Hero Campus Challenge is a National Level Case Study Competition, which concluded its third season at Delhi. We have Aman Kapur (First Year, MBA-BM) with us from Team Invincibles (Aman Kapur, Kunal Mahendru and Pooja Nanda) of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, the 2nd runners-up of National Finals, to discuss his enriching experience.
Congratulations, Aman! Of all the b-school competitions, what made you participate in Hero Campus Challenge?
As rightly mentioned by you, Hero Campus Challenge is a National Level Case Study Competition in its third edition. This time instead of 15 colleges, it had 40 colleges competing. So, we thought this would be a good learning opportunity for aspiring managers like us to garner industry experience as well as enhance business acumen. As a part of the challenge, we had to submit brief and innovative ideas about what we would like to see in a mobile application of Hero for its customers.
Since you were participating for the first time, what was your approach towards the case?
In the first leg of the competition, we had to submit ten ideas on what features we would like to see in the application. Out of the ten ideas that we submitted, five were selected by Hero. We were among the top 40-45 teams which were selected for the next round in which we had to present these ideas. To prepare for this round, we started conducting a lot of surveys and primary and secondary research. After submitting our ideas, we got inputs from the Hero team on certain aspects of our presentation. They gave us insights on what to expect in the subsequent stages of the competition. This really boosted our confidence because we thought we were approaching the case with the right attitude. We were lucky to be among the top ten teams who got the opportunity to present their solution in front of the notable panellist from Hero in Delhi.
Did you face any challenges while preparing for the competition?
Yes, definitely. Time management was a major challenge that we faced. Being MBA students, we work on a very tight schedule which is packed with events right from placements to competitions along with the regular classes, committees and activities. Our management and cultural festival, Xpressions’17 also clashed with the competition. Also, the lack of availability of resources for our primary data was another problem. We were working with the telematics device which was not readily available in Bhubaneswar, hence, we had to work a lot over the phone with people in the metro cities and run around a lot more than what we would have if we were in Delhi or Mumbai.
What were some key takeaways from this exciting journey?
This was a very enriching experience for us. As a group, the three of us gelled very well. Kunal, Pooja and I were quite comfortable working with each other even though all of us are from different sections. This was the first time I was working with them and not even for a second it felt like we had not worked together before. This was a takeaway because I made new friends and got an opportunity to work and learn from them.
The biggest takeaway was not the position we bagged but rather the experience of spending a day with the top leaders of an organization such as Hero MotoCorp. This experience is more rewarding than any amount of prize-money that Hero could have awarded for this competition.
The interaction with the top brass of an organization which is the biggest two-wheeler company in the world is invaluable. They were very approachable and I consider myself very lucky to have interacted with the Head of Strategic Marketing Team and Supply Chain Management. Along with them we also had dignitaries from the CEO’s office among the judges.
The fact that you get insights from them on your ideas which are also appreciated by the top ten people of the organization is the kind of experience and exposure which would motivate anyone. This is what I would like to tell anyone who joins XIMB. The opportunities that you get here is tremendous. It is up to you to capitalize those opportunities into memories.