Startup Lessons and Economic Curves: One Entrepreneur’s IIM Visakhapatnam Interview Story
Candidate Profile
- Background: Engineering graduate with startup experience
- Experience: Entrepreneur – ran a startup that concluded operations due to funding issues
- Academics:
- 10th Grade: 89%
- 12th Grade: 90%
- Undergraduate CGPA: 6.4
Interview Panel
- Composition: 2 Panelists (1 Male in his 40s, 1 Female in her early 30s)
- Date & Time: April 18, 2023 | 2 PM Slot
- Mode: Online
Interview Questions & Candidate's Approach
Icebreaker & Personal Insights
🔵 F: Introduce yourself.
📌 Tip: Frame your journey with intent—highlight the transition from engineering to entrepreneurship, and the learnings that led to pursuing an MBA.
🔵 F: Interesting intro—you mentioned your startup failed due to fund mismanagement. Why didn’t you notice it earlier?
📌 Tip: Accept accountability gracefully. Emphasize learning agility, gaps in financial planning, and the drive to upskill through formal education.
Current Affairs & International Relations
🔵 F: Pick any news topic and talk about it.
🔵 F: Do you think Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition was a success or failure?
📌 Tip: Choose a high-impact, well-covered story. Support your opinion with user metrics, revenue shifts, or leadership changes.
🔵 F: Choose any country and discuss its relations with India. (Candidate chose China)
📌 Tip: Stick to recent trade statistics, geopolitical stances, and diplomatic summits.
🔵 F: What do we import and export to/from China?
📌 Tip: Import examples – electronics, chemicals, machinery. Export examples – organic chemicals, iron ore, cotton.
Academics & Economics
🔵 M: Your engineering scores are low—why?
📌 Tip: Don’t be defensive. Own it and pivot to how real-world experience shaped your maturity and focus.
🔵 M: Did you study any management subjects during your graduation?
📌 Tip: Mention electives, MOOCs, or practical exposure—even indirect learnings from your startup.
🔵 M: What is the Law of Demand?
📌 Tip: As price increases, demand decreases, all else constant. Keep it simple and use real-life examples.
🔵 M: Explain price elasticity of demand.
📌 Tip: Degree of responsiveness of demand to changes in price. Use contrasting examples like salt (inelastic) and luxury goods (elastic).
🔵 M: Do you know probability? What is a probability distribution?
📌 Tip: Define probability as a measure of likelihood; probability distribution explains the spread of all possible outcomes.
🔵 M: Solve x + y = 10.
📌 Tip: Clarify if more conditions are provided; if not, explain it's a linear equation with infinite solutions unless one variable is fixed.
Key Takeaways for Aspirants
- ✅ Be ready to explain academic gaps with honesty and growth mindset
- ✅ Stay updated with business and global news—form your own perspective
- ✅ For entrepreneurship background, expect deep-dive questions into failure and learning
- ✅ Review basic economics and probability concepts
- ✅ Use real-life examples to support definitions and theoretical questions
📢 Disclaimer: The above interview experience is based on real candidate interactions collected from various sources. To ensure privacy, some details such as location, industry specifics, and numerical figures have been altered. However, the core questions and insights remain authentic. These stories are intended for educational purposes and do not claim to represent official views of any institution. Any resemblance to actual individuals is purely coincidental.
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