The most exciting thing for a b-schooler is to work on real-world problems of one of India’s top federations. And what better way than to do it with case study competitions? Mahindra War Room is a unique opportunity for business school students. In this series of Mahindra Warriors, we feature the 20 teams – the finalists. The ones who have made it to the last leg of the competition. The series comprises of the Warriors’ journey.
Meet the Mahindra Warriors in this series and tell us who do you think has what it takes to win this year’s Mahindra War Room. Let us know in the comments below!
1. Introduce each member of your team!
While we derive energy from food, Antriksh Borkar derives it from the solving business cases. This post-millennial who has critique for everything goes by the name crybaby. His OCD for great aesthetics and knack for experimenting with strategy frameworks is why he protects WIP presentation deck like nuclear launch codes. While away from a case, he devours on pastries while arguing about football and drawing real-world parallels from Seinfeld. This passionate Strategy Consultant doesn't leave any stone un-turned and any framework unexplored while solving a case.
Like a clock that never stops ticking, Sagar Rathi never stops working, always has hands productively full. An excellent management consultant, ensuring high performance, accuracy and detailing is his second nature. He loves to Netflix & chill if he is spared from Antriksh’s football arguments. His data analysis wizardry and unbiased point of view keep the project headed towards success.
If you want to see what thinking on the feet actually looks like, ask Ajinkya Choudekar a question and grab some popcorn. Being the uber resourceful that he is, he goes by the name Doraemon. Always speaking in movie references, witty one-liners and fancy idioms, he doesn't leave a single opportunity to flaunt his love for movies & food. An amazing storyteller and passionate Marketer, Ajinkya doesn't rest until he achieves that fine balance required to put up a great show.
Right after his cradle photo, Chinmay Panday was seen on a motorcycle. It connects his soul to the winds and liberates him. His experience instincts cocktail makes him look through the people and thus being called the Clairvoyant. While not reading about marketing or psychology, Chinmay revels in Music, Writing and Photography. Being the hardcore Marketer that he is, he ensures the entire project is around the human insight.
2. What made you participate in Mahindra Warroom Season 11?
We were really amazed by the case launch of MWR Season 10 and immediately registered for the competition determined to make a mark. And like every new B-Schooler, we wanted to do everything and be a part of all the action happening around us. We were juggling acads, summer placements prep, club & committee work and competitions, wanting to do everything to the perfection, lo and behold, we couldn’t make a submission. Fortunately, though we could attend the campus round and saw our seniors presenting solutions to real-life business cases. The level of detail in their solutions and their sharp answers to the specific questions by the jury left all of us in awe, we saw firsthand what an amazing learning platform this is. It inspired a feeling, ‘agle saal submission karenge aur campus round jeetenge’ (we’ll make a submission next year and win the campus round)! The campus round also bought a sense of enrichment to our team. That was it, it was this feeling which kept us motivated to participate in the next MWR and make the most of it and here we are, as close to the victory as one can get. The idea to assimilate our theoretical learning to apply and execute in a pragmatic manner is a sure shot way to ensure a strong foundation and excel in the future. The competition is regarded as the toughest in the country considering the live nature of the problems, emphasis on research and exhaustive solutions, which is what we love the most of about the platform.
3. After getting to know the group better through the competition, what does Mahindra Group stand for, in your mind?
We looked at Mahindra Group as one of the biggest conglomerates in the country before the competition, but now we also know they love to take risks and get high rewards out of it. They truly stand on their ‘Go Big, Go Bold’ motto. The group is passionate about turning around businesses and taking decisions which might seem to be audacious to others in the industry. But probably this is what makes the group so special and unique in terms of its capabilities.
4. How did you go about picking your case and solving it? Tell us a few team anecdotes.
During the launch of competition on campus, Mr. Rajeev Dubey was walking us through cases one by one in an impeccably detailed fashion. Each case was as impressive and as prestigious as other and we anticipated a long brainstorming session to zero down on the case. However, when the last case was unravelled, it put a smile on our faces and we knew this is it! “Resurrecting Jawa”! Antriksh, one of our team members, has a Jawa in his family. He recalls his awesome childhood where his dad used to drop him to school sometimes on Jawa. It is the only brand in the category he is attached to. Whereas, Chinmay, our other team member is a passionate biker who has done trips all over India. Though he owns a Royal Enfield, he knows what a bike should be about, and what it shouldn’t be. Ajinkya saw the case to be his playground with a lot of storytelling and Sagar saw it as a perfect opportunity to bring out synergy from other Mahindra businesses, an idea he wanted to develop further. None of us needed any convincing and each and every one of us knew exactly what do to, equipping our ideas with the design thinking approach, we knew Jawa is the ride we wanted to take.
5. How are you preparing for the finale?
To be honest, we are not sweating over it at this moment. We know we have done a lot of work to get to this level and are ready for war. The best thing about the team is the second to none chemistry which reduces any chances of conflicts and misunderstandings. Right now, we are just balancing the final presentation and finishing it up. We also plan to do a lot of rehearsals in the coming days. Keeping calm is crucial at this stage and that’s our main task!
6. What is the one question you would like to ask Mr Anand Mahindra when you meet him in person?
What is the difference or where is the line between optimism and over-confidence?
7. Your plan with the prize money?
Working on this case has made all of us fall in love with Jawa. We feel for it on a sentimental level, so much so that all four of us are seriously considering purchasing Jawas with the prize money and like free birds, explore the exotic places on our Jawas, celebrating our successful contribution in the resurrection of the beloved retro icon.