IESE Internal Casebook

Year 2024– 2025

Content

1. Introduction to Consulting
2. Industry Know How
3. Cases
i. BCG Case Competition Winners (4th edition)
ii. Previous Casebook Cases

2
Content

1. Introduction to Consulting
2. Industry Know How
3. Cases
i. BCG Case Competition Winners (4th edition)
ii. Previous Casebook Cases

3
The Management Consulting Landscape

General Management Consulting Internal Consulting

• McKinsey and Company • BASF (Chekmicals)

• Boston Consulting Group • DHL Consulting
• Bain and Company • AMEX Strategic Planning Group
• Kearney • Disney Internal Consulting
• Strategy& • Maersk Management Consulting
• Oliver Wyman
• Roland Berger
• L.E.K. Consulting
• OC&C Strategy Consultants
• Arthur D. Little

Industry Specific Capability Specific

• Delta Partners (TMT) • McKinsey Digital

• ZS Associates (Pharma / Healthcare) • McKinsey Operations (within McKinsey)
• Deloitte Digital
• BCG DV

4
The Consulting Journey

CV/CL Submissions Interview Rounds

Career Forum Interview Selection Offer

5
Consulting Interview Process
Case interviews take very similar formats across the various consultancies where they are used. Before landing your dream role with any consulting
firm, you will need to complete between four and six case interviews, divided between 2 rounds in most cases, with each interview lasting
approximately 50- 60 minutes. Over the past few years, consulting firms are also increasingly using logical reasoning tests or gamified assessments
as the first step of the interview process.

Typical Interview Format (varies from firm to firm)

1. Fit Interview – 15 to 20 minutes

2. Case Interview – 25 to 35 minutes

What do firms look for?

“While there’s no exact template for success at McKinsey, our people share some qualities that help make us successful–and that make working here fun:
Personal Impact, Entrepreneurial Drive, Problem Solving Skills, Inclusive Leadership” - Mckinsey & Company

“We seek passionate, open-minded individuals with a wide range of academic backgrounds, work experiences, perspectives, thinking styles, and expertise.
Excellent academic credentials are a necessary, but not sufficient, requirement. You also must demonstrate the curiosity to ask the right questions, the
courage and creativity to blaze new paths, the ability to collaborate with colleagues and clients, and the leadership skills to transform your ideas into action” –
Boston Consulting Group

“ We seek individuals demonstrating the following attributes: Problem solving skills, The Ability to Lead, Results Delivery, Passion” – Bain & Company

“If you’re reading this, you’re smart enough to already know what we’re looking for. Insightful, yes. Inquisitive, naturally. Collaborative, of course. But we’re also
looking for people who think further than that, who don’t accept the first thing in front of them, and who are always unapologetically themselves.” - Kearney
6
What does a case interview consists of?
A case interview can be thought of as a simplified and shortened version of an actual consulting project. The candidate is presented with a
business problem, after which he or she will need to segment the information provided, navigate his or her structure, identify key factors which are
driving the issue that is being addressed, lead a hypothesis driven analysis and ultimately suggest a recommendation to solve the issue.

Quantitative Listening and Synthesizing and

Business Sense Structured Thinking
Capabilities Synthesizing communication

How comfortable are Are you able to listen to Can you identify how Are you able to break Can you synthesize all
you with numbers? You the question prompt, the business operates? down your thought the analysis done in a
need to not only do understand the What the pain points or process in a structured clear, concise and
quick and accurate company and the synergies within the manner and follow a actionable manner for
calculations but also overall business business are? Are you hypothesis-driven your client? Can you
clearly communicate environment, and ask able to create solutions analysis of the problem then communicate it in
business insights and the right kind of to help resolve it? that needs to be the same way?
other implications of questions to elicit more solved?
your quantitative relevant information?
analysis.

Common Types of Cases:

Profitability, Market Entry, New Product Development, Pricing, Valuation , Competitive Interaction, Estimates/Market Sizing

7
Fit Interview
Consultancy firms use the Fit or Personal Experience Interviews to learn about the candidate’s personal interests and passions, gauge the
candidate’s interpersonal skills and ability to successfully work in diverse teams, and most importantly assess how well the candidate understands
the firm and its values.

Examples of questions asked during Fit interviews:

General Questions: Competency Based Questions: Forward looking Questions:

• Tell me about yourself / Walk me through • Tell me about a time when you • Suppose we hire you and you need to
your CV demonstrated entrepreneurial drive manage a team of 5 analysts who know
• Tell me something about yourself that is • Tell me about a time you worked in a more about consulting that you – what
not on your CV diverse, cross functional team would be your leadership style?
• What are you most passionate about? • Describe a failure you’ve experienced at • Suppose you are in a client meeting and
What matters most to you and why? work? What were the biggest learnings you see a competitor’s consulting report
• Why Consulting? Why that specific firm? from that experience? on the client’s desk, do you look at the
Why that specific location? • Tell me about a time when you led a team report?
• What are your interests outside of work? and accomplished impactful results • Suppose we assign you to a project in an
• What is your proudest accomplishment? industry you have minimal knowledge
about – how do you start your work?

Both the Case and Fit components of the selection process are accorded equal importance by recruiters and good performance in one will not
make up for a poor performance in the other. Ultimately, consultancy firms simply will not employ someone who they doubt will be a good fit with
the company, regardless of how great the candidate is at cracking cases.

8
A brief overview of the preparation
Balance your fit and case prep, update your cover letter and CV, research and network

Documents Fit interview preparation: 20 – 30 hours

• CV: Don’t spend too much time adapting Many are under prepared – start now!
• CL: Why consulting? Why this firm? Why Tell me about yourself: Autobiographical Qs: Competency Qs:
location? Why me? • Autobiographical or theme- • Strength/weaknesses • 6 – 8 stories
based • Long-term plan • Brainstorm stories, not
• 2.5 – 3 minutes • Why consulting? Why the answers
• Prep the most! firm? Why location? • Practice adaptations

Research and Networking Case Prep: 40+ hours

Tips: Mocks (some might take more, and Drills:
• Watch office selection video others less): • Market sizing
• Follow partners on LinkedIn • Frameworks
• Look for “high activity” profiles
Ability Use RocketBlocks
~30 mocks • Brainstorming to complete drills,
• LinkedIn Cover Photo • Quants
• Shares and Likes posts suggestion:
5 – 10 mocks • Charts & Graphs 1 hour/day
• Premium subscription • Industry Sprints
• Look for similar profiles # of mocks
• Learn 1-3 cases to deliver
In the session • Take good notes & synthesize findings
• Ask questions about them • MBA 2yrs, professional coaches, alumni, Use RocketBlocks to partner up with other
• Ask “who else” to talk to or if you can follow-up and CDC students and professional coaches (more info
with them later). Also, review concepts.

9
Content

1. Introduction to Consulting
2. Industry Know How
3. Cases
i. BCG Case Competition Winners (4th edition)
ii. Previous Casebook Cases

10
Industry Know How – Airline

Airline Overview Revenue Streams Cost Drivers

• Low margins - high volumes • Ticket sales (Passengers & Award) • Fuel • Landing/terminal
• Consolidation in industry over last few • Ancillary: Charges for baggage, seats, and • Depreciation fees
Automotive
decades ticket flexibility • Maintenance • Insurance/legal
• High prevalence of loyalty schemes for • Cargo transportation • Labour (on-board fees
Banking / Financial
differentiation Specific to low cost carriers vs. terminal) • Booking systems
Services
• Competition from state owned companies • Advertising • Sales & (GDS)
• Power concentration in the suppliers and in • On board duty free sales Marketing • Lease/payment
Insurance
the demand • Food and beverage • Frequent flier
program fees
Healthcare
• Leisure travellers – generally price sensitive • Freight/cargo transportation
Customer • Business travellers – important due to high margins and • VFR (Visiting friends & relatives)
Manufacturing
Segment purchase of value added services • Travel agents/websites

Energy (Oil & Gas) • Direct – Airline sales team, airline website
Channels • Indirect online – Travel sites (OTA), price comparison sites (Metasearch)
Energy (Power & • Indirect offline – Travel agencies, corporate travel management companies
Utilities)
• Travel affected by business cycle • Weather – especially extreme events
External • Oil prices • Sanitary (COVID-19)
Retail drivers/risks • Security • Currency fluctuation
• Rise of low cost airlines has increased air traffic and expanded routes
TMT
• Increase in online booking and check-in
Trends • NDC (New distribution capability)
Information
• Sustainability (Green fuels, emissions, and others)
Technology

11
Industry Know How – Automative

Airline Overview Revenue Streams Cost Drivers

• Low margins (but increasing) • New car sales • Raw materials
• High capital and labour intensive • Used car sales • Labour
Automotive
• Sector under transformation/disruption • Parts sales • Marketing (Advertising)
• Key players: • Servicing • Depreciation
Banking / Financial ‒ Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)
Services ‒ National Marketing & Sales Companies (Affiliates or Non-affiliated) • Financing • Financing costs
‒ Components & Replacement parts Suppliers (Tier#1 to #3) • Leasing • Recall costs
Insurance ‒ Retailers • Subscription model • R&D
‒ Others: RAC (Rent-a-Car) companies / Ride-hailing & Ride sharing companies / MaaS
(Mobility as a Service) companies / Geo-location & Cloud companies)
• Data-sales to 3rd parties • Logistics
Healthcare ‒ Public Sector (Governments & Municipalities)

• By business model (B2B/B2C/B2G) • By product type (Mini/Urban, Hatchbacks, Sedan, Crossovers, SWs2,
Manufacturing Customer • By vehicle type (Cars/LCVs1/Trucks) SUVs, Pickup Trucks, Vans, Sports Cars, Performance3)
Segment • By price point (Mass/Premium) • By usage (Off-road, On-road, Performance/Track)
Energy (Oil & Gas) • By route frequency (Commuters/One-off) • By powertrain (Petrol, Diesel, Hybrids4, BEVs5, Others6)

• Car dealerships Service outlets for automotive parts (affiliates & independents)
Energy (Power & Channels • Secondary market (online and offline)
Utilities)
• Business cycle • Steel/Lithium/Nickel prices
Retail
External • Disposable income per capita • Consumer confidence index
drivers/risks • Oil/Gas/Electricity prices • Regulation

TMT • Shift to cleaner energy (electric, hybrid or fuel • Congestion & pollution in big cities
cells) • Multi-modal transportation & hubs
Information
Trends • Self driving (Autonomous) cars • Smart Infrastructure / Connected cars
Technology

12
Industry Know How – Banking / Financial Services

Airline Overview Revenue Streams Cost Drivers

• Retail banks: Take deposits, Retail banks: • Labour (wages)
provide loans • Loan/credit interest • Overheads – costs for running branches
Automotive
• Investment banks: Raise debt/capital, M&A • Service fees (Balance check, withdraw) • Interest rates on deposits
advisory, market making • Interest rate on reserves (spread) • Fines
Banking / Financial
• Cornerstone of economies • Commissions on the distribution of third • Bad debt expense
Services
• Highly capital intensive party products (such as insurance)
• Complex and highly regulated Investment banks:
Insurance
• Underwriting (IPOs or bond offerings)
• Deal completion fees (M&As)
Healthcare • Fees for financial advice (Asset Mgmt)
• Proprietary Trading
Manufacturing Retail Investment
Customer • Business customers • Acquiring companies
Energy (Oil & Gas) Segment • Low, medium and High net worth individuals • Companies looking to raise capital
• Everyday customers • Companies looking to IPO
Energy (Power & • Retail banks (ATMs, cashiers, branch managers, online banking, call center)
Utilities) Channels • Investment banking (Officer – Account manager; investment advisor)
Retail • Business cycle (default rates) • Regulation
External • Central bank interest rates • Customers centricity
drivers/risks • Consumer saving behavior
TMT
• Rise of challenger and digital only banks (customers in the centre)
Information Trends • Increasing digitization and decentralization
Technology • Increase in mobile banking

13
Industry Know How – Insurance

Airline Overview Revenue Streams Cost Drivers

• Insurance companies: covers the risks in Premium • Payments of claims + Adjustments
exchange for a premium • Charging premiums in exchange for • Acquisition expenses (broker´s
Automotive
• Intangible services being provided insurance coverage commissions, sales personnel, and
• Complex and highly regulated industry Investment marketing expenses)
Banking / Financial
• Investing the premium acquired into other • Administrative Expenses (legal, compliance,
Services
interest-generating assets (spread) underwriting, etc.)
Insurance

Healthcare
B2C B2B
Customer • Customers from low, medium and high income • SME (Small and medium enterprises)
Manufacturing Segment • Clear credit line • Corporations

Energy (Oil & Gas) Offline Online

• Brokers (branches and call centres) • Insurance company´s website
Energy (Power & Channels • Retail bank (ATMs, cashiers, managers) • Online banking
Utilities) • Online insurance shopping

Retail • Regulations
External • Cybersecurity (client´s database)
drivers/risks • Climate change
TMT
• Rise of big data in the industry – important to understand customers´ behaviors and design an specific insurance
Information Trends for them - Metromile
Technology • Evolution of insurtechs (customers in the Center) – Lemonade

14
Industry Know How – Healthcare

Airline Overview Revenue Streams Cost Drivers

• High margins • Sales of drugs • Manufacturing
• Highly capital intensive with long time horizons • Insurance payments • Sales & marketing
Automotive • Patent lasts for approx. 20 years • R&D
• Blockbuster is > $1bn. In sales
Banking / Financial • Branded vs. generic drugs
Services • Cannibalization – key aspect
• Dosage
Insurance • Drug Effectiveness: -> Cure / Treatment ->Time
to market -> Adverse / Side effects
Healthcare

Manufacturing
• Doctors • Patients
Customer • Pharmacists • Insurance providers
Energy (Oil & Gas) Segment • Hospital administrators • Governments
• Over the counter (OTC) • Pharmacies
Energy (Power & • Prescription • GP practices
Utilities)
Channels
• Hospitals • Direct to Consumer (DTC) – few countries

Retail • Regulation (FDA Approvals)

External • Politics
drivers/risks • Loss of patent leads to big loss in revenue
TMT
• Numerous M&As as big players look to enhance R&D pipeline
Information Trends • Consolidation of players focusing on specific treatment areas
Technology • Wearable Medical Devices, Gene Therapy, Value based healthcare

15
Industry Know How – Manufacturing

Airline Overview Revenue Streams Cost Drivers

• Mechanical, physical, or chemical • FG (finished good) sales – standard • Raw materials
Automotive transformation of raw materials into new products • Labour
products • Module sales – customized products • Machinery (CAPEX)
Banking / Financial • Margin fluctuates by volume (economies • Quality control (COPQ)
Services of scale, high fixed cost) • Inventory costs
• Capacity utilization is key KPI • Customization costs (prototyping)
Insurance (normally target is around 90%) • R&D costs

Healthcare
• Businesses
Customer • Retailers
Manufacturing
Segment • End consumers

Energy (Oil & Gas) • Retail (industries selling directly to end consumers / FG sales)
Channels • Wholesale (B2B, products used to manufacture other products / module sales)
Energy (Power &
Utilities)
• Business cycle • International trade agreements (or wars)
Retail External • Commodity availability/price • Tax cuts (China – LEDs, semiconductors)
drivers/risks • Labour unions • Technology trends
TMT • 3D printing • Automation
Trends • High quality outsourcing ‒ M2M, IoT
Information
• Platforms ‒ Industry 4.0
Technology

16
Industry Know How – Energy (Oil/Gas)
Overview Revenue Streams Cost Drivers
Airline
• Upstream – exploration & production • Raw materials (crude oil, gas) • Drilling & Exploration
• Midstream – processing, transporting, and • Derivatives • Maintenance & Reliability
Automotive storage ‒Petroleum • Transportation
• Downstream – refining, distribution, and ‒Plastics • Labour
Banking / Financial
marketing ‒Lubricants
Services
• Renewable energy – hydro, solar, wind • Trading
• Commodity transportation (midstream)
Insurance
• Construction of new pipelines

Healthcare • Operations • End user

Customer • Upstream/Midstream/Downstream • Airplanes/Utility Companies/Facilities
Segment • Gas Stations • Refineries
Manufacturing

Energy (Oil & Gas) • Retail • Trading

Channels • Commercial
Energy (Power &
Utilities) • Price of Oil • Reserves
External • Strikes / Protests • Demand
Retail
drivers/risks • Government regulation / political factors • Substitutes
• Equipment age • Safety
TMT
• Efficient/smart machinery • Alternative energy increasing
Information Trends • Pricing differences between countries • Political views of production and transport
Technology

17
Industry Know How – Energy (Power/Utilities)
Overview Revenue Streams Cost Drivers
Airline
• Generation – Solar PV, Generators: Renewable Generators:
Thermosolar, Wind, Biomass, • Electricity wholesale market • Large CAPEX: Land, EPC (inc. OEM equipment)
Automotive Cogeneration, Hydro, Pumping, • Feed-in-tariffs (if winner of an electricity • Small Opex: O&M
Nuclear, Waste, Combined Cycle auction) or PPAs Conventional Generators and Biomass:
Banking / Financial and Coal Power Plants Transport and Distribution Operators (TSO & • Large CAPEX: Land, EPC (inc. OEM equipment)
Services • Distribution – DSOs): • Large Opex: Fuel costs and O&M
(voltage level <=132 kV) • Regulated remuneration Transport and distribution operators:
Insurance • Transport – Retailers: • Recurrent CAPEX: asset renewal, digitalization &
(voltage level >= 220 kV) • Electricity bills automation, (new and replacement OEM equipment)
• Retailers • Natural gas • Large OPEX: O&M, Customer Service
Healthcare Retailers: Electricity Trading and Customer Service

Manufacturing
Customer Segment Electricity Prices:
Energy (Oil & Gas) • Retailers: Households and Commercial sector, • Wholesale market price
• Retailers and Generators: Industry and government • Government charges to pay networks and FITs
Energy (Power & • Government Taxes
Utilities)
• Marginal Pricing System (Scarce goods) • Natural Gas Prices
External • Government Taxes • CO2 Prices
Retail
drivers/risks • Interconnection with other countries • Storage (Security of Supply)

TMT • Decarbonization of economy (100% Green) • Renewables CAPEX and OPEX decreasing
• Storage (Security of Supply) • Deployment of renewables
Trends
Information • Increase of demand (electrification)
Technology

18
Industry Know How – Retail
Overview Revenue Streams Cost Drivers
Airline
• Key ideas • Fashion: apparels, bags/wallets, accessories (e.g., • COGS
> Same store (comp) sales Gucci, Coach) > Fixed: facilities
> Store productivity • Drugs & cosmetics (e.g., L'Oréal, Estée Lauder) > Variable (production could be outsourced)
Automotive
- Sales per square foot • Furniture & household goods (e.g., Maison de Monde, - Raw materials
- Sales / traffic Maiden Home) - Labor
Banking / Financial - Traffic per labor hour • General merchandise (e.g., Dollar Tree, JC Penny) - Duty and freight
Services > Inventory turnover • Key metrics - Shrinkage and obsolescence
• Low margins (except for luxury brands) > Offline sales = Traffic * Conversion% * Units per • Compensation of store employees
• Likelihood of price war (usually through discounts) transaction * Price per unit • Occupancy (i.e., rent and utilities)
Insurance > Online Sales = Impressions * Conv% to traffic * • Marketing
Conv% to purchase * $ per purchase

Healthcare
• Household income
Customer • Age/gender
Manufacturing • Geography
Segment • Purchase frequency

Energy (Oil & Gas) • Hypermarkets • Shopping malls

• Discount retailers/outlets • Department stores
Channels • Flagship stores • Duty free stores
Energy (Power & • Wholesale/distributors • Ecommerce (direct site/third party)
Utilities)
• GDP/Inflation/consumer confidence index
Retail External • Business cycle (holidays, sale season)
• Geopolitics (e.g., trade war, nationalism)
drivers/risks • Natural disasters/pandemic

TMT • Omnichannel
• More concentrated toward high and low end brands
Information Trends • Sustainability
• Supply chain diversification
Technology

19
Industry Know How – TMT

Airline Overview Revenue Streams Cost Drivers

• High capital expenditure Subscriptions (Avg. Revenue per User) • Raw materials
Automotive • High R&D costs • Voice calls ‒Fiber optic network
• Use of bundling to differentiate • Messages ‒Transmission towers
Banking / Financial • Always consider churn! • Data/internet ‒Spectrum frequency
Services • IT/cloud services ‒Customer premise equipment
Other Revenues • Sales & Marketing
Insurance • Accessories • Labour
• Mobile handsets
Healthcare
• Consumer and Small Businesses (price sensitive)
Customer • Businesses (price insensitive)
Manufacturing Segment
• Retail stores
Energy (Oil & Gas)
Channels • Online
Energy (Power &
Utilities) • High entry and exit barriers
External • Rapid development of technology
Retail drivers/risks • Highly regulated industry (specific frequency open/closed by the government)
• Shift from desktop to mobile
TMT • Artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning
Trends • Virtual and augmented reality
Information • 5G (high data speed) & IoT (LPWAN, Low Power Wide Area Network)
Technology

20
Industry Know How – Information Technology

Airline Overview Revenue Streams Cost Drivers

• Projects are delivered in an onsite and Largely, multi year B2B contracts. For e.g. • Manpower and overhead costs ( includes
offshore model imagine an AI product for a bank. Revenue training, upskilling on evolving technologies)
Automotive • Onsite team (in US, EU): the functional could be • Infrastructure – Storage, Connectivity,
consultants and the lead developer. 1. Consulting to identify product needs (8 Systems
Banking / Financial • Offshore(In India, Philippines etc.): Dev, Test, weeks) • Facilities
Services Deploy 2. Product Development ( 6 – 12 months – • Research and Development (not major but IT
• Generally, consulting led approach across based on complexity) firms are trying to build industry specific
Insurance • Software development lifecycle and multiple 3. Test and Roll out (ongoing 6 – 12 months – products – can assume that annual revenue
domains – AI, Cybersecurity, Cloud, IoT, See Agile and DevSecOps) from products is about 5% on average)
Healthcare Blockchain etc. 4. Product Maintenance (at least 18 months
• IT Infrastructure to 24 months – driven by customer’s
• Business Process Outsourcing inhouse capability to manage, budget and
Manufacturing • Checkout website of Accenture or Tata complexity)
Consultancy Services to understand more 5. Business Process Outsourcing
Energy (Oil & Gas) • Big IT players qualify companies with revenue upwards of USD 500mn+ (Accenture, IBM, Tata Consultancy Services,
Customer Infosys)
Energy (Power & Segment • Increasing focus on subscription model for SMBs
Utilities)
• Marketing – All (not limited to any channel now)
Channels • Sales – Typical Account development and management ranging from cold calls to farming accounts
Retail
• Customers may want to have their own low cost IT ”captive” set up in emerging economies
External • Tech product firms offering bundled services – Salesforce, SAP, Microsoft, etc(often pricier)
TMT drivers/risks • Regulations (some governments want a foreign IT firm to have a certain percentage of local workforce)
• Shifting focus on building products along with services
Information Trends • Facing competition from telecom providers traying to become one-stop-shop System Integrator
Technology

21
List of cases
Case Name Industry Type of Case Difficulty Level

A Future Feast Consumer Goods Market Entry Easy

Road to Mars Space Exploration Brainstorming Hard

Drone Co. Logistics Market Entry Medium

Pet Boom Consumer Goods Market Sizing Easy

On The Road Again Transportation Market Entry / Market Sizing Medium

NutriPreg Healthcare Market Entry Medium

ElectroCorp Industrial Profitability Hard

PestPro Industrial Market Entry Hard

Thirsty for Rain Logistics Cost Reduction Hard

Parking & Co Construction Profitability / Investment Medium

BCG Case Writing Competition 2024 Winners

22
Content

1. Introduction to Consulting
2. Industry Know How
3. Cases
i. BCG Case Competition Winners (4th edition)
ii. Previous Casebook Cases

23
A Future Feast
By Gloria Tan (Class of 2025)
Fit Questions

1. Tell me about yourself.

2. Why consulting?
3. What do you think would be the main reason we wouldn't hire you
today?

25
A Future Feast Consumer Goods
Market Entry
Breakeven
Easy
Medium
Hard

Prompt Clarifying points (if asked)

Novus Meat, a US-based, pioneering startup in What is cultivated meat?
the cultivated meat industry, is preparing to Cultivated meat is meat grown from animal cells in a lab. Cells are extracted from a living animals and nourished in a
controlled environment where they grow and multiply to form meat. This differs from plant-based meat where proteins
launch its first product, cultivated beef, in
from plants, typically soy, beans or peas are extracted to create textures and flavors that mimic meat.
Singapore. Singapore has become one of the first
country to approve the sale of lab-grown meat, What are the financial objectives and timeline for achieving them?
offering a regulatory environment conducive to Novus Meat is not concerned with profitability now. The company wants to understand how long it will take to
novel food technologies. breakeven based on projected sales volume. Investors hope to breakeven within 2 years of launch.

Are there any other competitors in the market?

Novus Meat seeks to capitalize on this
There are no other cultivated meat brands in the market and Novus Meat will the first player in Singapore.
opportunity but questions the market potential
and consumer reception to such new food Has Novus Meat been approved by regulatory bodies in Singapore for sale?
technologies. Yes, you can assume that Novus Meat has cleared the required test for the sale of lab-grown meat and there will be no
lag time for tests once the company has decided to launch in Singapore.

The CEO has hired you to assess the

attractiveness and viability of Singapore as a Case guidance
point of market entry.
This is an interviewee-led case, and they should be able to see that this is a typical market entry case. The cultivated
meat industry may not be so well-known, but the interviewee should be able to clarify what the industry is about, the
business model and drive toward critical information needed to tackle the problem.

26
A Future Feast
Structure guidance Sample structure
This will be a typical market entry framework
and a key requirement will be a good elaboration Market Financials Internal capabilities Go-to-market
on the market and financials, specifically
mentioning the breakeven (if clarified during the • Market size Revenue Costs • Local network / • Partnership
prompt stage). • Expected • Price per • Fixed cost expertise • Organic entry
growth unit (e.g. • Access to sales
A strong candidate will be able to discuss other • Consumer’s • # sold advertising) channel
factors such as the company’s internal reception to • Variable
capabilities and potential go-to-market novel costs (e.g.
strategies. An outstanding candidate will be able technologies COGS)
to use the structure developed and tailor the
explanation specific to the problem to be solved.

After giving the structure, the candidate should

suggest sizing the Singapore market.
*This is just an example of a structure, anything else that is well reasoned is acceptable.

27
A Future Feast
Quantitative analysis Solution
Market sizing of Singapore: Assumptions (to be given when asked):

What is the market size of cultivated beef in Population of Singapore: 5.5 million
Singapore? Average beef consumption per capita: 15kg per year
Initial market penetration rate: 0.5%
Note:
Market size = 5.5M * 15kg * 0.5% = 412,500 kg (per year)
Guide the candidate towards understanding the
market size in terms of beef consumption and Note: Let the candidate give a logical explanation as to how much of the cultivated beef market can
how much of it can be converted into be captured by Novus Meat, and use the number given by the candidate if reasonable.
consumption of cultivated beef.
If a % is not given, provide 10% as the market share that Novus Meat can capture.

28
A Future Feast
Breakeven analysis Solution
How long does it take for Novus Meat to Provide these information when asked:
breakeven upon entry to Singapore?
Selling price per kg of cultivated beef: $30
Guide the candidate to think about the product in COGS per kg of cultivated beef: $10
terms of kg instead of per unit.
Marketing and set up spend: $1 million
Other costs: $237,500

Market share captured (in terms of kg) = 412,500 kg * 10% = 41,250kg

Gross margin per kg = $20
Total profit = 41,250 * $20 = $825,000 / year

Total costs = $1,237,500

Breakeven = 1,237,500 / 825,000 = 1.5 years

Note: A good candidate will notice that time it takes to breakeven is under the 2 years mentioned in the prompt.

Moving forward: Guide candidate towards understanding consumer’s reception towards the consumption of
cultivated meat as it is a very novel technology, which will be a main factor that drives demand.

29
A Future Feast
Brainstorming question Solution
Show the candidate the exhibit. Based on the Insights from data:
exhibit what can we tell about consumers’
reception and concerns related to the
• Interest in trying cultivated meat is high
consumption of cultivated meat?
• Willingness to pay for cultivated meat over regular meat is low, indicating price sensitivity to
purchasing decisions
What are some ideas that you can provide Novus
• Consumers are concerned mainly with taste and texture of cultivated meat
Meat to increase a consumer’s willingness to pay
for cultivated meat?
Ideas:
Note:
There are no right or wrong answers. What is 1. Marketing and Education
more important is to see how the candidate links A. Tasting events
insights from data to ideas. B. Leverage influencers (e.g. food experts, chefs, environmental influencers etc.)
2. Pricing Strategy
A. Competitive pricing
B. Promotional discounts
3. Strategic partnerships
A. Collaborate with well-known restaurants
B. Retail channels

30
A Future Feast
Recommendation Solution
You are about to meet Novus Meat’s CEO in 3 A candidate’s conclusion should outline:
minutes to give your assessment of the market
and recommendation based on your recent
Problem: Summarize the issue – assess attractiveness and viability of market entry to Singapore
findings.

Recommendation: To launch in Singapore given that breakeven is 1.5 years, under the 2 years
What would you say?
expected by the company (based on breakeven analysis)

Risks: Consumers’ reception to novel technologies, threat of new entrants

Next steps: Set up meeting with key stakeholders and outline next steps for entry to Singapore

31
A Future Feast
Exhibit: Excerpt of market research on consumption of cultivated meat

Consumer's reception towards cultivated meat in Consumer's concerns related to consumption of cultivated meat
Singapore
50%

45%
Nutritional
40% 15%
35% Texture
30%
30%
Regulatory concerns
25% 10%
20%

15%

10%

5%

0%
Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strong Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strong
agree disagree agree disagree
I am interested in trying cultivated meat I am willing to pay more for cultivated meat 45%
than regular meat
Taste

32
Road to Mars
By Sebastián Hernández (Class of 2025)
Fit Questions

1. Tell me about a time you failed.

2. Why are you applying to this [company]?
3. What are your weaknesses?

34
Road To Mars Space Exploration
Operations
Brainstorm
Easy
Medium
Hard

Prompt Clarifying points (if asked)

SpaceZ is a space exploration company founded • The client wants to assess the feasibility of SENDING 1M people to Mars, not the feasibility of those people LIVING
in 2002 with the purpose of colonizing Mars. They there
were the first private company to reach Space • SpaceZ is a space technology company primarily focused on manufacturing and launching rockets and
and to receive billions in funding by NASA. In the spaceships
past years, they have developed and launched • SpaceZ manufactures Starship rocket in their production facilities in the US. They launch some rockets in
several rockets to space, including Crew Dragon, collaboration with NASA.
the first private manned spacecraft. • The Starship is a rocket with capacity for 100 people that it is expected to reach Mars.
• For the purpose of this case, please disregard any other mission of SpaceZ in space. Only focus on Starship
mission to reach Mars and take 1 million people by 2050.
SpaceZ’s purpose is to make “space travel like • The revenue model for Starship to Mars is not yet defined. Current revenues for SpaceZ are limited to the fee it
Earth travel” both in ease of access and charges for its space launch service (launching satellites and transporting cargo to and from the International
affordability. Therefore, they have developed Space Station)
“Starship”, a rocket that aims to be an
“interplanetary transport system” for humans.

Case guidance
Mr. Emon Lusk, the founder and CEO of the
company, envisions sending 1 million people to • This case is an opportunity to challenge the candidate with an unknown industry, space exploration. Candidates
Mars by the year 2050 with Starship. He wants to are expected to use common sense to build a structure and brainstorm without much information.
know what criteria should the company consider • It is important that the interviewer guides the candidate to think of this case as a business challenge and not as a
to analyze the feasibility of this idea. What would fiction scenario.
you tell him? • The interviewer must guide the candidate throughout the case and help him/her to focus on costs and feasibility.

35
Road To Mars
Structure guidance Sample structure
The candidate should realize all the
business criteria that could matter while
analyzing the feasibility of sending 1 million Is it feasible to
send 1M people
people to Mars. While there is no right to Mars with
structure, a good candidate should include Starship?

the following points.

Internal
The candidate must mention an SpaceZ
External
Operations/Cost criteria in their structure.
Use this as an introduction to the next
Surviving
question. If the candidate doesn’t mention Operations/Tech Economic Regulations
in Mars
this, guide him/her to think about this
criteria and move forward.
Could we build
Could we
Could we build rockets in Would we Basic
become Affordabl Infrastructure Energy &
the rocket mass- get the Resources Climate?
cost e price? ? Comms?
technology? manufacturing funding? ?
efficient?
scale?

*This is just an example of a structure, anything else that is well reasoned is acceptable.

36
Road To Mars
Chart + Brainstorming question Solution
Show the candidate Exhibit 1. Insights from data:

Since ease of access and affordability are the key • Noticing how much the launch cost per kg has decreased and the importance of this in the overall
pillars of SpaceZ, one of the company’s main goal to send people in scale to Mars
missions has been to reduce the cost of • How much the number of launches has grown exponentially and its relationship with the cost
escaping Earth’s gravity as much as possible. (more launches, learn faster, optimize rockets)
• The importance of reusability of the most heavy-cost part of the rocket.
Why do you think these cost reduction were
possible for SpaceZ? What possible reasons
Brainstorm:
could explain this cost reduction?

1. Technology / R&D
Note:
A. Reusing the most expensive parts of the rockets (rocket landing back on Earth)
There are no right or wrong answers. What is
more important is to see how the candidate links B. Alternative fuels
insights from data to ideas. 2. Manufacturing
A. Economies of scale
B. Agile manufacturing
C. Using cheaper materials
D. Being more efficient in production

37
A Future Feast
Quantitative analysis Solution
Show the candidate Exhibit 2. Provide these information (shown in Exhibit 2):
• Transit time to Mars: 8.5 months
• Launch window to launch to Mars: Every 24 months (rockets to Mars can only be launched during this window)
Mr. Emon Lusk is planning to start the project by
2030. • Duration of window: 30 days
• Starship capacity: 100 people
• Maximum launches per day: 3 launches
Is it feasible to send 1M people to Mars from
2030 to 2050 by launching Starships?
Proposed solution:
1. Calculate the number of launch windows
How many launches would they need to do in the • Months in 20 years (2030-2050): 240
30 day window to achieve this goal? • Launch window: Every 24 months
• Number of launch windows in 20 years: 240/24=10
2. Calculate the number of launches per window:
• Launches per day x Days of Window = 3 x 30 = 90 launches per window
3. Calculate the number of people:
• Number of Windows x Launches per Window x Capacity per Starship = 10 x 90 x 100 = 90,000. Therefore, is
NOT feasible to send 1M people by 2050.
• * They would need 1,000 launches during the 30-day launch window to achieve the goal.

Note: A good candidate should also notice that the transit time is enough for a rocket to go to Mars and come back to
Earth before the next launch window (8.5 months x2 vs. 24 months)

38
Road To Mars
Brainstorming question Solution
Since SpaceZ would need aprox. 1,000 launches
every 24 months, that means building 1,000
Starships.

However, right now, SpaceZ projections indicate Alternatives to send 1M

people to Mars
they can only build 90 Starships in the next 20
years.

Increase
What alternatives would you suggest to SpaceZ Increase
number of
number of
in order to achieve the goal of sending 1M people launches
people sent by
to Mars by 2050? launch

Found an alternative
Launch more times Reduce Increase
launch window (less
per day (more than dramatically Starship
than every 24
3) the transit time capacity
months)

39
Road To Mars
Exhibit 1: Launch cost per kilogram, number of launches, cost breakdown

Launch Cost per Kilogram (1) Number of SpaceZ launches

2006 5
8
2010 15
18
2014 20
40
2018 80
120
2022 200

Cost breakdown Starship (2)

$Mn Reusability
1st Stage 37.2 High
2nd Stage 12.4 Medium
3rd Stage 6.2 Low

(1) Cost of launching a kilogram to orbit in $ Fuel 0.2 -

(2) Estimated cost to build a Starship in 2022. Reusability: capacity to recover part of the Other costs (ops) 6.0 -
rocker from space
40
Road To Mars
Exhibit 2: Starship launches to Mars

Transit time to reach Mars (1) Launch window from Earth to Mars (2)

Cost breakdown Starship (2)

Starship capacity Launches per day

Maximum launches (1) Amount of time needed to reach Mars from Earth
(2) Every 24 months, a window opens allowing SpaceZ to launch rockets
per day = 3 to Mars. This window is only open for 30 days
100 people
41
Drone Co.
By Christa Zacharia (Class of 2025)
Fit Questions

1. Tell me about yourself.

2. Tell me about a time you faced a challenge, what did you do and what
was the outcome?

43
Drone Co. Logistics / Delivery
Operations
Market Entry
Easy
Medium
Hard

Prompt Clarifying points (if asked)

Drone Co. has developed a new drone - How will Drone Co. make money? Drone Co. will lease the drones to the company for a monthly fee and charge a fee
technology to complete last-mile deliveries with per delivery for human supervision.
zero carbon emissions and much faster delivery - What is Drone Co.’s goal? Focus on growth and large opportunity (revenue more important)
times than ground-based alternatives. After a - What is Last mile delivery? The last leg of the journey when a package arrives at the customer’s doorstep. This last
successful pilot program, the company is ready mile is the most expensive and inefficient part of parcel delivery
to launch commercial operations in the US. - How much can the drone carry in weight? One drone can carry up to 5 pounds or 2.2kg
- What is the maximum delivery range of the drone? 6 miles
- Why US? Company is based in US and has an advanced and large market
Drone Co. is looking for guidance on which
industry to target. Their strategy is to partner with
leading US companies within their relevant
industry.

Case guidance
This is an interviewee-led case, where the candidate is expected to drive the case and suggest the next course of
action.
This case is designed to test creativity, business decision making skills and logic. The case focuses on market entry
strategy for a new technology and includes small market sizing, chart interpretation and brainstorming

44
Drone Co.
Structure guidance Sample structure
Many structures are possible. A typical
Delivery market Profit Drone Co. Risks
Market Entry could work, but it needs to be
specific to the drone delivery market. - Size - Tech Investment - Technology - Regulation
Structure should include something about - Growth (sunk cost) - Relationships
the distance from hub to customer. - Competitors / - Costs (pilot company)
Market Share - Variable:
- Geographical human
spread (distance supervision,
from hubs) - Fixed:
docking/chargi
ng
infrastructure
- Revenue
- Monthly fee
- Fee per trip

*This is just an example of a structure, anything else that is well reasoned is acceptable.

Mini brainstorming: What markets might be good for drone delivery?

Food (restaurant, grocery), Medical (vaccine, drug, blood/organ deliveries), Retail (small electronics, etc)

45
Drone Co.
Quantitative analysis Solution
Show Exhibit 1 Key points to be raised:
- Ensure they raise that the total addressable delivery market is not equal to the drone delivery
Based on the payload limitations, the food market and request Exhibit 2
delivery, grocery delivery and healthcare delivery - Note that D-Dash and W-Mart have very similar addressable market sizes, and qualitative detail
markets are feasible for the initial launch. needed to help guide decision
Look at Exhibit 1 and tell me which one looks
most appealing, and what additional information
do you need to confirm this?

Portion that Total Addressable

can be Drone Delivery
Annual Market Market City / Total Addressable Delivery served by Market
Market Growth Company Share US Size US1 Regional Market Drone
Food Delivery 10% D-Dash 67% $81B 60/40 67%*81B*10% = 5.4B 90% 5.4B*90% = 4.8B

Grocery Delivery 12% W-Mart 40% $250B 40/60 40%*250B*10% = 10B 50% 50%*10B = 5.0B Exhibit 2
Healthcare Delivery 11% W-Green 25% $50B 50/50 25%*50B*10% = 1.25B 80% 80%*1.25B = 1B

1 Assume that shipping costs are equivalent to 10% of total revenue Exhibit 1 Provide 90% and 80%
after they have solved
Exhibit 2 = 50% 46
Drone Co.
Qualitative analysis Solution
Show Exhibit 3 Key points to be raised:
- Less pick up locations, means less charging stations and lower infrastructure costs
Aside from the financials, the analyst on - More value added for markets where delivery time is longer, could charge a
the project has found the following current premium for quicker delivery
delivery metrics for the three companies, - Delivery to houses easier than apartments, thinking about where the drone will land
how does this impact your view? - Conclusion: W-Mart is good on all metrics

Current
Number of
Compan average Delivery to Delivery to
Market pickup
y delivery Apartments Houses Drone
locations
time delivery time
Food Delivery 550,000
D-Dash 30 mins 60% 40% 20-30 mins
restaurants
Grocery
W-Mart 4,620 stores 4 hours 30% 70%
Delivery
Healthcare
W-Green 8,580 stores 1-2 days 50% 50%
Delivery

47
Drone Co.
Recommendation Solution
The CEO of Drone Co. is going to be on a Recommend to enter into the Grocery Delivery market, in partnership with W-Mart for
call soon. What would your three reasons
recommendation be for her? 1. Large market $50B
2. Lowest number of stores to set up as hubs, less infrastructure set up
3. Large proportion of deliveries to homes (customer acceptance easier) with
significant improvement on current delivery time

There are several risks, primarily around regulations and infrastructure

Next steps: understand the regulations for commercial operations and how the charging
station network will be arranged.

48
Drone Co.
Exhibit 1

Annual Market Share

Market Company Market Size US1
Growth US

Food Delivery 10% D-Dash 67% $81B

Grocery Delivery 12% W-Mart 40% $250B

Healthcare Delivery 11% W-Green 25% $50B

1 Assume that last mile delivery costs are equivalent to 10% of total revenue

49
Drone Co.
Exhibit 2

Distance from customer home to W-Mart store

25%
22%

20% 19%

6 miles
17%

15%
12% Current
10%
10% 10% maximum
6%
delivery range
5% 4% for drone tech

0%
0-0.5 miles 0.5-2 miles 2-4 miles 4-6 miles 6-10 miles 10-15 miles 15-20 miles >20 miles
Distance from Store

50
Drone Co.
Exhibit 3

Drone delivery time

20-30 mins

Number of pickup Current average Delivery to Delivery to

Market Company
locations delivery time Apartments Houses
Food Delivery D-Dash 550,000 restaurants 30 mins 60% 40%
Grocery Delivery W-Mart 4,620 stores 4 hours 30% 70%
Healthcare Delivery W-Green 8,580 stores 1-2 days 50% 50%

51
Pet Boom
By Daniel Phillips (Class of 2025)
Fit Questions

1. Tell me about a time when you had to take charge of something.

2. Why are you applying to this [company]?
3. Tell me about a time that you disagreed with your manager.

53
Pet Boom Consumer Goods
Market Sizing
Brainstorm
Easy
Medium
Hard

Prompt Clarifying points (if asked)

Apex Partners, a PE firm based in India • The PE firm wants to focus solely on packaged dog food market
has heard about the boom in pet
• The PE firm considers INR 50 billion to be the minimum threshold for an attractive
adoption in India during Covid which has
market size
driven an exponential growth in the
packaged food market. They are exploring • The PE firm is sector agnostic; however, this will be its first investment in the Pet Care
investment opportunities in this space industry
however there are limited market reports
given the nascency of this market. • Initial Investment is not an issue

1. Is there a large enough market? How

would you go about sizing this
market?
2. Is now the right time to invest? Case guidance
This is an interviewee-led case where the candidate should guide the interviewer asking
the information when needed. Market Sizing on the demand side is one of the key points
that is tested. The objective of the case is to test the candidate’s ability to structure a
specific problem with a tailored approach and ask the right questions, rather than
applying general cookie-cutter frameworks. It has a good mix of qualitative and
quantitative components
54
Pet Boom
Structure guidance

• Basis the prompt and clarifying questions, the candidate should know which market we are solving for i.e. Packaged Dog Food Market Size
• A strong candidate should start by mentioning the 3 approaches to size a market: demand-side, supply-side, and basis comparison/benchmarking.
The candidate should conclude that the best approach for this market would be demand-side due to the lack of concrete data points in the supply-
side approach. The benchmarking approach could be used to validate the final answer if the candidate is aware of relevant markets, however, this
knowledge is rarely expected from candidates.
• The candidate can come up with multiple structures however the most comprehensive structure would include elements of category penetration and
frequency or purchase

Sample structure
Total Population
# of Households
Average Household
Household with Dogs
Size
% of Households
Total # of Dogs
with Dogs
Addressable Dogs Dogs Per Household
Packaged Food
Category Penetration
Packaged Dog Food
Market Size
Average Order Value
Packaged Food
Spend Per Dog Per
Year Frequency of
Purchase

55
Pet Boom
Quantitative analysis Solution
• The candidate should guesstimate each value and
Parameter Units Only Provide if asked
explain the reasoning for their guesstimates
• Approach 1 (preferred approach): Let the A. Population of India Million 1500
candidate guesstimate each value with reasoning B. Average Household Size # 5
and provide them the actual value after they have C. # of Households (=A/B) Million 300
shared their reasoning
D. % of Households with Dogs % 5%
• Approach 2: Let the candidate guesstimate each
value and do not give them the correct value E. Household with Dogs (=C x D) Million 15
unless they are way off (their final number will be F. Dogs per Household # 1
slightly different which is fine)
G. Total Dogs In India (= E x F) Million 15
• After the final number is obtained, ask the
candidate what they think about it and they think is H. Packaged Food Category Penetration % 33%
a sizable opportunity.
I. Addressable Dogs (that consume packaged food) (=G x H) Million 5.00
• Key factors that PE firms typically consider when
evaluating market size: Serviceable Available
Market (SAM), Serviceable Obtainable Market
J. Average Order Value INR 1,000
(SOM), Growth Potential, Market Trends and
Drivers, Competitive Landscape, Regulatory K. Frequency of Purchase
Times per
1
Environment, Economic Stability, Historical Data month
and Industry Reports, Minimum Investment L. Packaged Food Spend Per Dog Per Year (= J x K x 12) INR 12000
Thresholds (Each PE firm typically has its own
minimum target market size that makes an
investment viable, based on the firm's fund size,
M Packaged Food Market (= I x L / 1000) INR Billion 60
investment strategy, and risk tolerance)
56
Pet Boom
Brainstorming
Is now the right time to invest? What factors would you evaluate?

Solution
1. Economic Conditions 4. Political and Geopolitical Factors
• Macroeconomic Stability: Analysis of general economic indicators such as GDP • Political Stability: The political environment's impact on market operations,
growth rates, unemployment rates, inflation, and consumer confidence. particularly in regions prone to political upheaval.
Economic downturns may present buyout opportunities, while stable growth • Trade Policies: Tariffs, trade agreements, and international relations that could
periods might favor investments in expanding businesses. affect market operations, especially for industries reliant on imports or
• Interest Rates: Lower rates can enhance leveraged buyout attractiveness due to exports.
cheaper borrowing. 5. Financial Metrics and Valuations
2. Market Dynamics • Market Valuations: Current market valuations to assess overvaluation or
• Market Maturity: Determining whether the market is in a growth, mature, or decline undervaluation against historical averages. High valuations might suggest
stage. limited upside, whereas lower valuations might indicate buying opportunities.
• Competitive Landscape: The number and strength of competitors, market share • Liquidity Events: Availability of exit strategies, such as potential for IPOs,
distribution, and the presence of potential disruptors or entrenched leaders. acquisitions, or buybacks, which can influence the timing of an investment.
• Supply Chain Stability: Evaluation of the robustness and reliability of supply 6. Specific Deal and Timing Considerations
chains, which can impact operational efficiency and profitability. • Availability of Suitable Targets: Identification of potential investment targets
3. Industry-Specific Trends that meet the PE firm's criteria for profitability, management quality, and
• Technological Advances: Innovations that may disrupt or enhance the value of strategic fit.
companies in the market. • Capital Availability: Current availability of capital from the firm's funds and the
• Regulatory Changes: Upcoming or recent legislation that could impact the market broader investment community, including co-investors and limited partners.
positively or negatively, altering entry barriers or operational risks. • Synergistic Opportunities: Possibilities for creating value through operational
• Consumer Trends: Shifts in consumer behavior, preferences, and demographics improvements, mergers, or acquisitions that align with the PE firm's expertise.
that could influence demand. 57
Pet Boom
Recommendation Solution
Arvind Agarwal, the Managing Director of 1. Restate the prompt
the PE Fund is here, what do you 2. Recommendation: Basis our market sizing, the packaged dog food market in India is
recommend? INR 60 billion which is sufficient given that the PE firm considers INR 50 billion to be
the minimum threshold for an attractive market size
3. Risks: Mention the biggest risks the candidate foresees basis the brainstorming
answer
4. Next Steps: To mitigate the above risks next steps could include A. Due Diligence of
specific targets: Financial, Operational, Commercial, Legal etc.; B. Value Creation
Plan: Develop a clear plan for how the PE firm will create value in the company
through operational improvements, expansion, or other strategies; C. Exit Strategy:
Define a clear exit strategy to understand the potential paths to liquidity and timing of
the exit.

58
On The Road Again
By Sean Potter (Class of 2025)
Fit Questions

1. Tell me about yourself.

2. Tell me about your proudest achievement.
3. Why should we hire you and not another candidate?

60
On The Road Again Transportation
Market Entry
Market Sizing
Easy
Medium
Hard

Prompt Clarifying points (if asked)

Your client is Wander Wheels (WW), a • A Recreational Vehicle (“RV”) is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for
accommodation. RVs are most often used to vacation on long road trips, explore remote destinations, or stay in
peer-to-peer internet RV rental platform rural campgrounds with other RV-ers.
operating in Canada. Wander Wheels • A typical “trip” lasts 7 days at an average rate of $100 / day, or $700 / week before service fees. WW charges a 20%
connects RV owners with potential RV service fee on every ”trip” that takes place through their website. The service fee is shared equally between Owners
renters looking for unique vacation and Renters.
• WW currently only has RV owners active on the platform physically located in Canada. This means that
experiences. The company has seen prospective renters can only rent RV’s physically located in Canada, though renters themselves can be
significant growth in recent years and is international or domestic (50/50 split). As such, entering a new market in the USA would mean convincing a new
now considering expanding its operations set of RV owners to list and rent their RV through WW.
to its southernly neighbor, the USA. • WW relies heavily on digital advertising to acquire new RV Owner listings and Renter demand.
• WW insures all vehicles and trips that occurs through its platform against damage, theft, and roadside
maintenance.
The client has hired you to understand • WW is only interested in markets above $400M in annual total trip $value (the total $value of the trip before any
which State within the US may be the service fees are applied). WW needs to achieve at least $8M in take-home service fee revenue after one year.

most attractive to enter first and how to Case guidance

approach this expansion. This is an interviewee-led case. Candidates should be able to quickly see this is a market entry case
that focuses on market size & revenue rather than profitability. Peer-to-peer internet platform
companies (similar to AirBnb) are unique and have interesting dynamics; while the interviewer may
give some guidance, the interviewee should ask the right questions to understand the business
model (facilitating “supply” & “demand”) and drive towards the important aspects for solving the
problem.

61
On The Road Again
Structure guidance

Given this is a Market Entry case with a market size and revenue target requirement, a good framework will allow the candidate to
quickly focus in on the preliminary attractiveness of each market, breakdown the financials of a market, and consider operational
capabilities and risks. Other elements or considerations can be more fluid.

Sample structure

Size

Competition
Market
Growth

Market Entry Revenue

Financials
Costs

Capabilities / Risks Talent & Resources

Legal & Insurance

62
On The Road Again
Qualitative analysis Solution
Show candidate Exhibit 1 First Chart (Left-hand side)
• A good candidate will note that Annual International Visitors can be used as a proxy to determine the potential
“demand” in each market, and that RV $Sales Per Capita gives a signal about the supply of RVs in that market.
Given Wander Wheels is a two-sided
• A great candidate will recognize that “RV $Sales Per Capita” is an indicator of the relative density of RVs in any
platform that connects RV Owners with given State, however it doesn’t account for varying population sizes by State. They may also note that “RV $Sales
potential RV Renters, an attractive market Per Capita” can also be viewed as an indicator of demand, as it is likely that before buying an RV many people
will have both large “supply” and large may wish to rent one as a trial.
“demand.” The key for a strong candidate • A great candidate will recognize that Florida is heavily reliant on international travelers while other states like
California, New York and Texas have more total potential visitors than what is shown on the graph.
will be to combine the insights from both
exhibits to come to a conclusion. There is Second Chart (Right-hand side)
no set right or wrong answer, however • A good candidate will narrow their focus to the four States with significant populations (California, Florida, Texas,
California, Florida, New York or Texas are New York)
strong logical choices given the balance • A great candidate will combine RV $Sales / Capita with Population to get a sense of the Total RV $Sales in a state.
This makes California and Texas look much more attractive.
between large population size, large
potential “demand” and “supply,” and Conclusion
competitive pressures. • A good candidate will conclude that an attractive market will have strong “demand” and ”supply” and should
narrow their focus to California, Florida, Texas or New-York, justifying their decision with the data provided.
• In addition to the above, a great candidate will demonstrate case leadership and inquire about additional
information relevant to their decision (e.g. seasonality, cost of customer acquisition, availability of insurance,
google search trends etc.)
On The Road Again
Quantitative analysis
After careful consideration, Wander Wheels has decided to enter California. The client has asked you to: Useful Facts / Assumptions (if asked / needed)
• Average Cost of RV: $100,000
1. Estimate the total market in total trip $value per year (before service fees are applied)
• Average RV Lifespan: 10 Years
2. Estimate WW’s potential take-home revenue after one year • Average Trip Length & Rate = 7 Days, $700
• Est. Year 1 Market Share = 10%
• Service Fee = 20%
Solution
1. Estimate the total market in total trip $value per year (before service fees are applied)
• $RV Sales Per Capita (14) x California Population (~40M) = $560M Total $RV Sales 2023 / $100,000 (Avg. Price RV) = 5,600 RVs Sold in 2023
Find QTY of Active RVs
• 5600 Total Number of RVs Sold in 2023 * 10 years (Average RV Lifespan) = 56,000 Total Number of Active RVs in circulation

Segment Active RVs to get • Segment RV Owners into 3 Groups: Full-time RV Users (25% population, No Availability), Part-time Users (25% population, 50% availability),
realistic supply in Infrequent Users (50% population, 80% availability) = 14,000 Full-time RV Users, 14,000 Part-time RV Users, 28,000 Infrequent Users
”rentable weeks” • 52 Weeks * (14,000 Part-time * 50% availability + 28,000 Infrequent * 80% availability) = 1,528,800 = ~1.5M Rentable RV Weeks / Year
• High Season (Summer, 6 Months): 50% * 1.5M Rentable Weeks * 80% Est. Occupancy = 600,000 Rented RV Weeks
Estimate occupancy for
• Low Season (Winter, 6 Months): 50% *1.5M Rentable Weeks * 50% Est. Occupancy = 375,000 Rented RV Weeks
High / Low Seasons
• Total = 975,000 Rented RV Weeks / Year
Apply Avg. Trip Value • 975,000 Rented RV Weeks / 1 (Average Trip Length) * $700 (Average Trip Rate) = $682M / Year in Total Trip $Value, above +$400M threshold
2. Estimate WW’s potential take-home revenue after one year
Apply Market Share Est. • $682M * 10% (Est. Year 1 Market Share) = $68.2M
Apply Service Fee • $68.2M * 20% Service Fee = $13.64 M = ~$13.5M in take-home revenue after one year, above +$8M target
On The Road Again
Brainstorming Solution
In addition to the market sizing analysis, Note: These are simply a few ideas that the candidate may outline. It is more important
what other factors or risks would you for the candidate to think big-picture and consider the broader aspects of what makes
consider to ensure WW is successful an internet peer-to-peer platform business successful
when entering California?

Talent & Capabilities Operations Product & Marketing Market Dynamics

• Hiring required to scale • Insurance Partners • Acquisition Budget • Seasonality

(engineering, customer • Legal permits • Cost of User Acquisition • Significant travel events or
success) (Renter & Owner) destinations (i.e. Music
• Fraud prevention &
• Tech infrastructure • Branding / Language festivals, national parks,
detection
Requirements campgrounds)

• Pricing / Service Fees • Competitor response

• Additional sources of
revenue

65
On The Road Again
Recommendation Solution
The CEO of Wander Wheels needs to To conclude, the candidate should outline:
update her Board of Directors in a few
minutes and would like to hear your Problem: Summarize the situation – looking to enter the USA in a state that exceeds
recommendation $400M in total trip $value and meets at least $8M in year-one take-home revenue.
Recommendation: Proceed with entering the California market given an approximate
market size of +$680M in annual trip value and year-one revenues of $13.5M.
Calculation: Market size and take-home revenue projections were calculated
considering the total number of active RVs in California, the approximate number of
total weeks available to rent and a 10% estimated year-one market share, taking into
account the seasonality of occupancy rates.
Strategic Risks/Decisions: In addition to take-home revenue, Wander Wheels should
evaluate any engineering talent shortfalls, secure an insurance provider, and further
investigate the cost of user acquisition to effectively scale up and enter this market.
Next Steps: Recommend setting up a meeting with Operations and Marketing leads to
review the analysis and outline key next steps for entering the market.

66
On The Road Again
Exhibit 1

$45.00
RV $Sales
$40.00
Alaska State Population Per Capita Competition
RV $Sales Per Capita 2023

2023
$35.00
Montana
California 38.9 M $ 14 High
$30.00
Nevada Texas 31.0 M $ 14 Medium
$25.00
Arizona Florida 23.0 M $ 13 High
$20.00 Colorado New York 19.5 M $ 12 Low
Florida Arizona 7.5 M $ 23 Medium
$15.00
Texas California
Massachusetts 7.0 M $ 10 Low
$10.00 Massachusetts
New York Colorado 5.9 M $ 20 Medium
$5.00
Nevada 3.2 M $ 29 Medium
$- Montana 1.1 M $ 34 Low
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000

Annual International Visitors (000's) Alaska 0.7 M $ 39 Low

*International Visitors account for roughly 50% of total State Visitors in a given year, except
for Alaska and Florida (80%).
67
Content

1. Introduction to Consulting
2. Industry Know How
3. Office Selection and Region
4. Cases
i. BCG Case Competition Winners (4th edition)
ii. Previous Casebook Cases

68
NutriPreg
By Pratik Shah (MBA 2024)

Health and Nutrition Easy

Market Entry Medium
ROI Hard

69
Fit Questions

1. Tell me about a time when you used your initiative to solve a problem
2. Why this location?

70
 Health and Nutrition Easy
Market Entry Medium
NutriPreg ROI Hard

PROMPT CLARIFYING POINTS (if asked)

• NutriPreg has 1 key product – for women throughout their pregnancy journey (from week 1 to delivery)
NutriPreg is a manufacturer of prenatal
• No financial constraints. Main aim is profitability.
vitamins, with strong presence in the US
market. They are considering expanding to • How do they sell? DTC and have their own distribution in USA, not decided on the distribution in Europe
Europe, starting with Spain. • Expansion to other parts of Europe will depend on the success of Spanish market. Currently in USA only.
• There are many competitors, but NutriPreg aims to place itself as a premium brand with higher price but
The CEO of NutriPreg has hired you to assess better quality and benefits.
the profitability of this new Market and • Want 25% ROI within 4 years but have a threshold of 20% within 5 years.
whether Spain is an appropriate penetration
• Price: 50 Euros per 30 tablets in a bottle. COGS: 10 Euros. Marketing and setup spend = 1 Million Euros.
point. Other costs: 500,000 per year.

CASE GUIDANCE
This case covers 1) Case structure, 2) Market Sizing, 3) ROI, and 4) Brainstorming
Market sizing is using the Work in Progress (WiP) Formula:

71
 Health and Nutrition Easy
Market Entry Medium
ROI Hard
NutriPreg
STRUCTURE GUIDANCE
Key requirements: Market and Financials. Other parts of the structure are more fluid. A clear understanding of what is
Required to figure out the ROI should be seen from the structure. Should include non-quant considerations (will come
Back to this during brainstorming)

SAMPLE STRUCTURE
Company
Market Financials Go-to-Market Plan
Capabilities

Competitors Market Size Expected growth Revenues Costs Current Warehousing Sales Channels Acquisition Partnership Organic growth
product/customer
mix

Fixed Costs
Price per bottle
(advertising)

•Assess the target market

Bottles sold
Variable costs
(COGS)
•Assess company capabilities
•Assess the opportunity
•Develop a go-to-market plan

72
 Health and Nutrition Easy
Market Entry Medium
NutriPreg ROI Hard

Market Sizing
What is the market size (Quantity) of Prenatal Vitamins in Spain? (Let the candidate ask if we want it in terms of
Quantity or Price, and whether quantity of bottles or pills).
If asked for the price of pills, ask why. Important to make them clarify which market size they are solving for.

Sample Answer
Assumptions: Note: Check if the candidate thinks about how much of this
Population of Spain: 50 Million (not needed to solve) market can be captured. If they don’t give a number, provide
Yearly birth rate: 340,000 2% from 1st year itself.
Pregnancy time: 9 months
Days in month: 30
Pill consumers: 1 in every 2 mothers

Market size = 340k * 9 * 0.5 = 1.53 Million bottles

Market size = 1.53 M * 30 = 45.9 Million Pills

73
 Health and Nutrition Easy
Market Entry Medium
NutriPreg ROI Hard

ROI calculation
What is the ROI of the move after 5 years?
Allow rounding of the market to 1.5M bottles
Provide when asked: Price: 50 Euros per 30 tablets in a bottle. COGS: 10 Euros. Marketing and setup spend = 1 Million
Euros. Other costs: 500,000 per year. Market penetration: 2% for the next 5 years. Assume no discounting
Sample Answer
Market = 1.5 Million bottles Market = 1.5 Million bottles Initial Investment: 1 M
Yearly: Total: 5-year profits: 5 * 700k = 3.5 M
Units sold: 2% * 1.5 M = 30k Units sold: 5 * 2% * 1.5 M = 150k
Revenue = 30k * 50 = 1.5 M Revenue = 5 * 30k * 50 = 7.5 M ROI = 30% annually (approximately)
COGS = 30k * 10 = 300k COGS = 5 * 30k * 10 = 1.5 M
Other costs = 500k Other costs = 5 * 500k = 2.5 M Note: Give a pause to see if candidate
Profits = 700k / year Profits = 3.5 M gives any inferences. Eg this is higher
than company threshold, so financially
it’s a good decision.

74
 Health and Nutrition Easy
Market Entry Medium
NutriPreg ROI Hard

BRAINSTORMING QUESTION
What other factors would you consider before entering the Spanish Market?
Note to interviewer: There is no right answer but see how they answer this in relation to their original structure.
Government regulation and distribution channels are important aspects to be on the lookout for.

SAMPLE ANSWERS
Market related: Market Potential, Competitive Landscape, Customer Insights, Long term growth potential;
Operation Related: Regulatory Environment, Distribution Channels, Operational Capabilities, etc.

Even internal vs external or any other structure will work.

75
 Health and Nutrition Easy
Market Entry Medium
NutriPreg ROI Hard

RECOMMENDATION QUESTION
The CEO is going to be on call soon, what would your recommendation be for her?

SAMPLE RECOMMENDATION
Yes, it is a good idea to enter the Spanish market as it’s a 46 Million Pills market, and capturing around 2% of the
market would lead to a 25% Yearly RoI over the next 5 years, which is higher than the threshold of NutriPreg.

Based on NutriPreg’s expertise capturing the 2% of the market is feasible. However, other factors that we will need to
be mindful are the regulatory requirements, setting up of the distribution channels, and the long term growth
potential. We also need to understand how our competitors will react.

To mitigate these, we will need to focus on understanding the approvals required, see if we can hire a 3PL for logistics
at the start, and run a market study specifically focusing on mother’s changing dependence on these types of pills.

76
ElectroCorp
By Ignacio Granero (MBA 2024)

Manufacturing Easy
Market entry Medium
Profitability Hard

77
Fit Questions

1. Tell me about yourself

2. Why consulting?

78
 Manufacturing Easy
Market entry Medium

ElectroCorp Profitability Hard

PROMPT CLARIFYING POINTS (if asked)

• ElectroCorp has revenues of 6bn and sells its products globally however for this
Your client is ElectroCorp, a US
opportunity the only consider the US
manufacturer of electronics such as
computers, TVs, mobile phones… in • 3D printing enables to manufacture a three-dimensional object from digital 3D
the mid-tier segment. model.
In order to grow to diversify the • The objective of the investment is to have payback in less than 3 years
product line and keep growing the
top line, the company is thinking
about launching a new product in the
US market: headphones CASE GUIDANCE
• This is an interviewee –led case where the candidate should guide the
The CEO of the company hires you to interviewer asking the information when needed.
know your opinion about the launch
• For simplicity reasons, time value of money, taxes, cost of capital and other
(i.e. whether to launch or not) and in
financial measures have been ignored. However, a excellent candidate can
case of launching what would be the
mention them.
best operational strategy:
manufacture in one of their factories
in China or use 3D printing
technology.
79
 Manufacturing Easy
Market entry Medium

ElectroCorp Profitability Hard

SAMPLE STRUCTURE

Market size

Market analysis Competitors

Expected market STRUCTURE GUIDANCE

share

Product launch? The structure design is very open-

ended but should include at least the
mentioned points in the proposed
Expected revenues structure

Expected costs (China

Financials
vs 3D printing)

Investment

80
 Manufacturing Easy
Market entry Medium

ElectroCorp Profitability Hard

MARKET SIZING (Optional)- Interviewer’s information

The candidate should do an estimation of the total market of earphones in the US. Focus only on B2C sales. The estimation should be
in volume. The market sizing is an optional part of the case. If you consider it’s not needed give the candidate an estimated figure of
60M units per year
PROPOSED SOLUTION
0-20 years 45M 15M
Assumption: 60% buy
75M Assumption: buy every
3 years

Total population
20-40 years
300M 60M 30M
75M Assumption: 80% buy Assumption: buy every
Assumption: uniform distribution of population 2 years
63M
40-60 years pairs/year
45M 15M
75M Assumption: 60% buy Assumption: buy every
3 years
Round to 60M

60-80 years
75M 15M 3M
Assumption: 20% buy Assumption: buy every
81
5 years
 Manufacturing Easy
Market entry Medium

ElectroCorp Profitability Hard

EXHIBIT 1- Interviewer’s guidance

After looking at the market size, the candidate should ask more data about
the market: competition, market share we can acquire…
The objective of these exhibits is to define the type of product to launch:
wireless or wired and where to position the company: low, mid or high.
A good candidate will mention the following:
-75% of the market concentrated in 4 players which makes a market entry
possibly more challenging
-The overall market of headphones is expected to grow
-The wireless segment is taking over the wired segment
-The best positioning for the company will be to enter in the wireless
segment and position as mid-tier: makes more strategic sense for the
company (they’re mid-tier) and that segment has the lower customer loyalty
for the previous player

82
 Manufacturing Easy
Market entry Medium

ElectroCorp Profitability Hard

EXHIBIT 1
Competitors Analysis

Main product Customer Average

Company Positioning
Market Share overview type loyalty selling price
Competitor A Wireless High High $150
100%
Competitor B Wireless Medium Low $100
Competitor C Wireless Low Low $50
35%
Competitor D Wired High High $70

25% US headphones market

5%
10% 25%

Total Competitor Competitor Competitor Competitor Others

Market A B C D
Share 2017 2018 2019 2022 (E)2023 (E)2024 (E)2025

Wired Wireless

83
 Manufacturing Easy
Market entry Medium

ElectroCorp Profitability Hard

Financial analysis- Interviewer’s guidance

In this step, the candidate should do a projection of the next 3 years revenues and costs. To do so, candidate will need to estimate a market share for
ElectroCorp based on the chosen positioning of the product.
Rounding is allowed. To simplify calculations candidate should consider no market growth. An excellent candidate should ask about market growth.
After the analysis the candidate should point out that the company should go for the investment as it’s profitable in less that a year and the requirement
was to break even under 3 years. The 3D printing option is almost 4 times more profitable.

Revenues Costs- Interviewer’s information

Assumptions (these might change according to candidate’s estimation) The company needs to decide whether to use 3D printing or use its current manufacturing
-Position the product in the wireless mid-tier segment processes.
-Market share “stolen” from Competitor B→20% -Option 1: Manufacture in China. 40M€ investment needed. Transportation costs $1,000 per batch
(batches are 10,000 units). Cost per unit $20. No hiring or extras costs needed.
-Option 2: Use 3D printing. Cost per machine $10M. Each machine has a capacity of 1,400,000
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 units per year. Cost per production batch $500 (100 units per batch). No shipment costs. 20 FTE:
$50,000/each
=60M*25%*20%*$100 $300M $300M
=$300M
ElectroCorp Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

China =(3M/10,000)*1,000+ $60 M $60 M

20*3M≈ $60 M
US 3D printing =(3M/100)*500+50,0 $16 M $16 M
00*$20≈ $16 M
 Manufacturing Easy
Market entry Medium

ElectroCorp Profitability Hard

Brainstorming question
What are the benefits you can think of using 3D printing to manufacture headphones?

Economic benefits Operational benefits

→Production costs: Using 3D printing reduces the →Demand matching: The production method is
variable costs in the production process as well as quicker and in US land for US customers which
the fixed costs. makes the company faster to adapt to demand
peaks
→Investment: It’s cheaper to buy a 3D printing
machine that to open a factory →Inventories: Less inventories as the company
adapts better to demand
→Shipment costs: The company can reduce the
shipment costs →Diversify operational risk: Having a production in
US grants the company more diversification in its
production

85
 Manufacturing Easy
Market entry Medium

ElectroCorp Profitability Hard

RECOMMENDATION QUESTION

The candidate should do make a final recommendation based on all the information analyzed in the case using top-down
communication.

SAMPLE RECOMMENDATION
The candidate should make a recommendation including the following points:

→Recommendation to enter the US headphones market

-Focus on wireless headphones as it’s the fast growing segment and the biggest category
-The company can get a significant market share
-Use 3D printing because it’s less costly, offers more flexibility and the payback is in less than 3 years

→Risks: Competitive response, analysis highly-dependent on assumptions

→Next steps: Sensitivity analysis for estimations, look for suppliers in 3D printing and establish a marketing strategy to
enter the market.

86
PestPro
By Saroop Peetamber (MBA 2024)

Property Services Easy

Market Entry Medium
Market Sizing Hard

87
Fit Questions

1. Tell me about a time you have had to deal with difficult people
2. What's something you're least proud of at work?

88
 Industry Easy
Case Type Medium

PestPro Function Hard

PROMPT CLARIFYING POINTS (if asked)

• PestPro signs contracts with property management firms that provide exclusivity to treat pest issues in the
Your client, PestPro, is a leading B2B pest building as requested. Technicians drive to location and complete the service. PestPro charges clients on a
control company that works with large per treatment basis and the scope of treatment/time needed drives the price
property management companies to service • The company directly employs their licensed technicians, they do not sub-contract the labor
the apartment buildings in their portfolios.
• PestPro leases all vehicles (does not own any)

After experiencing strong growth in the U.S., • PestPro would source the materials/chemicals within the local market
PestPro is looking to expand internationally • This would be the company’s first international expansion
and enter a new market organically. They • They have identified these three markets because of the population, number of apartment buildings, and
have identified three potential markets, the attractive industry growth rates
U.K., France, and Germany. • The company wants to achieve at least 10 million euros in annual sales after three years

The CEO has hired you to understand which

market they should enter.
CASE GUIDANCE
This is an interviewee-led case, and they should be able to quickly see this is a growth case
that focuses on revenue rather than profitability. Pest control is a unique industry that is not
well-known and while the interviewer may give some guidance, the interviewee should ask
the right questions to understand the business model and drive towards the important
aspects for solving the problem.
89
 Industry Easy
Case Type Medium

PestPro Function Hard

STRUCTURE GUIDANCE
A good framework should focus on analyzing each market relative to each other and break out which markets are better financially and non-financially. A
strong candidate should also understand the business model well enough to evaluate the capability to set up operations in international markets and
potential alternatives. Financially, the candidate should focus on the components that would impact revenue given the objective, but also understand
that variable cost could vary significantly across markets.

SAMPLE STRUCTURE
Financial Non-Financial

Revenue Costs Capabilities Other/Risks

• Price differences • Variable cost differences • Sourcing talent (techs) • Other alternatives
• Treatment differences • Labor wages • Sourcing fleet/materials • International
(product mix) acquisition
• Material costs • Market knowledge
• Market size (population • Other market
• Fleet and fuel • Timeline for market
& # of apartments)
entry • Further domestic
• Fixed cost differences
• Competitive landscape growth
• Customer concentration
• Rent
• Market penetration (average buildings per • Legal/regulatory risks
• Insurance PM firm)
• Investment requirement 90
 Industry Easy
Case Type Medium

PestPro Function Hard

EXHIBITS
Competitive Landscape by Market Share Market Statistics
100% 5.0% 4.7%
7% 3.8%
90% 23% 7%

80% 37% 9%

6%
70% 13%

17%
60%
15%
50%
83.2
67.3 67.8
40% 15% 26%

64%
30%
16%
20%
28%
10% 17%

0%
United Kingdom France Germany United Kingdom France Germany

Company 1 Company 2 Company 3 Company 4 Remaining Market Population (In Millions) Annual Population Growth (Last 5 Years)

*Notes: Remaining companies in each market are: 12 (U.K.), 50 (France), 5 (Germany)

Annual population growth primarily driven in metropolitan areas
91
 Industry Easy
Case Type Medium

PestPro Function Hard

SAMPLE EXHIBIT CANDIDATE RESPONSE

First Chart:
• Candidate should highlight the chart outlines market share for the top 4 competitors by market, and a combined market share for remaining companies
• Candidate should notice that the note indicates the # of companies that make up the “remaining market” share percentage and France has the highest number of
companies at 54
• Germany has a major player with 64% share and the remaining companies are small
• France has two major players, another company with significant enough market share at 17% and remaining market averages ~0.5% so they are small
• United Kingdom has 4 evenly sized companies and the largest share in the remaining market (37%) for 12 companies which is ~3% per company

Second Chart:
• Germany has the biggest population and France/U.K are the same size
• U.K. with highest annual growth and France with the lowest

Conclusion
• Candidate should eliminate Germany as an option given the large player and remaining companies having solid share so it would be hard to break into the market.
The candidate should justify why they choose U.K. or France (growth rate vs. smaller companies to earn market share from)
• Candidate should show case leadership and inquire about additional information to make final decision between U.K. and France (# of apartment buildings, trying
to understand market volume, etc.)

92
 Industry Easy
Case Type Medium

PestPro Function Hard

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
Given the market statistics, the client has now decided to enter the U.K. and would like for you to calculate two things:

(i) What is the annual revenue currently for the total market (in euros)
(ii) What is the annual revenue that PestPro can achieve after three years in this market (in euros)

SAMPLE SOLUTION
(i) Annual Market Revenue = # of apartments * blended average annual revenue per apartment
# of apartments = population / # of people per family (assumption) * % of families living in apartments (assumption)
Blended average annual revenue per apartment = (X% of apartments with no treatments + Y% with some treatments + Z% with a lot of
treatments) * revenue per treatment (assumption)
Example solution = [67M population / 3 per household * 20% living in apartments] * [ (25% with 0 treatments/year + 50% of treatments with 2
treatments/year + 25% with 5 treatments / year) * 40 EUR per treatment
= 4.45M * (3.5 treatments/year * 40 EUR) = 4.45M * 140 EUR = 623M EUR

(ii) Annual revenue that PestPro can achieve after three years = annual market revenue * population growth rate for 3 years * PestPro penetration rate
Annual market revenue = number calculated in part (i)
Population growth rate = population growth rate from exhibit. Note: Candidate should justify using the full growth rate or majority of it,
given the footnote that population is driven in urban areas which typically have the apartment buildings
PestPro penetration = assumption. Note: this penetration rate should be justified based on how much market share small companies have
Example solution = 623M EUR * (1.05^3) * 2% market share = 623M EUR * 1.158 * 2% = 721M EUR * 2% = 14.42M EUR
Note: Candidate could also justify that market size * market share would be > 10M EUR so no need to calculate population growth
93
 Industry Easy
Case Type Medium

PestPro Function Hard

BRAINSTORMING QUESTION
In addition to the sales analysis, what are the other strategic decisions and risks that PestPro should consider to become successful in
this new market over the next three years?

SAMPLE ANSWERS
Note: These are simply a few ideas that the candidate may outline. It is more important for the candidate to think big-picture and consider all aspects of
what makes a service-based business successful

Cost Optimization Service Excellence Employee Satisfaction Branding Diversification

• Labor productivity • Training programs for • Employee hiring • Industry associations • Adding new treatments
(efficiency, optimal treatment quality • Employee retention • Marketing – print • Entering residential sector
scheduling)
• Routine audits of materials, online, etc. (organic or through
• Competitive compensation
• Supplier negotiations treatment acquisition)
• Client referrals
(fleet, insurance, • Attractive incentives
• Administrative excellence • Annual preventative
materials) • Employee surveys, events
(technology, quick programs (recurring
• Fixed costs response) revenue)

94
 Industry Easy
Case Type Medium

PestPro Function Hard

RECOMMENDATION QUESTION
The CEO is on their way to meet with us in a few minutes and would like to hear your recommendation.

SAMPLE RECOMMENDATION
To conclude, the candidate should outline:

Problem: Summarize the situation – entering one of three markets and meet 10M euros in annual sales

Recommendation: Proceed with entering the U.K. market given that they can achieve their goal of 10M euros in annual sales after 3
years

Calculation: Sales were calculated by considering the population living in apartments and the blended average revenue per
apartment unit

Strategic Risks/Decisions: In addition to sales, PestPro should consider cost optimization, service excellence and their branding to
remain competitive over the next 3 years

Next Steps: Recommend setting up a meeting with key stakeholders to review the analysis and outline key next steps for entering the
market
95
Thirsty for Rain
By Javi Salinas (MBA 2024)

Maritime and Logistics Easy

Water Management Medium
Cost Reduction Hard

96
Fit Questions

1. Tell me about yourself

2. Tell me about a time you made a mistake, what did you do?

97
 Maritime and Logistics Easy
Water Management Medium
Cost Reduction
Thirsty for Rain Hard

PROMPT CLARIFYING POINTS (if asked)

The Panama Canal is one of the most important • The Panama Canal Administration is an agency of the government of Panama responsible for the operation
maritime routes in the world. The canal serves and management of the Panama Canal. The agency is one of the top contributors to the national treasury.
around 144 trade routes that represent about 3% • Provide Exhibit 1 – if the candidate ask more clarification on the geography or about the company
of world trade. The Panama Canal's biggest asset, operations or the business overall. If the candidate did not ask, share the Exhibit 1 in Q1.
however, is its water. Water management has
• Objective: avoid loss of revenue and evaluate mitigation strategies to maintained water level.
become an increasingly important concern for
the Panama Canal Administration due to irregular • If the candidate asks what is the Panama Canal currently doing, share the Canal has no current action plan.
rainfall and changing weather patterns in the last • Water management definition: for this case, water management means monitoring the water level in the
decade. Water levels in the Panama Canal are Gatun Lake, the biggest source of water for the Panama Canal and provide potable water to the capital city.
critical to avoid delays in transit that can cost
millions of dollars to the maritime and logistics
businesses, ultimately affecting the Panama
CASE GUIDANCE
Canal’s bottom line. This case is an opportunity to challenge candidate beyond market-entry and profitability cases. Candidates
are expected to look at the problem in a holistic way. This case challenges candidates with an industry and a
The Administrator of the Panama Canal has problem that is not common. The case is designed to throw the candidate a lot of data from which he or she
hired you to help evaluate what are the business should funnel down and use what it is necessary to complete the case.
implications of improving the canal’s water A Good candidate will successfully analyze the data presented, extract the information necessary to perform
management. What set of criteria would you calculations, and make a final recommendation taking into consideration the external factors affecting the
problem.
use to evaluate these implications?

98
 Maritime and Logistics Easy
Water Management Medium
Cost Reduction
Thirsty for Rain Hard

STRUCTURE GUIDANCE
Note: There are many possible alternatives to this framework. These are only provided as possible suggestions.
The structure should evaluate internal and external criteria. Internally, financial, operational and risks are some of the criteria to considered. Finally,
external considerations should be accounted as well. The external criteria can follow a PESTEL framework (e.g., political, societal, and environmental
implications). A great candidate will remember this framework and apply on a case-by-case basis when evaluating alternatives.

SAMPLE STRUCTURE
Costs of Alternatives
(Implementation + Agency budget
What are the Ongoing Costs) What are the Political
financial
Implications?
implications? ROI, Payback period, Political Opposition
NPV of projects

Do we have the
Community
What are the capabilities?
What are society
Internal Operational External
implications?
implications? Do we require external
Water consumption
vendors?

Disruption from
ESG Commitments
Operations What are the
What are the risks? environmental
implications?
Reputational Risks Biodiversity impact

99
 Maritime and Logistics Easy
Water Management Medium
Cost Reduction
Thirsty for Rain Hard

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
Before thinking on alternatives for improving water management, the administrator has asked you to calculate the potential loss of revenue for this
upcoming year using last year numbers as assumptions. “El Niño” (a weather phenomena that affects rainfall patterns in the tropic zones) is expected
to cause 10 days of operational disruption due to critical low water levels in the canal.
Q1: How much revenue from tolls per ship is the Panama Canal expecting to lose in 2023 due to lower water levels?
Q2: How much revenue from tolls does that represent on an annual basis (2023), considering al previous assumptions?

SOLUTION
The candidate should identify missing information. Provide Exhibits as the candidate asks relevant questions.
If the candidate has not asked about the business model or operations, please provide Exhibit 1.
1. Form Exhibit 1 – calculate number of ships on an annual basis -> 360 days x 28 ships per day = 10,080 ~ 10,000
2. If candidate asks for financial information, provide Exhibit 2. (Please see Exhibit 2 chart analysis for possible candidate answers) After analyzing the
chart, the candidate should continue to answer Q1. If the candidate is having difficulties, remind the candidate to continue the calculations for Q1.
3. From Exhibit 2 – calculate price per PC/USM per ton -> $3,000 M (Toll Revenue) / 500 M (PC/USM per ton) = $6 per PC/USM per ton
4. Next, calculate the avg. PC/USM per ton per ship -> 500 M (PC/USM per ton) / 10,000 ships annually = 50,000 PC/USM per ton per ship on avg.
5. Q1: calculate the expected loss from revenue toll per ship = 50,000 PC/USM per ton per ship X $6 per PC/USM per ton = $300K per ship
6. Q2: calculate total expected loss of revenue for 2023 = $300K per ship x 28 ships per day x 10 days of op. disruption = $84 M
A Great candidate will notice that the amount of loss revenue from tolls is greater than the annual route investment budget.
100
 Maritime and Logistics Easy
Water Management Medium
EXHIBIT 1 – Transit & Operations Cost Reduction Hard

Panama Canal
Alajuela Lake Locks

Lakes
Gatun Lake
Panama Canal Transit Route

Panama Canal Basin

(Protected Area)

28 Ship Capacity per day

360 Operational Days
Million balboas* Route
80 Investment budget**
(non-operational)
*Balboa is the national currency denomination in Panama. However, 1 Balboa = 1 USD dollar. Panama uses USD as its legal tender.
**The Route Investment Budget is the budget designated to water management, community outsource, and other non-operational initiatives

101
 Maritime and Logistics Easy
Water Management Medium
EXHIBIT 2 – Financials Cost Reduction Hard

Total revenue by source (in billions balboas*) Total PC/UMS tons (in millions)
Total Revenues PC/UMS
Tolls
Transit-Related Services
Other Revenues 500
5 500 495
4.27
3.96
4 475
3.44

2.97 3.00
3
2.66
450

1.15
1 0.88
0.68

0.10 0.12 0.12

0 400
2020 2021 2022 2020 2021 2022
*Balboa is the national currency denomination in Panama. However, 1 Balboa = 1 PC/UMS is a unit of measurement. One PC/UMS net ton is
USD dollar. Panama uses USD as its legal tender. equivalent to 100 cubic feet (2.83 m3) of capacity. The Panama
Canal sets its Toll pricing policy per PC/UMS ton.

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 Maritime and Logistics Easy
Water Management Medium
Cost Reduction
Thirsty for Rain Hard

SOLUTION – Chart Analysis

EXHIBIT 1 – Transit & Operations EXHIBIT 2 – Financials
Describe the following to the candidate: The candidate should identify the following:
1. The Panama Canal main business model is to be a worldwide water 1. Total Revenue graph:
tollway that connects maritime trade routes between the Atlantic A Good candidate will identify:
and Pacific oceans. • Revenues have grown ~20% since 2020.
• Tolls remains the most important source of revenue,
2. The Panama Canal Basin is a protected area. 90% of its area is accounting ~70% of total revenue
comprised of rainforest. A Great Candidate will:
3. The only two water sources of the Canal are the Gatun Lake and • Ask for the details of “Other Revenue” – Other Revenue refers
the Alajuela Lake. to the sale of potable water and electric power, weighted
equally.

2. PC/UMS graph:
A Good candidate will identify:
• PC/UMS tons have grown by 5% since 2020.
A Great Candidate will:
• Identify the relationship between PC/UMS tons and Toll
Revenues and derived the unit price per PC/UMS ton.

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 Maritime and Logistics Easy
Water Management Medium
Cost Reduction
Thirsty for Rain Hard

QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS
After sharing your initial calculations on the impact of loss revenue for this upcoming year, the administrator has asked you to analyzed the following
data in Exhibit 3. In addition, please provide a recommendation of which is the best alternative for improving water management from Exhibit 4.
Q2: From the options identified, which project would you recommend the Panama Canal Administration?

SOLUTION
EXHIBIT 3 – Water Level EXHIBIT 4 – Identified Projects
The candidate should identify the following: The goal of exhibit 4 is for the candidate to select a combination of
• In the last decade, water levels have drop from the safe operational the projects and considered the short term and long term
level with higher frequency and magnitude. implications given the urgency of the matter.

• Identify that over the last decade water levels depict a higher A great candidate should conclude the Panama Canal should invest in
standard deviation than the years between 2000 and 2013 cloud-seeding in the short term and start investing in a watershed
plan for the long term

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 Maritime and Logistics Easy
Water Management Medium
EXHIBIT 3 – Gatun Lake Water Levels Cost Reduction Hard

GATUN LAKE HISTORICAL AVG. WATER LEVEL (ft.)

88.00

87.00

86.00

85.00

84.00 Avg. Water

Level

83.00
Trend

82.00
Safe
Operational
81.00 Water Level

80.00

79.00
Qtr1 Qtr4 Qtr3 Qtr1 Qtr4 Qtr3 Qtr2 Qtr1 Qtr4 Qtr3 Qtr2 Qtr1 Qtr4 Qtr3 Qtr2 Qtr1 Qtr4 Qtr3 Qtr2 Qtr1 Qtr4 Qtr3 Qtr2 Qtr1 Qtr4 Qtr3 Qtr2 Qtr1 Qtr4 Qtr3 Qtr2
2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2015 2018 2021

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 Maritime and Logistics Easy
Water Management Medium
EXHIBIT 4 – Identified Projects Cost Reduction Hard

Cloud-seeding Dredging Watershed Planning

Helps attain or maintain water

Weather modification that aims Excavate the bottom floor of
storage, decrease erosion, and
Description to change the amount or type the canal to reshape the water
creates protected wildlife
of precipitation. route.
corridors.

Cost
(CAPEX + Ongoing)

Implementation
(Time)

Water Level Impact

(helps achieve 85ft)

Environmental Impact

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 Maritime and Logistics Easy
Water Management Medium
Cost Reduction
Thirsty 4 Rain Hard

BRAINSTORMING QUESTION
Q3: Beyond the identified solutions presented earlier, what other alternatives (economic, operational or engineering) could the Panama Canal
Administration adopt to hedge, mitigate or control water management?

SAMPLE ANSWERS
The idea here is to test the candidate on creativity. These are few ideas but are not exclusively the only ones. The candidate should bring up feasible
activities that have economic, operational or engineering sense.

Pricing Boat Weight Limits Pump Ocean Water Scheduling

Change to dynamic pricing Limit boat weight per Research feasibility of Invest in weather technology to
per PC/UMS per ton based transit, yet this might affect pumping ocean water as a improve water levels forecast
on water level profitability source for the Panama Canal and boat transit scheduling

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 Maritime and Logistics Easy
Water Management Medium
Cost Reduction
Thirsty 4 Rain Hard

RECOMMENDATION QUESTION
You are meeting with the Panama Canal Administrator to present your solutions, what are your set of recommendations?

SAMPLE RECOMMENDATION
After evaluating the economic impact as well as the qualitative criteria of the 3 solutions identified by your administration, we recommend the
following:
1. We recommend to invest in cloud-seeding in the short term and build a long-term watershed plan.
2. Through this actions, the Panama could reduce the probability of operation interruption, which accounts for $8.4M per day of loss revenue.
3. However, beyond implementing the short-term and long-term projects, such as the cloud-seeding and watershed planning, we recommend
looking into implementing a dynamic pricing model to economically hedge against water level fluctuations, as well as to invest in R&D for
opportunities to use ocean water as water supply source.
We are happy to help you into digging deeper into these analysis.

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Parking & Co
By Juan Fernandez Daza (MBA 2023)

Parkings Easy
Profitability Medium
Investment Decision Hard

109
Fit Questions

1. What are you good at?

2. Why consulting?
3. What makes [another company] better than our company?

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 Parkings Easy
Profitability Medium

Parking & Co Investment Decision Hard

PROMPT CLARIFYING POINTS (if asked)

• Objective: to payback the investment within the next 5 years.
A tender to own the concession of a
street in Madrid has recently opened • Additional info:
and our client is interested on the bid. – The client owns the concession of other streets in Madrid and other Spanish cities.
They have come to us to help them on
– No financial constraint, the bid can be as high as we want.
the bid. The street is C/Jorge Juan
located in the prestigious – The concession lasts 8y.
neighborhood of Barrio Salamanca.
CASE GUIDANCE
How much should the client bid for? This interview should be like a conversation that is always led by the candidate.
The candidate should take the lead, nevertheless, if he/she is pointing in the
wrong direction, the interviewer should re-direct without penalizing the
candidate.
Once the candidate structures the problem, the interviewer should ask the
candidate what information he/she needs to calculate the payback period, and
from there show the exhibits. The exhibits should lead to the math, and with
these calculations, the candidate must jump into the conclusion.

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 Parkings Easy
Profitability Medium

Parking & Co Investment Decision Hard

STRUCTURE GUIDANCE
As in any investment analysis, the candidate should separate the initial investment from the operational revenues & costs from
running the business. Having understood that there is a payback period, the candidate should point to that structure

SAMPLE STRUCTURE
• # Cars
Revenues • Average ticket price
• Average car park duration
Profitability
Operational • Salaries (additional employees needed)
Bid amount • Maintenance (street + park-meters)
$$ Costs • Software (park-meters & controllers’ devices)

Licence/Concession
Total
Investment • Park-meters
Operational investment
• Street improvements

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 Parkings Easy
Profitability Medium

Parking & Co Investment Decision Hard

EXHIBITS – Weekly revenue estimation

Capacity Occupation Average Ticket

Days Type Occupation

Monday to Saturday
Peak
90% Jorge Juan St
4h
01 00
Sidewalk

No Peak 50%
8h
3€
Sunday
No Peak
2m

40%
6h

All cars park perpendicular to the Demand is not flat in a weekly basis but
All cars park just 1h/day
sidewalk all the weeks are equal

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 Parkings Easy
Profitability Medium

Parking & Co Investment Decision Hard

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
Provide upon request!! A good candidate identifies:
• Street’s details:
• 600m where cars can park both sides – though only 400 effective meters to There are different occupation
park on each side rates depending on the
• Due to parking entrances, garbage containers, terraces…etc on the street day/hour – though we will
(the candidate must conclude this on his/her own). ignore it to simplify
• There are two parking areas blue and green – residents can park in the green area, calculations
but we can ignore residents to simplify. The street has two sides to
park in but not 100% of the
street is “parkeable”
Revenue estimation
Parking capacity: 400m x 2 sides x 1 car /2m = 400 cars
Total cars/week: 48h (see below) x 400 cars/h = 19.200 cars/week
• Mon-Sat average occupation: 4hx90% + 8hx50% = 3.6+4 = 7.6h/d => 6d/wk x 7.6h/d = 45.6h/wk
• Sunday average occupation: 2.4h/wk

Total revenues: 19.200 cars/week x 3€/car x 50w/1 yr ~ 3M€/year

114
 Parkings Easy
Profitability Medium

Parking & Co Investment Decision Hard

BRAINSTORMING QUESTION – Operational costs

The candidate must identify three main cost items – challenge the candidate to find them all, you may give some hints:
• Maintenance – both street and park-meters = 0.9M€/year
• Salaries – only new staff needed, only inspectors = 3x30k€ = 90k€/year
• How many people needed? Minimum 3 inspectors
• Salary per inspector ~30k€/year
• Software – both park-meters and inspector’s devices: 10k€/year

Total operational costs in a year = 0.9M + 90k + 10k = 1M€

THE ANSWER
• CONTRIBUTION MARGIN: 2M€
• Operational Revenues: 3M€
𝑰𝑵𝑰𝑻𝑰𝑨𝑳 𝑰𝑵𝑽𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑴𝑬𝑵𝑻 • Operational Costs: 1M€
𝑷𝑨𝒀𝑩𝑨𝑪𝑲 = • INITIAL INVESTMENT: License + 2M€
𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑻𝑹𝑰𝑩𝑼𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵 𝑴𝑨𝑹𝑮𝑰𝑵 • License: Unknown
• Machinery: 1M€ (the candidate must identify this item, then provide)
• PAYBACK PERIOD: 5 years
Max to pay for the license: 9M€ = 5yr (2M€/yr) − 1M€
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 Parkings Easy
Profitability Medium

Parking & Co Investment Decision Hard

RECOMMENDATION QUESTION
We have found out that there are more bidders to the tender. What would you propose the client to do?

SAMPLE RECOMMENDATION
If we think that the tender is going to be tight, we could increase the offer of 9M€ that we have calculated that we can shoot. How?
• Increase the payback period – suggest to increase the period to 6-7y and still have decent profits on the 10y contract. Though
only if the payback period is not a super red line for the client.
• Improve the operational margin:
• Revenues => Increase the price during the peak hours
• Costs => Synergies may bring efficiency: 1) Optimize salaries using already hired personnel and/or 2) Reduce software fee
per parking leveraging that we will have one more parking to operate.

I recommend the CEO to bid for 10-11M€ to have some buffer to mitigate the risk of losing to competitors.
Next steps? Deeper analysis on the suggestions on the synergies to increase the the bid.

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