Mastering Case Studies & Guesstimates
Abhishek Goyal
Session 01 | 26 August 2025
About me - Education
About me - Work experience
About me - Interests
Important question for the class
Have you received the pre-read material?
More important question for the class
Have you gone through the material?
Course evaluation
Component Weightage (%) Session
Attendance 10% All sessions
Class participation 30% All sessions
In-class - Guesstimate 15% Session 11
In-class - Case 15% Session 12
Mock interviews 30% Mid term
Another question for the class
Why have you opted for this course?
What skills will you learn?
Get better at… By developing… By mastering…
Problem solving First principles thinking Business Frameworks
Communication Guesstimates
Where will these skills help?
Cracking job interview In the workplace As Founders / entrepreneurs
What is problem solving?
Strategic skill of diagnosing complex business challenges
Structuring them into clear components, gather relevant data and analyse
Designing data-backed, actionable solutions
Types of problems to solve
Structured Unstructured
The scope, steps, and solution Ambiguous, open-ended, and
approach are well-defined without a single right answer
Break-even Analysis Growth Strategy
Find the number of units a company must sell to cover fixed What is the best way for Zomato to increase revenue?
and variable costs
Loan EMI Calculation New Product Launch
Calculate the monthly payment for a ₹50 lakh loan at 8% Should Tesla launch a budget electric car in India, and if yes,
interest over 10 years what features and price point should it target?
Key aspects of problem solving
# Components Details
1 Problem Definition Clearly define the problem, objectives, and success criteria
2 Structuring the Problem (MECE Thinking) Break the problem into Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive buckets
3 Hypothesis-Driven Thinking Form educated guesses early to guide analysis
4 Data Gathering & Assumption Building Identify what data is needed, and create assumptions where data is missing
Use structured approaches (profitability, market entry, growth, pricing,
5 Frameworks & Tools
etc.) to avoid missing angles
6 Analysis & Synthesis Analyse data, test hypotheses, and synthesize insights into clear takeaways
7 Prioritization & Trade-offs Focus on high-impact, feasible solutions
8 Solution Development Turn insights into actionable initiatives
Present findings in a clear, compelling narrative (pyramid principle, charts,
9 Communication & Storytelling
issue trees)
Class exercise
What is the best way for Zomato to grow?
Zomato or Eternal? What does grow mean here?
• Revenue
• Profit
How much? How much time?
Class exercise
How can a college grow?
What does the college offer? What does grow mean here?
• Revenue
• Courses
• Staff
• Number of campuses
Class exercise
How can Apollo grow?
Apollo? What does grow mean here?
• Hospital • Revenue
• Tyres • Profit
• Pharmacy • # hospitals
• # dealers
• # outlets
• Manpower
Class exercise
How can Swiggy grow?
Swiggy? What does grow mean here?
• Food delivery • Revenue
• Instamart • Profit
• Genie • Delivery partners
• Dineout • New cities
Class exercise
How can Netflix grow?
Netflix – streaming company? What does grow mean here?
• Revenue
• Profit
• Geography
• Watch time
• Genre
Class exercise
How can Starbucks grow?
Starbucks – coffee house? What does grow mean here?
• Revenue
• Profit
• Geography
• Outlets
• Menu
Key aspects of problem solving
# Components Details
1 Problem Definition Clearly define the problem, objectives, and success criteria
2 Structuring the Problem (MECE Thinking) Break the problem into Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive buckets
3 Hypothesis-Driven Thinking Form educated guesses early to guide analysis
4 Data Gathering & Assumption Building Identify what data is needed, and create assumptions where data is missing
Use structured approaches (profitability, market entry, growth, pricing,
5 Frameworks & Tools
etc.) to avoid missing angles
6 Analysis & Synthesis Analyze data, test hypotheses, and synthesize insights into clear takeaways
7 Prioritization & Trade-offs Focus on high-impact, feasible solutions
8 Solution Development Turn insights into actionable initiatives
Present findings in a clear, compelling narrative (pyramid principle, charts,
9 Communication & Storytelling
issue trees)
MECE thinking
MECE is a structuring principle used in problem-solving to break down complex problems into distinct, non-
overlapping parts (Mutually Exclusive) that together cover the entire problem space (Collectively Exhaustive)
ME Mutually exclusive
CE Collectively exhaustive
Class exercise
Category MECE breakup
Gender Male, Female, Non-binary/Other
Meal type Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Transportation mode Private, Public
Hot, Cold
Beverage
Alcoholic, Non-alcoholic
Class exercise
Category MECE breakup
Tata Motors’ revenue is declining Private, Commercial
iOS, Android, Feature phone
Reliance Digital’s mobile revenue is declining
Budget (<₹10k), Mid-range (₹10k–30k), Premium
(₹30k+)
Domestic, International
Air India’s revenue is declining
First class, Business, Premium Economy, Economy
Key aspects of problem solving
# Components Details
1 Problem Definition Clearly define the problem, objectives, and success criteria
2 Structuring the Problem (MECE Thinking) Break the problem into Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive buckets
3 Hypothesis-Driven Thinking Form educated guesses early to guide analysis
4 Data Gathering & Assumption Building Identify what data is needed, and create assumptions where data is missing
Use structured approaches (profitability, market entry, growth, pricing,
5 Frameworks & Tools
etc.) to avoid missing angles
6 Analysis & Synthesis Analyze data, test hypotheses, and synthesize insights into clear takeaways
7 Prioritization & Trade-offs Focus on high-impact, feasible solutions
8 Solution Development Turn insights into actionable initiatives
Present findings in a clear, compelling narrative (pyramid principle, charts,
9 Communication & Storytelling
issue trees)
What skills will you learn?
Get better at… By developing… By going through…
Problem solving First principles thinking Business Frameworks
Communication Guesstimates
What is first principles thinking
It is a problem-solving approach where you break a problem down into its most
fundamental truths or facts, question every assumption, and then rebuild
solutions from the ground up rather than relying on analogy or precedent
Class exercise
Hospitality Airlines Content
Food Music AI
Any questions?
Thank you!