Case Prep 101

Timeline and Frameworks

ISB Hyderabad Consulting Club | November 2021
Why do this?
• Yes, I know shortlists aren’t out. Trust me, this is still useful

• Case Interview Prep is useful for all consulting firm interviews (and not just the MBBs)

• You’ll find out it is a very common practice across startups (strategy, category, operation roles) and GenMan
interviews as well – it’s just an easy way to test your business acumen

• Understand why you’re being asked what you’re being asked – it’s NOT to test your past knowledge of the
industry/problem type; rather to see how to break down a problem logically and evaluate all relevant facets

• It takes some time to master – don’t fret if it doesn’t come to you naturally at first. The learning curve is
steep and you will have ample support along the way. Case prep is A LOT about comfort, trust and team
work
What is a case interview, really?
• High interaction based interview format where you’re likely solving a case based problem with (usually adequate)
support from the interviewer

• Usually a business problem – you have a client facing some challenges/decisions (recall melodramatic endings to case
studies in CSTR, MKDM) given to you as a problem statement

• Next, you would ask preliminary questions to full understand the context of the case at hand (more details here)
You drill down to first completely understand the problem/situation and identify the root cause/relevant factors for
decision making

• Finally, you provide your solution & recommendations (being creative helps here)

• Folks traditionally use frameworks to tackle cases – these are tools to aid you during a case
 Some resources to start
(personal opinion, not exhaustive or anything, pls follow what works best for you)

• Start with Victor Cheng’s gyaan on everything consulting – you have two options: go through the book
“Case interview Secrets” or check out his YouTube playlist: Case Interview Secrets Workshop

• Go through the initial 3 chapters of ‘Case Interviews Cracked’ to ease yourself into what’s coming your way;
Case in Point is also a great resource

• Another YouTube Playlist discussing frameworks: This man knows what he’s talking about, and yes, he’s
also one more Aaditya Agarwal – Playlist

• Casebooks (ISB, Leading IIMs) are useful to refer for cases to practice (more details on this later); other
international B-school casebooks also available
Prep Timeline
Create a matrix to track prep!

There’s no magic number of how many cases are sufficient – breadth

and depth matters
Profitability Framework
Market Entry
Go to Market/New Product Launch Framework

Provide a blueprint for launching product in a market, positioning it to achieve competitive advantage. You would typically look at defining the 4Ps
after deciding on the target segment. Touching upon all relevant aspects of the problem is much more important than the correct answer

• Understand the company and its objectives

• Understand more about the product: value proposition, targeted customers, substitutes,
cannibalization, disadvantages
• Ask about the Market/Product segment where the new product will be launch
• Conduct an in-depth industry analysis(Growth, size, competition, entry barrier,
distribution)
• Conduct Market Sizing(Apply guesstimates fundamentals) [Rank if multiple segments
are present]. Does it make financial sense to launch the product?
• Identify costs associated with the product: Cost of producing/launching the product
(Variable Cost, Fixed Cost, etc.)
• Pricing of the Product(Refer to Pricing Framework): Calculate break-even volume, ROI,
the break-even period
• Give a crisp summary to the interviewer whether numbers make sense or not and then
move on to strategic reasons considering strategic fit, potential risks, competitive
response. Some examples of strategic fit could be Existing Product line,
Resources/Capabilities, Distribution, Risks, Competitive Response, Implementation
related, Future economic outlook, and Technology changes in the future.
Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)

Focus: Decisions regarding a potential merger or acquisition

opportunity
To-Dos: Understand the synergies involved, do cost-benefit analysis
& due diligence
Suggestion: Whether to enter the deal or not

Establish
Deal Rationale: Firm’s objective (new markets/channels, cost
reduction, market share, investment)
Business Benefits: Business synergies, Market reach (new/existing),
competition/survival, cost savings/tax benefits, portfolio expansion
Deal Price: Valuation, Can we afford?, Transaction type, Post M&A
costs
Potential Risks: Synergy realization, cultural aspects, integration,
macro-economic risks

Due Diligence:
Strategic Options
Commercial (market related), operational (target related)
Financial (target’s data, valuation)
Legal (regulatory norms)

Implementation (Cultural, Strategic, Organizational Fit)

Exit Strategies
Pricing

Focus: Price a product to increase market share

or to launch a new product
To-Dos: Understand the company’s objective
and product characteristics (new innovation,
modifications to existing products, similar to
existing products, w.r.t. another product)
Suggestion: Price (may also give market size,
optimal pricing strategy)

Pricing Factors:
Product: Radical vs incremental change,
uses/characteristics, advantages/disadvantages
Costing: R&D cost, manufacturing cost, other
costs
Competitors: Competitive products, product
differentiation, price benchmarking
Substitutes: Available substitute, substitute use
triggers, future substitutes
Customer: Customer characteristics, Perceived
value
Growth

Focus: How to increase the sales/profits/market share of a particular firm by X%

in Y years
To-Dos: Understand the company’s business, current performance, competitive
landscape, growth targets, capabilities, and bottlenecks
Suggestion: Proposed growth path, potential growth prospects, threats and
challenges

Identify where the case objective falls (market penetration strategy, market
development strategy, product development strategy)
 DOs & Don’ts
• During a case, feel comfortable to take • AVOID guess work (you’ll understand what I
your time before responding to a question mean once you start solving some cases)
from the interviewer
• Don’t give up midway and lose character
• Keep a separate notebook in which you (it’s similar to checking the answer key while
solve cases and fair them out after your solving the OPMG sample paper)
mock interview ends
• Don’t simply read cases
• Listen intently and jot down all feedback
in either an Excel or your notebook; see if • Quality over quantity – don’t burn yourself
you’re making the same mistakes again out
(red flag)
• Don’t force fit a framework
• Think about whether you covered all
possibilities/approaches or not, even if
you reached the answer

• Create a framework that works for you

How will the
Plug to fill the FGC form ;)
club help?

• P2P Groups have been set up – get to work!

• McKinsey Case Prep workshop (tentatively on 19th Nov) – don’t forget we tried as well!

• We’ll be sending in more industry snippets to get you up to speed – lookout for a cheat sheet on this from
us later

• Guide to leverage casebooks – pros and cons of each, how to approach frameworks and pick the best stuff
from different sources