because the study boards have different demands regarding what they need in order to get the internships approved. It could also be communicated better. For example, how it works, and maybe streamline it a little more as well,” says Marie-Louise Reade Lomholt.

Marc Pascal Landgreen adds:

“It would be such a shame if some students missed out on this chance due to the lack of proper communication about this once in a lifetime opportunity,” he says.

Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship Student