Upvote:1
Start-up projects have at least three major phases. During the first phase, there is no funding, just people who know each other talking and writing. During the second phase, they have obtained some money. It may have come from their own savings or been borrowed. In the third phase, they have actual financing sufficient to pay salaries etc., and it is a business.
You can only really emulate the first phase - you are not expected to sink your savings or commit to debt for an academic projects.
Consulting lawyers is going to cost some money. How much will depend on which countries you are considering operating in and whether there are e.g. common EU regulations or separate national regulations. During the first phase, the phase you can emulate, one of the objectives is to prepare a list of activities to do before starting the business but that are going to cost money. Your aim should be a really good list of questions for the lawyers.