"Who said we are just the HR folks?" - Team Triumvirate from MDI Gurgaon, National Finalists, GSK E^3 2021

We have always been labeled "HR folks" who cannot do cases outside our domain. We wanted to break that mold and perform to the best of our abilities in a competition that was not in our comfort zone. E^3 happened to arrive just in time, and hence we dived in. Here is how my team and I nailed the GSK E^3 - Engaging and Exciting Minds for Excellence 2021 and bagged the title of national winners!

Diligent is the word I would use for GSK E^3 2021. Every bit of the competition was structured so thoughtfully and we really felt at home. The transparency and comfort given to all the participants by the jury was something that helped our team a lot, as we were able to go ahead and present our solutions fearlessly and flawlessly.

'Formulating' the winning strategy

We split our work into three parts - the secondary research was on me, and the primary research was on Akshat, while financials and market analysis were taken up by Foram. The majority of the slide deck preparation work was split between Foram and me.

Initially, we did not quite understand the problem; it looked vague, and hence we started off by speaking with the doctors, while simultaneously finding secondary research data from sources. The EY Analysis report mentioned as part of the reference documents in the case itself came as a great starting point, using which we narrowed down our secondary research search points.

The most challenging phase was ensuring that we had the right financials in place, and that took a lot of time. We had to keep in mind that our targets were viable, while we did not want to miss out on the profitability angle as well. That phase took a bit of time, and we came up with three or four models before arriving at the final one.

It is definitely a challenge, but we have learnt to live with it. While not being on campus was one part of the challenge we faced, the fact that all the three of us had other commitments at college (committees, clubs, and other responsibilities)  made zeroing in on a particular common time for all the three of us was another challenge.

To fix this problem, we decided to split ourselves into three buckets and meet up even if two of us are available. Akshat and Giri became one team, Akshat and Foram the second, and Giri and Foram the third. This way, we were able to meet up, summarize and keep the non-attendee posted about the happenings of the meeting on a regular basis.

I must say that it was our team's forte that we took up more on our shoulders when any of the members were unable to contribute to an equal extent due to other commitments. The second aspect that needs to be highlighted is the fact that we argued and countered each other's suggestions unabashedly, and that helped us big time in arriving at a polished and refined solution throughout the deck.

Small learnings matter the most

One of the very first and probably the most important learnings that we have garnered from this competition is that breadth is more crucial than depth. Looking at the winners' and the runners-up's decks, we were able to comprehend that much. When we go for another competition - and when we come back again for GSK E^3 2022 - this is something that we would definitely incorporate.

Unexpected things make you the happiest

We honestly had a jaw-dropping moment when we were announced as the Campus Winners; that was something that we ourselves did not expect. We had kept our presentation simple with no medical and pharmaceutical jargon, and the other teams' presentations were definitely far more technical than ours. However, what came as a revelation was that simplicity speaks volumes.

We stuck to the same during the National Finals as well (that did not work for us equally well, of course, but that is a topic for another day!. 

For more such inspiring competition stories, click here.