How to win HUL TechTonic 2019? -By Team Troika from XIMB

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Becoming the National winners of HUL TechTonic 2019 was quite a unique experience and different from other case-study competitions because it dealt with identifying the circular economy problem at the grassroots level and how technology and IT could be leveraged for solving it. So, the solution had to be meticulously planned and detailed. 

A refined strategy for meeting the objectives

Initially, the strategy was to come up with an innovative idea that would cover all bases of the circular economy problem in India. During the later phase, before the finale, we emphasized more on the primary research aspect to understand the current state of the circular economy in major metropolitan cities and identify the pain points in it. Based on the pain areas, we brainstormed ideas and did a lot of research and conducted a few interviews to understand the perspective of each stakeholder and what would be the optimal solution of technology to overcome it. We had to go through several iterations of our solution design so that the final purview met the objectives laid out in the problem statement. After this, the next challenge was to figure out the financial expenditure and deployment strategy and evaluate how to reach the objective within the given time frame.

The battle of eight 

A total of 8 teams were selected for the finale round. Apart from XIMB, other teams were from IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode, SPJIMR Mumbai, XLRI Jamshedpur, NITIE Mumbai, and NMIMS Mumbai. 

The final presentation and Q&A sessions were conducted for each team separately. So, none of the teams were able to see the solutions presented by the others, albeit through the feedback provided by the judges and the interactions with other fellow teams, we came to know that the competition was very close for each one of us.

In the entire journey, the organization and framing of HUL TechTonic 2019 were quite informative and well thought out. It helped us understand the given problem and the solutions expected from us. The guidelines and references provided us with the right scope and direction to think with considerable leeway to be innovative in our solutions. Also, the judgment of the entire competition was transparent and we were provided with any help we sought within the rules of the competition.

Takeaways from HUL TechTonic 2019

The foremost learning we had is how much emphasis was being given to the circular economy problem by Unilever and other FMCG giants to reduce or eliminate plastic usage in the near future. The judges also shared their insights and mentioned how close our solutions were with respect to their indigenous solution.

Secondly, we learned a lot from the primary research at ground level which made us rethink and redesign many parts of our solutions. The Q&A sessions delved deeply into the practical feasibility of our solutions and how to implement the solution across the country taking into account the pain areas of different stakeholders.

Team with the right mix of people

We had a very diverse team that varied a lot in its thought process and ideas. The good thing was the discipline and approach where we countered every aspect/doubts before moving to the next one. It is always a learning process when you work with a new team. Seemingly, our case was no different, it was Sourav’s first time working with Arushi and Soura who usually are always together in every case study competition. 

There were quite a few problems which we worked around them effectively:

• Being in the final year, Sourav had a different academic schedule and other sets of responsibilities due to which it was difficult to work together. While we worked separately on our tasks, we religiously met and worked together during the night hours where we would brainstorm and rework on every aspect again.

• The thought processes were quite different for all of us, while Arushi and Soura worked together and whenever anyone came up with a solution/idea - it had to be run with the entire team with various rounds of discussions.

I believe the best team has to be diverse and yet effective. So, our forte was that we were the right mix of individuality and teamwork. 

A moment worth the efforts!

The most memorable moment was when we were declared as the National winners of HUL TechTonic 2019. We had a journey that was enriched with a lot of learning, sleepless nights and several rounds of discussions to find the appropriate solution. All of this hard work culminated in certain expectations to win and also apprehensions of what we could have done better. On the final day, we were all exhausted and were a bundle of nerves before the final announcement was made post-lunch. We recollected all the moments of hard work we put in until we made ourselves and our institution XIMB proud.