The thesis experience: a chance for personal and professional growth

For many university students, a bachelor thesis is an important academic milestone: the last step before entering the world of work. For an entrepreneur and student, a thesis can be an opportunity not only to fulfil an academic requirement but also to further entrepreneurial skills and develop a business. A thesis is an independent project that highlights a student’s skills, competencies, and ability to apply education and training in a practical setting, with a scope of 15 credits (Haaga-Helia 2025).

The article explores the journey of a student entrepreneur writing a thesis, from both the student’s and a thesis adviser’s perspectives. It highlights the student’s growth process in applying academic research to real-world business challenges and an adviser’s role in guiding this process. When a student entrepreneur sees academic work as a stepping stone to a career, he can use the thesis experience for deeper personal and professional development.

A student entrepreneur’s journey

As a student entrepreneur, Edward Morrow investigated in his thesis why foreigners in Finland turn to free walking tours, and the outcomes they achieve as independent guides with regards to integration and employability.

The free tour concept, which emerged in the early 2000s, operates on a tips-based system rather than a fixed pre-paid fee (SNE 2025). This system allows people from various economic backgrounds to participate, motivating the guide to deliver an exceptional tour to earn the best tips from participants (Butz & Harbring 2021; Leal & Medina 2018).

Edward moved to Finland in 2018 and used his previous experience as a free tour guide in Spain to help prepare tours in Helsinki. This allowed him to better understand the culture and history of his new surroundings in Finland and to better integrate. Edward qualified as an authorized Helsinki guide and Suomenlinna guide and then starting his own free tour business while studying International Business at Haaga-Helia in 2021.

This was the beginning of a transition from a nascent entrepreneur to a full-time entrepreneur (Caliendo 2009). He learned skills during the degree programme which helped to develop his business and to understand the local business environment. He learned to present foreigners in Finland a framework in which they could learn new skills, create new contacts and use free tour guiding experience to achieve their goals as entrepreneurs or to find full time work.

The transition to entrepreneurship did not come without its challenges for Edward. Studying full-time, writing a thesis, managing a company, guiding, and starting a new role as guest relations agent in the NH Collection Helsinki Grand Hansa made it challenging to manage his time. However, the results speak for themselves. By the end of 2024 Helsinki Free Tour had accumulated over 4000 5-star reviews, by far the most reviews on Google Maps for any tour company in the Helsinki area (Google Maps 2024) (Helsinki Free Tour has been renamed Free Walking Tours Helsinki as of January 2025).

Recognising business opportunities through the thesis process

Edward had the assumption that his experience as a free tour guide to becoming an entrepreneur would be the most common pathway for foreign free tour guides to become employed in Finland,. This he based on the common challenges such as the language barrier, lack of qualifications, lack of a professional network and mismatch of skills (Fornaro 2018; Buhalis et al. 2019).

After interviewing nine foreign free tour guides based in Finland, three different pathways emerged. Men in their 30s started their own companies. Women were more risk averse and looking for job security through full-time work (Meager et al. 2011). Over 50 year olds were looking towards retirement and saw free tours as a small boost to their income (Morrow 2024).

The thesis work helped Edward with recruiting, training, and retaining new guides for his business. This allowed him to focus more on the entrepreneurial aspects of growing and eventually passing on the business to another entrepreneur in the same industry. His experience as a student, entrepreneur and author of a thesis gave him an analytical mindset to his professional life. It allowed him to recognise opportunities and see business potential in his new line of work, which has been advantageous to himself and those around him.

Guiding the student through the thesis journey

In a thesis advising process, the learner is at the center of the learning process, and has the responsibility for the work. The thesis advisor avoids giving away information and instead motivates the student to identify problems, solve them, brainstorm, plan and implement the work according to a schedule.

A good way to conduct a guidance discussion is by asking the student questions. The questions push the student to give more information to the advisor, but at the same time the student is encouraged to reflect on his own thinking more carefully. By asking questions, the advisor can better avoid a negative atmosphere in the guidance discussion.

In the guidance sessions with Edward, we discussed a lot about the challenges and opportunities of the work and how the outcomes of the thesis would support his business and his understanding of it. Guidance was aimed at bringing out different perspectives that would help him to look at his work critically and to generate new ideas.

The thesis journey enhances entrepreneurial skills for life

Thesis writing at the university level and entrepreneurship may seem like distinct and very different fields, yet they share similarities in the skills they develop. Entrepreneurship competencies align closely with the requirements needed in writing a thesis: both involve e.g. identifying opportunities, managing uncertainty, planning, and communication. Thesis writing enhances the development of an entrepreneurial mindset, and brings skills needed in entrepreneurship but also in daily life.

Overall, Edward’s thesis Free walking tours as a pathway to entrepreneurship for foreigners in Finland is a study into a personal journey and how this journey has been shared with or differed from other free tour guides in a similar situation.

With this article we wish to highlight how thesis writing supports the development of an entrepreneur as it provides an opportunity to delve into the field and familiarise and discover opportunities to add to the latest research. This is important especially in the hectic schedule of an entrepreneur’s everyday life. The thesis work also develops data collection and analytical skills needed for an entrepreneur’s decision-making and service development. Additionally, research skills help to identify customer needs, market trends, and new business opportunities. A thesis journey strengthens an entrepreneur’s expertise and competitiveness in the long term.

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