What it takes to become the National Winners of Optum Stratethon -By Team Symbi Ideators from SIBM Pune

We did intensive research, backing every statement with logic and made sure that what we suggest is not already offered by the company. We were consistent in our efforts and met every day to discuss the case, even if it was only for half an hour. It was this consistency that helped us reach the top as the National Winners of Optum Stratethon.

The Challenge

The biggest challenge was to come up with a state-of-the-art idea. We realised that whatever ideas we had thought of were already offered by Optum, so we had to start our research all over again. Another challenge that we faced was in the case itself. The case was from the US healthcare industry, for which we required thorough secondary research from credible sources. We verified our secondary research findings with primary research via a few known practitioners in the US.

The resilient team

Seven teams made it to the finale. All the teams were tough competitors as they all had some unique solution to the case. We had formed our team quite strategically for Optum Stratethon. The three of us could relate to this industry due to our medical backgrounds and hence we had really fruitful discussions whenever we met. We had minor conflicts but our goal and interest in the case kept us on track. We preferred the most logical solutions and resolved issues quickly which made us do more in-depth research.

I, Mansi, was the initiator who kept everyone on track, made PPT and provided the necessary structure. Apoorv was the implementer who handled Financials and the implementation of our model. Ashutosh, on the other hand, was the Ideator who used his subject knowledge to finalise the solution.

Our major takeaways

An incredible moment for us was when we learnt on the day of Finale itself that the top 3 teams will get an opportunity to present their solution to the Senior Leaders in the US. Presenting our idea before them was an achievement in itself.

The learnings we garnered from the competition were immense. We learnt how teamwork becomes dream-work if your team shares a unique bond. Another key takeaway from the whole experience is that in depth research and logical solution along with presentation skills is what makes you stand apart.

The judges shared their honest feedback with everyone and the mentorship provided by Optum was quite instrumental. Our mentor had really helped us restructure our deck for the Finale. This helped us bag the crown of National Winners of Optum Stratethon. It was quite an amazing experience.

Team Symbi Ideators - SIBM Pune

(Batch of 2018-2020)

The team consisted of three people: Apoorv Vohra, Mansi Mukhija, Ashutosh Dikshit. Where Mansi was the initiator who kept everyone on track, made PPT and provided the necessary structure, Apoorv was the implementer who handled Financials and the implementation of our model. Ashutosh, on the other hand, was the Ideator who used his subject knowledge to finalise the solution.