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The AITOFIT application was released in March 2023. The application tailors a personalized training program for the user for gym training with the help of artificial intelligence. 

“We applied to the Ģ��ֱ�� for the sports and health sciences” 

When it was time to apply for higher education, the Ģ��ֱ�� was a clear choice for Julius and Tapio. Both had a strong interest in sports science, and gym training had always been a passion for them. Both had a background as gym instructors and a personal trainers.

The paths of Julius and Tapio crossed during the second year of their studies, and soon they founded their first company, GT Performance, which offered personal training for 4.5 years. Both acknowledge that the combination of studies and entrepreneurship was challenging but also gave a lot. The company providing personal training allowed to apply the learned knowledge, thus deepening one's own knowledge and skills. 

“You have to have the right motivations to run a business” 

Julius and Tapio developed AITOFIT for two years by themselves, then the company was grown with IT experts, among others. The company was built for a long time with personal risk, savings and side jobs. When fellow students were annoyed by the price increase of the student lunch, Julius and Tapio had the company's bills to worry about. However, financial pressure pushed the company forward. Money has never been the motivation for running a business, but the passion and desire to help people. 

Both had psychology as a minor, in addition to that their studies included, for example, sports nutrition. They didn't study entrepreneurship, they learned those things along the way. An interest in psychology led to the completion of a master's degree in psychology, for Julius in Jyväskylä and for Tapio in Helsinki. They ended up studying psychology out of sheer interest. However, AITOFIT employs them full-time. The degree in psychology has also been useful with AITOFIT. Understanding of customers was strengthened and the company is being developed in a user-oriented manner. 

“The people at the sports faculty are the best” 

Looking back on their studies, both mentioned the sense of community. People who have a genuine interest in the field go study it, and it can be sensed on courses and on campus. Julius and Tapio reminisce about the demos done during the courses, - They were quite brutal, downright brutal, but really fun, and there was no hesitation in doing them. They describe studies as demanding, but educational and pleasant. In particular, critical thinking and a scientific basis are skills that emerge from studies that have been of great help in working life.   

“We wouldn’t do anything else” 

Finland's best level of understanding of sports physiology, praises Tapio. Julius and Tapio encourage you to apply to study sports sciences if you have an interest in the field and well-being. They also strongly encourage combining entrepreneurship and physical education studies. They advise to be aware of the risks, but to think about what your own entrepreneuring could look like. The beginning of entrepreneurship is hard, but you learn by doing and you have to build a business tenaciously. Julius and Tapio recommend starting a company already during studies: if things go well, there is already a running company to work with after graduation.