1 / 16

Associate Mock Case Interview

Associate Mock Case Interview. Dartmouth College. October 8, 2004. Agenda. Case Preparation Case Assessment Case Execution. Case Preparation Case Question: Fenway Park T-Shirt Vendor. Case Question

mora
Download Presentation

Associate Mock Case Interview

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Associate Mock Case Interview Dartmouth College October 8, 2004

  2. Agenda • Case Preparation • Case Assessment • Case Execution

  3. Case PreparationCase Question: Fenway Park T-Shirt Vendor • Case Question • Assess whether or not a Red Sox t-shirt vending cart operated outside of Boston’s Fenway Park can be a profitable business • Background Facts • Fenway Park is home to the Boston Red Sox, a major league baseball team • Many vendors operate single-cart businesses (e.g., hotdog carts, ice cream carts, t-shirt carts,etc…) immediately outside ballpark grounds for pre- and post-game sales • Average game attendance: 30,000 • Average game duration: 5 hours (includes pre- and post-game) • 160 games per season: 50% home, 50% away • Average ticket price: $40 per person • Business intention is to operate a single vendor cart outside of Fenway Park on Yawkey Way, where people come to enjoy the festive pre-game atmosphere

  4. Case PreparationBefore You Start… • Take a deep breath and relax • Write down your thoughts and other notes (you need to bring pen/pencil and paper!) • Identify a framework that will help you structure the problem • Think before you talk • Start your case with a thought process – explain briefly how you intend to approach the problem • Throughout the case ask probing questions and/or state your assumptions • Be aware of time constraints and be prepared to summarize your findings • Smile 

  5. HOW DO I BREAK THIS DOWN?? HOW DO I PROCEED? Case PreparationThoughts & Notes • Fenway Park – is it profitable to operate a t-shirt cart? • What do I know? • Attendance 30,000 • 80 home games per year • T-shirts sell for between $10 - $25

  6. Excellent(Home Run) Good(Double) Needs Improvement (Strike Out) • Demonstrates clear logic • Uses relevant framework and/or provides structure to case problem • Guides interviewer through thought-process • Offers both broad and detailed assumptions • Calculates numbers accurately • Sanity checks answers & recovers from potentially “off” estimates • Summarizes findings and makes a firm and actionable conclusion • Makes creative considerations beyond obvious case issues: • Product differentiation • Location • Seasonal influences (e.g., weather, playoffs, etc.) • Customer loyalty • Shows enthusiasm • Demonstrates reasonable logic • Uses framework, but not necessarily most relevant • Provides some explanation of thought-process • Makes broad assumptions, but lacks detailed considerations • Does not gauge all answers for reasonability or accuracy • Summarizes findings but conclusion lacks conviction • Makes some creative considerations, but could push to another level of detail • Shows enthusiasm • Fails to grasp key issues or demonstrate clear logic • Does not use framework or structured approach • Thought-process is rambling (or not communicated at all) • Assumptions lack depth and fail to consider key issues • Estimates are unreasonable or calculated incorrectly • Does not summarize findings, or summary does not take into account key issues and/or estimates • Lacks creative thinking and enthusiasm • Nervous and fidgety Case AssessmentHow Did I Do?

  7. Case AssessmentWrap-Up • Case Tips • Bring a pen/pencil and paper • Listen carefully to case details and general interview questions • Respond in a thoughtful and structured manner (take your time!) • Remember that your thought-process is usually more telling than your answer • PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!! • General Interview Tips • Be on-time and dressed appropriately • Know your resume and academic/work experience background • Answer interview questions concisely • Be able to state clearly and concisely why you want to work in consulting • Be enthusiastic • Be yourself

  8. Profit Revenue Cost Quantity Price Fixed Variable Case ExecutionThe Framework • Use a framework that will help you and your interviewer understand your thought process M I N U S • How many t-shirts can you sell per game? • What factors affect sales? • How much can you charge for t-shirts? • What are my costs?

  9. Profit Revenue Cost Quantity Price Fixed Variable Case ExecutionCost Analysis • Start with something straight-forward (low-hanging fruit) – in this case, the cost component is easiest to estimate • How many t-shirts can you sell per game? • How much can you charge for t-shirts? • What are my costs? • What costs are start-up, (e.g., one-time only)? • What costs are recurring? How often? (Annual, monthly, periodic?)

  10. Profit Revenue Cost Quantity Price Fixed Variable • Labor • $10/hour • 5-hour (incl. pre- and post-game) • $50 labor per game, plus… • T-shirt cost • $2 per t-shirt • how many t-shirts do I need? • Total ???? Case ExecutionCost Analysis • Cart Purchase ~$5,000 (one-time) • or • Cart Lease ~$1,000 (semi-annual) • Operator’s License $1,000 (annual) • How many t-shirtscan you sell pergame? • How much canyou charge for t-shirts? • $6,000 Total

  11. Profit Revenue Cost Quantity Price Fixed Variable • Labor • $10/hour • 5-hour (incl. pre- and post-game) • $50 labor per game, plus… • T-shirt cost • $2 per t-shirt • how many t-shirts do I need? • Total ???? Case ExecutionRevenue Analysis • Cart Purchase ~$5,000 (one-time) • or • Cart Lease ~$1,000 (semi-annual) • Operator’s License $1,000 (annual) • How many t-shirts can you sell per game? • How much can you charge for t-shirts? • $6,000 Total

  12. How many people buy t-shirts per baseball game? How many people buy t-shirts from us? What is the best metric to use? 30,000 people per game What is per game attendance? How many people buy things at baseball games (food, hats, t-shirts, banners, balls, etc.)? 6,000 Buyers (20%) 24,000 Non-Buyers (80%) 1,500 T-shirt Buyers (25%) 4,500 Buy Other Things (75%) How many people buy t-shirts? How many people buy t-shirts from us? 50 Buy Our T-shirts (3%) 1,450 Buy T-shirts from Others SANITY CHECK: DOES THIS MAKE SENSE? Case ExecutionQuantity Estimation

  13. 50 Buy Our T-shirts SANITY CHECK: DOES THIS MAKE SENSE? OUR ASSUMPTIONS SEEM REASONABLE Case ExecutionSanity Check • The Sanity Check: • Does 50 t-shirts sold per-game sound right? • There are 1,500 t-shirts sold and I am selling 50 shirts, so that implies that there are ~30 t-shirt vendors at the park. Is that a reasonable number? • If we really only sell t-shirts for 2 pre-game hours and 1 post-game hour, we effectively have 180 “selling minutes”  OR… we sell 1 t-shirt every 3-4minutes • Can one person handle a t-shirt sales transaction every 3½ minutes?

  14. Profit Revenue Cost Quantity Price Fixed Variable • Labor • $10/hour • 5-hour (incl. pre- and post-game) • $50 labor per game, plus… • T-shirt cost • $2 per t-shirt • 50 t-shirts per game • Total $150 • Total Revenue per Game $750 Case ExecutionRevenue Analysis • Cart Purchase ~$5,000 (one-time) • or • Cart Lease ~$1,000 (semi-annual) • Operator’s License $1,000 (annual) • 50 t-shirts sold per game • $15 per t-shirt • $6,000 Total

  15. Profit Revenue Cost Quantity Price Fixed Variable ANNUALIZE & SUMMARIZE Case ExecutionRoll-It-Up • Now that you’ve calculated the various components of the profit tree, roll-it-up to an annual level and summarize… • 50 t-shirts sold per game • $15 per t-shirt • $5,000 start-up costs (cart purchase) • $1,000 annual operator’s license • $50 labor wages per game • $2 cost per t-shirt x 50 shirts = $100 • $750 per game revenue • $6,000 annual costs • $150 per game costs

  16. What do you think? Too high? Too low? Case ExecutionRoll-It-Up • Sanity check your findings once again and summarize to the interviewer • Total Revenue per Game $ 750 • Less: Total Costs per Game ($ 150) • Net Income per Game $ 600 • Total Home Games per Year 80 • Annual Income $48,000 • Less: Annual Fixed Costs ($6,000) • Total Annual Profit $42,000

More Related