Building a business that brings people together
Driven by a passion to build meaningful connections, Hyeseong Jun launched a startup through E Co-op to turn everyday interactions into real-world social connections.
When Hyeseong Jun, a Statistics student minoring in Computing Management Studies and Entrepreneurship, began co-op, he never considered he would end up starting his own business during his co-op journey. He shares his experience working in a variety of positions before branching out and starting his own business, ESCape Platforms. His company's mission is to help create meaningful connections and solve real-world problems that Hyeseong has experienced first-hand.
Hyeseong's co-op journey
Before starting his official co-op terms, Hyeseong gained internship experience across various industries, including work in VR development, business analysis, finance and government sectors. These early roles helped spark his interest in technology and entrepreneurship.
Work term one: For his first work term, Hyeseong was a software engineer and researcher at Akai, a startup based in San Francisco. He worked at the Seoul office in Korea. He contributed to the development of embedded software for a Metaverse AI robot called MUSIO, using C++, OGRE and CMake. Hyeseong also built an interactive 3D model and improved user experience and development efficiency.
Work term two: Hyeseong then worked for Manulife as a digital analytics co-ordinator and data analyst. His main responsibilities included building dashboards to visualize marketing performance, automating report generation using Python and SQL, and supporting the team in making data-driven decisions for campaign optimization.
Work terms three, four and five: For his third to fifth co-op terms, Hyeseong began his own startup through the Enterprise (E) Co-op program called ESCape Platforms. As the founder, Hyeseong did the work of several employees, covering things from finance to development to research to ensure his app met all his expectations.
Q&A with Hyeseong
Tell me more about your startup. What is it that you want to accomplish?
“Through my co-op experiences, I came to Toronto to work. I had no friends outside of my home zone. It was really hard for me to make new friends here, even though I was surrounded by other people both online and offline. I thought I should start something to fix this.”
“I'm making a social app that connects people through offline interactions and through their daily routines. So just living their life, casually doing whatever they do during the day, they get to meet new people and they can add some value to their life.”
“Users interact with the Escape app by exploring local events based on their interests, availability and location. They can join or create events, see who else is going and connect through real-life experiences like running clubs, food tours or creative workshops. They can also join groups or chats to meet like-minded people, share recommendations and stay connected beyond just one event.”
“One of the newest features allows users to set their availability through a schedule, which helps match them with events that fit their routine. They can also share their schedule with friends to co-ordinate plans easily, so meeting up or discovering new things together feels natural and seamless.”
“Having personally experienced loneliness and cultural adjustment as an international student, I built Escape not just as a product, but as a solution I wish I had.”
What drew you to these experiences?
“I've been passionate about building things from scratch and solving weird problems. Even in high school I wanted to do something by myself. I want to start something on my own, not working for somebody. That made me want to do this startup thing.”
“I set several milestones for myself that I want to accomplish. Even getting to the University of Waterloo and getting all those co-op jobs was one of the milestones I had to achieve. To do this, I actually planned out some more milestones like graduating university and getting a good job at a big technology corporation before I actually started this experience. All those were just my milestones that eventually drove me to create a startup.”
“After my first year at university, I completed 18 months of mandatory military service in Korea as an artillery soldier before diving into co-op. That time away helped me reset mentally and gave me valuable perspective. When I returned to university, I felt more focused and driven. I knew I wanted to challenge myself and make the most of my time through co-op and side projects.”
“I wanted hands-on experience and experience from various fields and various jobs. All my internship experiences are different. One is from Canada, one is from Korea. Firm types are all different startups, small, medium. All the jobs were different. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I became someone who needed to try everything because of that.”
What have you learned from the startup industry, having started your own as well?
“Being on co-op you actually get to learn a lot and you realize a lot. I learned that I didn't know anything back then. I looked back at my previous co-op terms and thought, how did people bear with me?”
“When I started my company and I had co-op students coming in, I had to manage them. Seeing those students actually gave me a good sense of what I was like as a co-op student. I can see everything from a manager's perspective. I learned a lot from co-op to co-op, and that’s clear.”
What was it like to manage other co-op students?
“I could literally see everything, all the thinking that they are doing. Thinking about that, I realized that people who managed me likely saw through me too and knew what I was thinking, what I was doing.”
“Managing other co-op students taught me leadership, communication and delegation. I had to onboard team members quickly, assign meaningful tasks and give constructive feedback.”
“I also learned how to create systems to keep the team aligned, especially when working remotely. It was a crash course in people management and I realized how important empathy and clarity are as a leader.”
What has been your most memorable experience from co-op?
“Most memorable experiences were from applying for co-ops because that was hard. It was hard mentally and physically, so I think that was the most memorable experience. But it is a memorable experience because I actually got the jobs. The moments that I got offers, I think those made the experiences more memorable.”
“One of the most memorable moments was when I hosted our first Escape event and more than 80 people showed up even though it was snowing heavily. Seeing strangers laughing and making friends, that’s when I realized we were building something that truly mattered to people.”
How did you stay motivated through all those applications?
“I just do it. I think that because I know I wasn't better than any other students in our school that I should apply more. So that people can see me more and I applied to like all these jobs. I applied to six or seven different categories from software to business to diversify my opportunities.”
What advice do you have for future co-op students?
“Don’t stress if you haven’t figured everything out yet. Co-op is your chance to try different roles, explore what excites you and learn from each experience, even the ones that don’t seem to align with your long-term plans.”
“Treat every work term as a valuable stepping stone. If you give your best and stay open-minded, you’ll always walk away with something meaningful, whether it’s a new skill, clarity about your path or connections that last far beyond the term. You never know which spark will shape your next big move.”
“From early internships to military service, co-op roles and founding a startup, my path hasn’t been traditional, but every step has taught me something that feeds into where I am today.”
What’s next for you?
“I'm planning to keep growing my startup. Explore new opportunities in entrepreneurship and tech because the artificial intelligence market is booming. I’m exploring some side projects as well.”
“On a personal level, I want to keep learning. What I love about our startup is that I get to learn. There is endless learning I can get and meet more inspiring people. There are so many great people that I can meet doing my startup. And then I want to actually succeed, get rich and be in the position where I can help others that struggle.”
“Aside from growing my startup, I’m currently a co-op connection ambassador. It’s a great way to stay involved with the co-op community and support other students while continuing to learn and build.”
Let’s connect
If you’re reading this and have questions about co-op, startups or just want to chat, I’m always open to connecting with fellow students. Feel free to message me on LinkedIn or email me.
Also, if you’re curious about what I’m building, check out the Escape App. I’d love your feedback!