सSaral Shiksha Yojna
Courses/Technology Product Entrepreneurship

Technology Product Entrepreneurship

CS9.424
Ramesh Loganathan + Prakash Yalla•Monsoon 2025-26•4 credits
Sample Papers/TPE practice paper · Paper 1

TPE practice paper · Paper 1

Duration: 120 min • Max marks: 100

Section A — MCQs (10 × 1 = 10 marks)

10 marks
  1. 1.** Who designed the Oxygen Test? (a) Steve Blank (b) Clayton Christensen (c) Janet Kraus (d) Alex Osterwalder1 m
  2. 2.** Approximately what percentage of seed-stage startups advance to Series A? (a) 2.5% (b) 7.5% (c) 12% (d) 25%1 m
  3. 3.** "Phone + Camera" is an example of which Idea Hexagon move? (a) Generalize (b) Fusion (c) Find the Nails (d) Add an Adjective1 m
  4. 4.** Eventbrite's per-ticket service fee on paid events was: (a) 1.5% + 0.99 (c) 3% + $1.50 (d) 5% flat1 m
  5. 5.** Which of these is in the Customer Profile side of a VPC? (a) Pain Relievers (b) Gain Creators (c) Products & Services (d) Customer Jobs1 m
  6. 6.** In the Aha! Grid, a competitor with low benefits but high price falls under: (a) Leaders (b) Contenders (c) Challengers (d) Laggards1 m
  7. 7.** The catalysing event that made conversational AI broadly usable, per Gartner's 3C framework, was: (a) Mobile phones (b) Cloud (c) ChatGPT (d) 5G1 m
  8. 8.** The Rolocule game that won the People's Choice at IMGA 2012 was: (a) Super Badminton (b) Touch Squash (c) Flick Tennis (d) Bowling Central1 m
  9. 9.** "Skilled workforce" sits in which USP defensibility tier? (a) Cannot be imitated (b) Difficult to imitate (c) Can be imitated at a cost (d) Easy to imitate1 m
  10. 10.** Steve Blank's first step in Customer Development is: (a) Customer Validation (b) Customer Creation (c) Customer Discovery (d) Company Building1 m

Section B — MSQs (5 × 2 = 10 marks)

10 marks
  1. 1.** Which of the following are blocks of the Business Model Canvas? (Select all that apply) (a) Key Resources (b) Channels (c) Cost Structure (d) Risk Register (e) Customer Segments2 m
  2. 2.** Which of these are dimensions of the Idea Hexagon? (a) Generalize (b) Find the Nails (c) Iterate (d) Do the Opposite (e) Disrupt2 m
  3. 3. Which sub-criteria belong to the Customer Filter** in the Five Filters? (a) Customer Loyalty (b) Healthy Margins (c) Segmentable Market (d) Inherent Story (e) Customer Accessibility2 m
  4. 4.** Which of these were debated as Eventbrite's "comparables" for valuation? (a) Social media companies (b) Banks (c) Primary ticketing companies (d) High-growth transactional tech businesses (e) Airlines2 m
  5. 5.** Which roles appear in the "Stakeholder Ecosystem beyond the End User"? (a) Decision Maker (b) Influencer (c) Janitor (d) Evaluator (e) Auditor2 m

Section C — Short answer (6 × 5 = 30 marks)

30 marks
  1. 1.** Name the three categories of the Oxygen Test and give one example for each.5 m
  2. 2.** List the four steps of Steve Blank's Customer Development process and state where a pivot typically happens.5 m
  3. 3.** State the BMC viability equation and explain what each side represents.5 m
  4. 4.** What is an "earlyvangelist," and why does the course consider finding them critical?5 m
  5. 5.** Describe the Aha! Grid's two axes and label all four quadrants.5 m
  6. 6.** What were the two main reasons Dance Party failed for Rolocule?5 m

Section D — Descriptive (3 × 10 = 30 marks)

30 marks
  1. 1.** Explain the six dimensions of the Idea Hexagon. For each, give the formula and one example.10 m
  2. 2.** Apply the Five Filters to evaluate a hypothetical deeptech startup: "an AI-based early-detection system for diabetic retinopathy, sold to tier-2 city eye clinics in India." Score each filter qualitatively and conclude whether the idea is high-potential.10 m
  3. 3.** Profile the "Sams" and "Marys" segments in the SparkPlace case. Summarise each character's recommendation (Andrew/Vikram, Josh, Jane, Serge, Dirk). Then state Roger Martin's and Mike Volpe's positions and the strategic reasoning behind each.10 m

Section E — Long analytical (1 × 20 = 20 marks)

20 marks
  1. 1.** You are a TPE founder pitching a deeptech venture to an investor jury next week. Walk through the full structure of your pitch, naming the framework you would use at each stage from problem articulation through the final ask. Reference Phase 1 → Phase 4 frameworks explicitly. End with a sample "specific ask" sentence in the style the deck recommends. ---20 m
  2. 2.** (c) Janet Kraus (HBS Senior Lecturer)20 m
  3. 3.** (b) 7.5%20 m
  4. 4.** (b) Fusion (X+Y — two dissimilar concepts combined)20 m
  5. 5.** (b) 2.5% + $0.99 per ticket20 m
  6. 6.** (d) Customer Jobs (the circle holds Jobs/Pains/Gains)20 m
  7. 7.** (c) Challengers (vulnerable — paying more for less)20 m
  8. 8.** (c) ChatGPT20 m
  9. 9.** (c) Flick Tennis (IMGA 2012, Barcelona)20 m
  10. 10.** (c) Can be imitated at a cost20 m
  11. 11.** (c) Customer Discovery20 m
  12. 12.** (a), (b), (c), (e) — Risk Register is not a BMC block20 m
  13. 13.** (a), (b), (d) — Iterate and Disrupt are not dimensions20 m
  14. 14.** (a), (c), (e) — Margins is Economic Filter; Inherent Story is Product Filter20 m
  15. 15.** (a), (c), (d) — Social media (Facebook/LinkedIn), Ticketing (Ticketmaster), Transactional tech (Airbnb/Uber/Etsy)20 m
  16. 16.** (a), (b), (d) — Decision Maker, Influencer, Evaluator (also Buyer, Manager, Operator/End User, CFO)20 m
  17. 17. Oxygen = must-have, mission-critical (Salesforce, water/electricity utilities). Aspirin = nice-to-have, eases pain (coffee, productivity apps). Jewelry** = luxury/emotional, not vital (video games, designer accessories). Useful as a "finger-in-the-air" check before deeper analysis.20 m
  18. 18. Customer Discovery → Customer Validation → Customer Creation → Company Building.** The pivot loops back from Validation to Discovery if hypotheses fail (the Pivot Rule: "if you can't find customers, you haven't validated your model").20 m
  19. 19. Right-side Revenue Streams > Left-side Cost Structure?** The right side captures revenue earned from customer segments via the value proposition delivered through channels and relationships. The left side captures the cost of running the engine — key partners, activities, and resources. If revenues exceed costs at scale, the model is viable.20 m
  20. 20.** An earlyvangelist is an early adopter who is also an evangelist for the product — they not only buy but actively recommend and defend. They matter because (i) they provide proof that a passionate user base exists, (ii) they drive low-CAC word-of-mouth growth, and (iii) finding even a small group of them is what marks the end of Customer Validation.20 m
  21. 21. Y-axis = Benefits (low to high); X-axis = Price (low to high). Quadrants: Leaders (high benefits, high price), Contenders (high benefits, low price), Challengers (low benefits, high price — vulnerable), Laggards** (low benefits, low price).20 m
  22. 22. (i) The in-game playlist was limited because music producers charged very high royalties, hurting the experience; and (ii) Apple TV sales did not pick up as anticipated**, so the addressable market for a Rolomotion-only game collapsed.20 m
  23. 23. 1. Generalize (X^d):** apply the concept to another dimension/domain. Data → Text → Audio → Images → Video. 2. Fusion (X+Y): combine the idea with a dissimilar concept. Phone + Camera. 3. Find the Nails (X↑): start with a solution (hammer), find all the problems (nails) it can solve. New material invented → enumerate all applications. 4. Find the Hammers (X↓): start with a problem (nail), find all possible solutions (hammers). Last-mile delivery → drones, robots, gig workers. 5. Add an Adjective (X++): modify the core idea with a trend descriptor. Banking → Mobile Banking, AI-powered Banking. 6. Do the Opposite (X̄): invert the core premise. People come to office → office comes to people (remote work).20 m
  24. 24.** (Sample evaluation.) - Customer Filter: Eye clinics are clearly identifiable; diabetic retinopathy screening is a meaningful, urgent problem; market is segmentable by city and clinic size; clinics are accessible via medical associations; loyalty depends on diagnostic accuracy. Score: Strong. - Product/Service Filter: Tight niche (retina-screening AI); lean MVP viable using existing fundus camera footage; team-to-market fit depends on healthcare experience; inherent story (preventing blindness) is highly shareable. Score: Strong. - Economic Filter: Per-screen pricing or annual licence can deliver healthy margins; cash flow needs are modest if SaaS; reimbursement and regulatory cycles are a constraint. Score: Moderate. - Timing Filter: Diabetes burden in India is rising sharply (secular trend); recent enabler = high-accuracy CNN models on consumer GPUs. Score: Strong. - Competition Filter: Some incumbents (Forus, Remidio, Google's ARDA) exist but tier-2 clinic distribution is uncrowded; team fitness depends on clinical partnerships. Score: Moderate. - Conclusion: Strong candidate idea — 3 strong filters + 2 moderate. Build the lean MVP, focus the beachhead on a single tier-2 city's diabetic-care network.20 m
  25. 25.** Sams = small businesses, <20 employees; ~10K lifetime profit; **1 of marketing**; market ~1.3M; lower stickiness. Marys = medium businesses, 20–100 employees; ~50K lifetime profit**; 1 marketing; market <500K; higher stickiness, pay more, larger budgets. - Andrew & Vikram (Sales/Analytics): target Sams — higher marketing ROI, larger market. - Josh (Marketing): target Marys — higher lifetime profitability. - Jane (CEO): leans Sams initially (more potential, scale) but acknowledges Marys' loyalty. - Serge (Lead Dev): Marys — they use more features, more interesting to design for; but says the call is business team's. - Dirk (Board): make inroads into both. - Roger Martin (Rotman): Both — the segments aren't truly distinct; whoever wins one will adapt to the adjacent one (R&D investment carries over). Penetrating both now is the right strategic choice. - Mike Volpe (HubSpot CMO): Marys first — three lifetime-value levers (price, cancellation, upgrade rate) all favor Marys. HubSpot then resold the existing Mary-built product to Sams via indirect channels (marketing agencies). Result: 3× LTV, 3× profit/customer, 2× Sams profitability.20 m
  26. 26.** (Sample answer structure.) 1. Opening — Problem Articulation (Phase 2): Use the 5 Ws + magnitude/frequency/trend. State the problem as an Oxygen-level need (Janet Kraus). Example: "100M Indians have diabetes; 20% will develop retinopathy; 70% of cases are detected too late." 2. Customer & Stakeholder Map (Phase 2): Identify the user, buyer, decision-maker, influencer, evaluator beyond the end user. 3. Solution & Value (Phase 3): Present the Value Proposition Canvas — match Pain Relievers and Gain Creators against customer Jobs/Pains/Gains. 4. Evidence of PMF (Phase 3): Customer Development results — number of earlyvangelists, pilot conversions, NPS, churn. 5. Business Model (Phase 4): Walk the BMC front-stage (Segments → Relationships → Channels → VP) then back-stage (Partners/Activities/Resources) then financial blocks (Costs/Revenue). State the viability equation. 6. Market Strategy (Phase 4): Show the STP chosen segment, plot competitors on the Aha! Grid, identify whitespace, and define your USP in a Tier-1 or Tier-2 defensibility category (patent, brand, network, proprietary data). 7. Lifecycle Position: State current stage (pre-seed / seed / early) and prerequisites for the next one. 8. The Ask (Act III — Close): Be specific and tie capital to milestones. Convey momentum without bluffing. - Sample ask: "We are raising ₹2 Crore for 18 months of runway to reach ₹1 Cr ARR, by closing 30 paying clinics in Hyderabad and securing CDSCO approval for our screening device." --- ---20 m

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