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Our story
A love of building websites met a search for better ways to study. Here’s what happened next.
Our journey, as of
Before OCTO
Robbe was spending hours building websites for another project. As AI opened up new possibilities, he became increasingly interested in what he could create and how quickly he could turn an idea into something people could use.
Axel was preparing for exams and trying to make the most of his study time. Anki, RemNote and MindMeister were part of that search: how could he learn more effectively, with more time left for life outside his studies?
May and June 2026
During the first exam period, our interests came together. Robbe was exploring what he could build. Axel was thinking about what would make studying easier. We started asking whether we could turn those two interests into a project of our own.
Our first idea was a website where students could share flashcards. Why should everyone have to start from scratch when they were studying the same material?
Early summer 2026
The idea grew into a platform for sharing summaries and study materials. We imagined students contributing to a shared master summary and saving useful flashcards and notes to their own workspace.
We also wanted a community where students could study together and help each other keep going. That part of the idea would stay with us.
Early summer 2026
As we looked more closely at sharing course materials, questions about copyright and ownership became difficult to separate from the product itself. The shared library we had imagined brought more complications than we were ready to build around.
We set that version aside and returned to the problem that had brought us together: helping students use their study time well. Our focus shifted towards the tools they could use with their own materials.
Mid to late July 2026
For a while, we considered calling the project Praxer. It never quite felt right. Conversations with other people led us to the idea of a mascot, and eventually to an octopus.
We liked its intelligence, curiosity and eight arms. Those arms gave us a way to picture different study tools working together. OCTO was short, memorable and a name we could build an identity around. The project was beginning to feel like our own.
Summer 2026
A lot of the early work happened in conversations, research and sketches. We explored the market, compared existing tools and worked through what our first product should do.
We also started working on marketing. We wanted to reach students while we built, so we could begin forming a community and learn what interested them. We did not have a complete plan. We wanted to start, and make the plan clearer through the work.
Resit period 2026
Building a study tool did not make our own exams disappear. Team members had resits, and for a while we had much less time to work on OCTO.
It slowed us down. With the start of the new academic year, we were able to pick things up again and put more time into the project together.
September to early October 2026
We wanted to hear what people outside our own team thought of the idea. We signed up for Pitch & Respond at Voka HITT Fest: four minutes to explain OCTO, followed by feedback from experienced entrepreneurs.
When we registered, we had never pitched before. Our idea was still taking shape and our website was not yet online. Over the following weeks, we worked hard to bring the product direction, website and pitch into a clearer whole.
The deadline gave us focus. We had to explain who we wanted to help, what we wanted to build first and which questions we still needed to answer.
5 October 2026
We are still developing OCTO, with a much clearer direction than when we started. We want to bring study materials and connected tools together in one workspace, making effective studying easier to put into practice.
Our planned first version brings together flashcards, a PDF editor, a summary tool and mindmaps. Community remains part of the wider vision, alongside helping students build a study routine they can keep using.
We are also exploring how OCTO could contribute to ocean protection as it grows. For now, our focus is on building the product, listening to feedback and deciding what matters most for the next stage.
Next step · 7 October 2026
We are preparing to present OCTO at Voka HITT Fest, hear where our thinking holds up and learn where it needs more work.
Planned · After the pitch
After the event, we plan to sit down with the whole team, work through the feedback and decide how to move OCTO forward. The next part of the story will grow from those decisions.
We’re building OCTO for students who want to make better use of their study time. Follow our progress, share your perspective or help us build it.
