Case Interview Prep

Front 1

Is it a good idea to enter a market?

Back 1

- Determine our goal and objectives
- Know the state of current and future market
- Would entering make sense?
- How do you go about entering a market?

Front 2

The state of current and future market for a product

Back 2

- Market size
- Growth Rate
- Life cycle
- Who are customers, how are they segmented?
- technology role, evolving industry?
- how will competition respond?

Front 3

Investigate if entering a market would make sense

Back 3

- competitors and their market shares
- how is our product different? substitutes?
- what is our price?
- what are the risks?
- what are the barriers to entry?

Front 4

Barriers to Entry

Back 4

- Capital Requirements
- Access to Dist. Channels
- Proprietary technology
- Gov't policy

Front 5

Some Risks

Back 5

- Emerging Technologies
- Emerging Markets

Front 6

3 Steps of Industry Analysis

Back 6

- Investigate the Industry Overall
- Look at the Suppliers
- What is the future Outlook?

Front 7

The Current Industry Market

Back 7

- Life cycle
- Performance trends
- Client's position within industry
- Major player and their shares
- What drives the industry (brand, size, technology)
- Profitability and Margins

Front 8

Questions about suppliers

Back 8

- How many?
- Product Availability
- Whats going on in their market?

Front 9

An industry's future outlook

Back 9

- Are players entering or leaving?
- Merg. and Acq?
- Barriers to Entry?
- What / Will substitutes be introduced?

Front 10

M&A, Should a company buy another?

Back 10

- Identify Goals and objectives
- How much are they paying?
- How is the company and industry?
- Is there an exit strategy?

Front 11

Why would a business buy another? Identify the Goals and Objectives

Back 11

- Increase market access
- Diversify their holdings
- Pre-empt competition
- Tax advantages
- Synergies exist?

Front 12

How much is a client paying for another company?

Back 12

- Is the Price Fair?
- How are they going to pay for it?
- Can they afford it?
- If economy tanks, can they still make debt payments?

Front 13

Is the company and industry in good shape?

Back 13

- Observe company financials
- How secure are its markets/customers?
- Industry overall?
- How do they compare to industry overall?
- Margins? high vol/lo margin vica versa
- Risks

Front 14

What are some exit strategies when acquiring a company

Back 14

- How long are they planning to keep it?
- Are they going to break it up and sell parts?

Front 15

Company develops a new product - what do they do with it?

Back 15

- What's special about the product?
- What should be the marketing strategy?
- How does it create customer value?
- How are we gonna finance this?

Front 16

Whats special about the product?

Back 16

- Is it patented?
- Some traits that are unique
- Are there similar products/substitutes
- Advantages/Disadvantages of the new product
- Fit in with the existing product line?`

Front 17

What should be our marketing strategy

Back 17

- How will it affect existing product line
- Cannibalizing?
- Replacing an existing product?
- competitive response
- barriers to entry
- major players and their shares

Front 18

Customer Perspectives

Back 18

- Who are they? Segment?
- How do we best reach them?
- How do we best retain them?
- How do we create value for them?

Front 19

How are we gonna finance this thing?

Back 19

- How is it being funded?
- What is the best allocation of funds
- Can we support the debt?

Front 20

Pricing : What is our strategy?

Back 20

- Investigate the Product
- Choose a Pricing Strategy
- The Supply and Demand

Front 21

The 3 Pricing Strategies

Back 21

- Competitive Analysis
- Cost-Based Pricing
- Price-Based Costing

Front 22

Competitive Analysis (pricing)

Back 22

- competitors prices
- compared to ours
- substitutions
- consumer buying habits

Front 23

Cost-Based Pricing

Back 23

- COGS
- What is out BEV?
- How much margin can we add?

Front 24

Price-Based Costing

Back 24

- What are customers willing to pay?
- Whats it worth to them compared to other things?
- Supply and Demand

Front 25

How can you use some cash to best grow a company?

Back 25

- Ask questions about strategic direction
- Choose a growth strategy

Front 26

Strategic Growth Questions

Back 26

- Do we focus on a product/division/the whole?
- Is the industry growing?
- Are we growing relative to industry?
- How are our prices?
- competitor marketing and R&D
- what segments have high potential?
- Do we have funding for future growth?

Front 27

Choose a Growth Strategy

Back 27

- Increase Dist. channels
- Increase product line
- Invest in Marketing campaign
- Diversify products
- Acquire competitors

Front 28

Start a New Business

Back 28

- Investigate the market
- Look at it like a VC

Front 29

How does a VC look at a company?

Back 29

- Management
- Market and Strategy plans
- Distribution channels
- Products
- Customers
- Finance

Front 30

Competitive Response

Back 30

- Observe the competitors product
- Choose a response action

Front 31

Look at a competitors new product

Back 31

- How is it different from what we offer
- What have they done differently
- Has anyone else picked up market share?

Front 32

Response to new competitor product

Back 32

- Acquire Competitor
- Merge with Competitor
- Copy them
- Hire their mgmt
- Launch a PR campaign

Front 33

Increase Sales (not necessarily profits)

Back 33

- What can be done?
- Pick your increase sales strategy

Front 34

How do we increase sales?

Back 34

- Increase Volume
- Increase Amount of Sales
- Increase Prices
- Create seasonal balance

Front 35

Reducing Costs

Back 35

- Get a breakdown of costs
- Which seem out of line?
- Benchmark competitors
- Are there labor saving technologies?

Front 36

Sales are flat, Profits taking a header

Back 36

- Internal Costs
- External Costs

Front 37

What are some Internal Costs?

Back 37

- Union Wages
- Suppliers
- Materials
- Economies of Scale

Front 38

What are some External Costs?

Back 38

- Economy
- Interest Rates
- Gov't Regulation
- Transportation / Shipping

Front 39

Sales up, profits are flat, How do we increase profitability?

Back 39

- Ask about the industry / competitor performance
- Look at revenues
- Look at Costs
- Pump up Volume

Front 40

Look are the revenues

Back 40

- What are the revenue streams?
- What percentage is each stream?
- Are the balances unusual?
- Have the percentages changed?

Front 41

Examine the Costs

Back 41

- ID the major FCs and VCs
- Have there been major shifts?
- Are some costs out of line?
- How can we reduce costs w/o hurting revenues?
- Benchmark costs vs. competitors

Front 42

Pump up sales volume

Back 42

- Expand into new areas
- Increase Sales force
- Increase marketing
- Reduce Prices
- Improve Customer Service

Front 43

Turnaround

Back 43

- Gather Information
- Choose an action

Front 44

Gather info about a turnaround

Back 44

- Why is company failing
- Industry / Competitors facing the same deal?
- Do we have access to capital?
- Public or private company?

Front 45

Choose an action for a turnaround

Back 45

- Review services (out of date?)
- Secure Finances
- Review employees
- Get short and long term goals
- Visit stakeholders and reassure
- prioritize goals and get small victories

Front 46

3 Ways to enter a new market

Back 46

- Start from Scratch
- Acquire a competitor
- Do a JV