How to excel at TAS InvicTAS 2019 -By Meghana Chavan from IIM Kozhikode
InvicTAS 2019: Finance was a completely new thing to me
The main challenge was to interpret financial statements. Being from an engineering background, finance was a completely new thing to me and I had to prepare additionally for it. The rest was more of using common sense and playing smart. When I say "look before you leap", it essentially means that one has to keep a check on what the competition players are doing. Also, it is necessary to get aware of the revised government policies. A thorough understanding of these things helps one to analyze the situations to make the right decisions for the business.
With over 27 individuals making it to national finals, 10 were declared as national winners. Since there was no visibility on the actions of other players it is hard to comment that who was a tough competitor.
Well, this was my first ever business simulation contest and the learning experience was tremendous, especially the finance part. I understood why and which part of financials were crucial to making a business profitable. Also, I developed a fair understanding of the dynamics of a business entity and the importance of profits but with other factors related to the business function.
When I geared up for the final round
When I qualified for Nationals! I prepared myself for the final round thoroughly. That journey is something, I will always carry with myself forever. I am thankful to one of my peers at Kozhikode, who helped me with the preparations. Having first-ever MBA exams and first-ever national simulation round, the adrenaline rush was super high. In the end, everything seemed worth it, when I converted my PPI.
As far as giving a tag to our team, we came up with Miracle Crew. The team had members from different backgrounds. All of us bring a different set of expertise and experiences which I think has helped us stand out.
However, there were conflicts but we handled them judiciously. Also, the team was compatible enough to take each other's points graciously and come to a consensus. At one point, we felt burnt out. However, different opinions didn’t stop us to reach a conclusion as everybody was on the same page. All the members of our team were aware of their roles. Paarth is a CFA. He is extremely sharp and quick with calculations. While Naman is a typical finance guy and knows his role well. I brought more of a creative and strategic bend to the team. Having worked in marketing teams mostly, I understood the real-time dynamics. And that experience helped us build a holistic view of every problem.
In the end, it was a rollercoaster ride at TAS InvicTAS 2019.