how it works

From first attempt
to track record.

Start with a business problem, see exactly how you think, and build a record that speaks for you — step by step, at your own pace.

One business problem.
A scored shortlist.

Post a challenge your team has actually faced, define what good looks like, and see how candidates think before you ever meet them — scored against your standards, not a generic benchmark.

Your cohort. A problem to share.
Evidence that builds.

Give students a shared starting point, assign real work, and follow the learning as it happens — with scored submissions and feedback you can bring into your next conversation.

1
5 minutes
step 1

Sign up and choose your career path.

Create your account and complete a short onboarding about your interests, strengths, and goals. Based on what you share, loocy recommends one of three career paths — Marketing & Communications, Data & Analytics, or Strategy & Operations. You can switch at any time and nothing is lost.

Free to join — no credit card, no commitment
Your path shapes which problems are recommended to you
You can switch paths at any time without losing your submissions
2
as long as you need
step 2

Practise on business problems.

Browse the problems library and pick one that interests you. Each problem is a genuine, messy business situation drawn from real challenges — no textbook exercises, no single right answer. Read the brief, use loocy AI to help structure your thinking if you want, and write your response. We assess how you think, not what you conclude.

Start a draft, come back, refine — just submit before the window closes
No word limit — write as much or as little as you need to make your case
loocy AI is there to help you think — it won't write your answer for you
Build a track record and company-posted problems open up
loocy AI is your thinking partner. Ask it to help you structure your argument, understand the data, or review what you've written. It will push you to think more clearly — it won't think for you.
3
within minutes
step 3

Get scored and build your portfolio.

Your response is scored against a defined rubric, broken down across four dimensions, with honest feedback: what was strong, where it thinned, and what a stronger version did differently. The submission goes on your loocy portfolio as scored work.

Scored across four weighted dimensions — strategic thinking, data use, clarity, commercial realism
Every score explained — what was strong and what could be sharper
Added to your portfolio with your score — visible to companies who view your profile
Every attempt builds your capability graph
4
step 4

Unlock company problems — and get seen.

Company problems are real challenges posted by real companies and scored against their own rubric — the standards they defined themselves. Each one runs on a submission window; when it closes, every response is scored, and if yours ranks highly the company shortlists you. They've already seen your scores and strengths before they reach out. You decide whether to accept or decline every opportunity.

You're shortlisted based on merit — not your university or your connections
Every interview starts with the hiring manager already knowing you can think
Your contact details are only shared once you accept an invitation
You can decline any opportunity without it affecting your profile
The more you practise, the more your graph shows. Every attempt writes to your capability graph — four dimensions, scored over time. Once your averages clear the bar, verified skills appear on your public profile. It's a track record, not a claim — and it's yours.
1
2 minutes
step 1

Set up your company account.

Create a company account and tell us about your business — industry, size, and which team you're hiring for. That's it. You're on your dashboard and ready to post your first problem whenever you want. There's no pressure to do it immediately.

Free pilot — no contract, no credit card required
Your company details help us match problems to the right students
You can invite team members to review shortlists once you're set up
2
~30 minutes
step 2

Post a business problem and define what good looks like.

Describe a genuine business challenge — something your team has actually faced, or is currently facing. Be as specific as possible. Then complete the rubric session: six questions that define your standards. This is what makes loocy different. Your shortlist is scored against your criteria — not a generic benchmark.

The problem should be specific and genuine — the more specific, the better the signal
Choose your submission window — 7 to 30 days
The rubric takes about 15 minutes and shapes every score in your shortlist
the rubric session
Your definition of good thinking becomes the scoring standard.
We ask you six questions about what impresses you, what lets candidates down, which skills matter most for this role, and what a strong submission looks like in your own words. Your answers become the rubric loocy scores against on your behalf. A startup and a consultancy will produce completely different rubrics — and completely different shortlists.
3
nothing — we do this
step 3

Submissions arrive. We score them.

Students submit responses over your chosen window — and only students who have already completed scored practice on the platform reach your problem, so every submission comes from a candidate with a track record. loocy scores every submission against your rubric as they arrive. You can check in at any time, or simply wait for the window to close. You don't have to read anything until your shortlist is ready.

Every response scored across four criteria weighted to your rubric
Scores are fully transparent — broken down by criterion with explanatory notes
You can close the window early if you have enough strong submissions
4
after your window closes
step 4

Review your shortlist and make contact.

Your shortlist arrives ranked by score. For each candidate you see their score, a concise summary of what they did well and where they fell short, and their loocy profile — education, work experience, and their capability graph: every problem they've completed and how their scores have developed. Then you decide who to contact.

5 candidates shortlisted by default — adjustable in settings
A scored summary for every candidate — full submissions stay with the student
Contact candidates via loocy — their email is only shared once they accept
You are always the decision-maker — loocy surfaces candidates, you decide
Every interview starts differently. By the time you speak to a candidate from loocy, you've seen how they performed on a problem you care about. The first conversation is more productive because the baseline has already been established.
1
a few minutes
step 1

Apply for educator access.

Apply for educator access and we'll talk through your teaching context — your institution, the module or group you have in mind, and what a useful first cohort could look like. Once confirmed, you're on your educator dashboard and ready to go.

Free for educators to use with their students
A short conversation before you start — no pressure, no commitment
Invite colleagues once you're set up
2
5 minutes
step 2

Create a cohort and invite students.

Set up a named cohort for your module or group and invite students to join — by link or direct invite. Each student gets a workspace connected to your cohort. You get visibility into their activity, assigned work, and scored submissions as they progress.

Name your cohort anything — module title, year group, term
Students join with a link — no separate admin needed
You can run multiple cohorts at the same time
3
10–15 minutes
step 3

Choose a problem and assign it.

Browse the problem library and assign a challenge to your cohort. Set a deadline if it fits your teaching structure, or leave it open for students to work through at their own pace. The problem becomes available to every student in the cohort immediately.

Problems span marketing, data, and strategy — pick what fits the module
Set a deadline or leave it open — your choice
Students can still explore the full library independently
A shared starting point. Every student in the cohort sees the same brief — which means their responses are directly comparable. You can see how different students approached the same problem and bring that variety into the room.
4
step 4

Follow the learning — and bring it in.

Review cohort activity, scored submissions, and the feedback each student received. See where students are strong, where there are gaps, and which teaching moments are worth surfacing. Use the evidence in discussion, to support students who are struggling, or to challenge those ready for more.

Cohort-level view: participation, scored work, common gaps
Individual view: each student's submission, score, and feedback
Student data stays with the student — you see what's been shared with your cohort
Students keep their portfolio and scored work after the module ends
finding your direction

Most scores tell you how well you did.
This tells you where you belong.

what your students are assessed against

Sixty skills across
three paths.

how candidates are assessed

Your rubric. Applied across
five competencies and twenty skills.

Three paths. Five competencies each.
Each of the three career paths has five competencies that every response is scored against — fifteen in total across the platform. The competencies are specific to the path, so what good thinking looks like in marketing differs from data or strategy.
Four skills within each competency.
Each competency breaks into four specific skills — so the assessment isn't a vague summary, it's a precise map of exactly which part of that competency was strong and which needs work. Sixty skills across the platform in total.
Twenty data points per submission.
Every submission scores against the twenty skills in your path — five competencies, four skills each. Over time those data points build a capability picture that is specific, honest, and grounded in work actually done.
A broad score tells you how you did. Twenty specific skills tell you what kind of thinker you are — where you naturally lead, where you pull back, and where to put the work in. The more you submit, the more precise that picture gets, and the more useful it becomes for figuring out where you actually belong.
ready to start

The first step is
attempting a problem.

Everything else follows from there. Your portfolio starts with your first submission. Companies start seeing you when you're on their shortlist.

get started free

The first step is
posting a problem.

Everything else follows from there. Your rubric becomes the standard, submissions arrive scored, and your shortlist is ready when the window closes.

book a pilot call

The first step is
applying for access.

We'll talk through your teaching context and what a first cohort could look like — no pressure, no commitment.

apply for educator access

Common questions

For anything else, email us at hello@loocy.io

Yes, completely. There is no premium tier, no paywall on problems, and no fee for receiving shortlists or accepting opportunities. loocy is free for students and will stay that way.
Yes — loocy is built for any stage from first year onwards. The earlier you start, the more your capability graph shows by the time you're applying.
There is no single right answer. Every problem on loocy is genuinely ambiguous — that's the point. We assess how you think, not what you conclude. A well-reasoned response that reaches the wrong conclusion will score higher than a poorly reasoned one that happens to be right.
Practice problems are open for a set window (usually around two weeks); the library refreshes as older problems close and new ones open, so start a draft and submit before a problem closes. Company problems run on submission windows (most are around 14 days); once a window closes, submissions are no longer accepted for that problem.
loocy AI is a thinking partner — it helps you structure your argument, understand the data in the brief, and think more clearly about the problem. It will not write your response for you. Your submission must be your own work. Every submission is checked and the scoring reflects the quality of your thinking, not AI-generated text.
Yes — your university is visible on your profile. But the score from your submission is what drives shortlisting, not where you studied. A candidate from any institution who scores 91% on a problem will rank above a candidate from a prestigious university who scores 74%. The work speaks louder than the institution.
No. Companies never get bulk access to your submissions — they see scores and short summaries of strengths and gaps, not your full work. Your submissions live in your portfolio, and you choose what to share and with whom.
Yes, always. You control every opportunity on loocy. Declining has no effect on your profile or your ability to be shortlisted in the future. Your contact details are never shared until you explicitly accept an invitation.
Your data is stored securely and used only to operate the platform — scoring your submissions, building your portfolio, and connecting you with companies who shortlist you. We do not sell data. Your contact details are never shared with any company without your explicit consent. Full details in our privacy policy.
You share an invite link and students sign up to loocy directly. Once they join your cohort, they see any assigned problems alongside the full problem library. Students keep their account and portfolio after the module — the cohort is a layer on top of their individual workspace, not a replacement for it.
You can see cohort-level activity (who has submitted, assignment completion, scored work) and individual student views (their score, the feedback they received, and the dimensions where they were strong or weak). You do not have access to the full text of a student's submission unless they choose to share it — the feedback and scores are visible, the response itself belongs to the student.
You can assign a specific problem to your cohort — it appears as the assigned challenge in their workspace. Students can still access and attempt any problem from the full library independently, so assigning one problem doesn't restrict them. It just gives the cohort a shared starting point.
No. loocy is a practice environment, not an assessment platform. The scoring gives students useful feedback and builds their capability graph — it is not designed to produce grades or feed into formal academic assessment. It is most useful as a space for low-stakes exploration that complements the formal parts of your teaching.
No. Students can explore the problem library across all paths and a suggested path is a starting point, not a restriction. If your cohort spans different interests or disciplines, that's fine — the library is accessible regardless of the recommended path, and students can switch at any time.
loocy is currently free for educators and their students. We are in an early pilot phase and working with institutions directly. If you are interested, apply for educator access and we will be in touch to discuss your context and what is currently available.
Students who have already completed scored practice on loocy. Your problem is never someone's first attempt at this kind of work — you see their full track record alongside their response.
The pilot is free. One problem, one shortlist, no contract, no credit card required. If you hire from it, we'll have a conversation about what a longer-term arrangement looks like. We're still in pilot phase and will publish pricing properly before we scale.
The more specific, the better. Vague problems produce generic responses — and generic responses are hard to score meaningfully. The best problems are challenges your team has actually faced, with enough context that a candidate can engage with the specifics of your situation rather than giving textbook answers.
About 15 minutes. Six questions — four multiple choice and two free text. The free text questions ("what does a strong submission look like for this problem?" and "what should candidates avoid?") are the most important. Your answers become the scoring criteria for every submission you receive.
It depends on the cohort, the path, and your window — and we're in pilot, so we won't invent a number. Before you post, we'll tell you honestly what volume to expect for your problem. Every submission is scored either way, and your shortlist surfaces the strongest.
Yes. From company settings you can invite team members to your loocy account. Members can view shortlists and contact candidates. Admins can post problems and manage the rubric. You can add as many people as you need.
loocy is a decision-support tool, not a decision-making tool. loocy's AI scores submissions and surfaces candidates — all hiring decisions are made by your team. Rubric criteria are defined by you and should be job-relevant. We recommend ensuring your rubric criteria do not create indirect discrimination — for example, by favouring communication styles that correlate with particular demographics. You remain responsible for all hiring decisions made from a loocy shortlist.
You can close any live problem early from your problem management page. Closing ends the submission window immediately and begins scoring. Students who have not yet submitted will be notified. Your shortlist will be ready shortly after closing.
Candidate contact details are never shared with your company until the candidate explicitly accepts your invitation. You can view their loocy profile, capability graph, and a scored summary of their submission — full submissions stay with the student, and direct contact information (email address) is only released with their consent. Full details in our privacy policy.