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 3

TPE practice paper · Paper 3

Duration: 120 min • Max marks: 100

Section A — MCQs (10 × 1 = 10 marks)

10 marks
  1. 1.** Which of these is an *example* of an Oxygen-class product? (a) Coffee (b) Salesforce.com (c) Video games (d) Designer watches1 m
  2. 2.** "Office comes to people instead of people coming to office" is which Idea Hexagon move? (a) Add an Adjective (b) Find the Nails (c) Do the Opposite (d) Fusion1 m
  3. 3.** The deck describes a startup as: (a) A small company (b) A temporary organisation in search of a viable business model (c) Any business under five years old (d) Any company chasing exponential growth1 m
  4. 4.** What does TAM stand for? (a) Top Addressable Market (b) Total Acquisition Margin (c) Total Addressable Market (d) Target Audience Market1 m
  5. 5.** Eventbrite's two pricing schemes depend on whether: (a) The event is online or offline (b) The host is charging attendees (c) The event is large or small (d) Tickets are reserved or general admission1 m
  6. 6.** The Customer Profile in the VPC has how many components? (a) Two (b) Three (c) Four (d) Six1 m
  7. 7.** "Networks and alliances" sit 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
  8. 8.** What percentage of paid → F2P converts did India have at the time of the Rolocule case? (a) 5.2% (b) 11.8% (c) 23% (d) 38%1 m
  9. 9.** Which is the *correct order* of STP? (a) Targeting → Positioning → Segmentation (b) Segmentation → Positioning → Targeting (c) Segmentation → Targeting → Positioning (d) Positioning → Segmentation → Targeting1 m
  10. 10.** "If you can't find customers, you haven't validated your model" is known as: (a) The Pivot Rule (b) The Crucible Test (c) The Oxygen Rule (d) The Pareto Test1 m

Section B — MSQs (5 × 2 = 10 marks)

10 marks
  1. 1.** Which of these are *external* in a SWOT? (a) Threats (b) Strengths (c) Opportunities (d) Weaknesses (e) Trends2 m
  2. 2.** Which of these are the four implication questions for a problem? (a) How big is the problem? (b) Who is the founder? (c) How often is it faced? (d) How many people face it? (e) What happens if you don't solve it?2 m
  3. 3.** Which of these are Idea Hexagon dimensions? (a) Fusion (b) Pivot (c) Find the Hammers (d) Do the Opposite (e) Beachhead2 m
  4. 4.** Which apply to "Marys" in the SparkPlace case? (a) Higher acquisition cost (~$5K) (b) Lower lifetime profit (c) Higher stickiness (d) ~$50K lifetime profit (e) Larger market size2 m
  5. 5.** Which describe Rolomotion? (a) A mobile racing game (b) Uses iPhone gyroscope, magnetometer, accelerometer (c) Turns Apple TV into a motion gaming console (d) A subscription service (e) Built in partnership with Apple's Apple-TV team2 m

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

30 marks
  1. 1.** Define Product-Market Fit using the "value hypothesis" framing. What does a value hypothesis articulate?5 m
  2. 2.** What are the six hypotheses a founder must state and test in Customer Development?5 m
  3. 3.** Explain the four tiers of USP defensibility with one example for each.5 m
  4. 4.** Compare the **Sams** and **Marys** profiles on at least four metrics (acquisition cost, LTV, ROI per $1 of marketing, market size).5 m
  5. 5.** State the difference between the 5 Ws and the Five Filters and when each is used in the TPE journey.5 m
  6. 6.** What was the strategic logic behind Eventbrite *not* attacking Ticketmaster head-on early? Quote/paraphrase Kevin Hartz's reasoning.5 m

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

30 marks
  1. 1.** Describe the nine blocks of the Business Model Canvas. Group them into "Front Stage," "Back Stage," and "Box Office," and state the viability question the canvas must answer.10 m
  2. 2.** Explain how Customer Development tests hypotheses. Walk through (a) the six hypotheses, (b) the four-step Problem Hypothesis test, (c) the four-step Product Hypothesis test, and (d) the verify-and-iterate stage.10 m
  3. 3.** Describe the three "fundamental forces" influencing every transaction (per the deck) and explain how a startup's positioning shifts as it grows from pre-seed to growth stage.10 m

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

20 marks
  1. 1.** You are advising a deeptech startup that has built a battery-management AI for electric two-wheeler fleets. Early sales are good with three pilots, but the founders are split: one wants to chase consumer EVs (huge market, low margin), the other wants to focus on B2B fleet operators (smaller market, sticky contracts). Use the **SparkPlace case** as a parallel, the **Aha! Grid**, the **VPC**, and the **STP** framework to recommend a path. Conclude with a one-paragraph investor narrative. ---20 m
  2. 2.** (b) Salesforce.com (Oxygen = must-have for sales orgs)20 m
  3. 3.** (c) Do the Opposite (X̄ — invert the premise)20 m
  4. 4.** (b) A temporary organisation in search of a viable business model20 m
  5. 5.** (c) Total Addressable Market20 m
  6. 6.** (b) Whether the host is charging attendees (free events = no fee; paid events = 2.5% + $0.99/ticket)20 m
  7. 7.** (b) Three — Jobs, Pains, Gains20 m
  8. 8.** (b) Difficult to imitate20 m
  9. 9.** (b) 11.8% (percentage of free-to-play gamers in India who converted to paid)20 m
  10. 10.** (c) Segmentation → Targeting → Positioning20 m
  11. 11.** (a) The Pivot Rule20 m
  12. 12.** (a), (c) — *(e) Trends is external context, but it's not one of the four SWOT letters; only Opportunities and Threats are formally external in SWOT.*20 m
  13. 13.** (a), (c), (d), (e) — *Who is the founder is not part of problem implications*20 m
  14. 14.** (a), (c), (d) — *Pivot and Beachhead are different frameworks*20 m
  15. 15.** (a), (c), (d) — *Marys have higher LTV but smaller market*20 m
  16. 16.** (b), (c), (e) — *not a racing game, not a subscription*20 m
  17. 17.** A **value hypothesis** is the articulation of the key assumption underlying *why* a customer is likely to use your product. Identifying a compelling value hypothesis is what finding **product-market fit** means (Tren Griffin / a16z). A value hypothesis articulates three linked things: (i) the *features* you need to build, (ii) the *audience* that is likely to care, and (iii) the *business model* required to entice a customer to buy.20 m
  18. 18.** **Product · Customer & Problem · Distribution & Pricing · Demand Creation · Market Type · Competitive.** Together they form the complete set of unknowns the team must convert from assumption to evidence before declaring a validated business model.20 m
  19. 19.** 1. **Cannot be imitated** — *legal copyrights and patents, unique locations, unique physical assets.* Example: a patented molecule. 2. **Difficult to imitate** — *brand image and reputation, customer loyalty, company culture, networks and alliances.* Example: Apple's brand. 3. **Can be imitated at a cost** — *skilled workforce, customer service, product development capabilities, physical resources.* Example: a great engineering team. 4. **Easy to imitate** — *unskilled workforce, undifferentiated products and services.* Example: generic e-commerce reselling.20 m
  20. 20.** | Metric | **Sams** | **Marys** | |---|---|---| | Acquisition cost | ~$1,000 | ~$5,000 | | Lifetime profit per customer | ~$10,000 | ~$50,000 | | Profit per $1 marketing spend | $5 | $2 | | Market size | ~1.3M businesses | <500,000 businesses | | Stickiness / cancellation | Lower (often leave after 3 months) | Higher (stay longer, pay more) |20 m
  21. 21.** The **5 Ws (Who, What, Where, Why, When)** are used to *define* a problem in Phase 2 — they answer "what exactly is this problem and whom does it affect?" The **Five Filters (Customer, Product/Service, Economic, Timing, Competition)** are used to *evaluate an idea* in Phase 1 — they answer "is this idea worth pursuing as a venture?" So: 5 Ws describe a problem; Five Filters screen an idea. Both are upstream of Customer Development.20 m
  22. 22.** Hartz argued (paraphrased): "We weren't going to overtake the large-event ticketing market by going after Ticketmaster's thousands of clients. Our best strategy was to generate growth and profits by creating new demand in an uncontested market — obtain customers around their core markets, gain mass and scale, and then attack from there." This is the Blue Ocean / beachhead approach: avoid head-on competition, build mass in the uncontested long tail, *then* expand into the incumbent's territory.20 m
  23. 23.** **Front Stage (customer ecosystem):** Customer Segments (whom we serve), Customer Relationships (how we get/keep/grow them), Channels (how we reach them), Value Propositions (what we deliver). **Back Stage (operations):** Key Partners (who we depend on), Key Activities (what we must do), Key Resources (what we must have). **Box Office (financial engine):** Cost Structure (what running the engine costs), Revenue Streams (what we earn). **Viability question:** Do the right-side revenue streams (generated from customer-facing blocks) exceed the left-side cost structure (created by operational blocks)?20 m
  24. 24.** *(a) Six hypotheses:* Product · Customer & Problem · Distribution & Pricing · Demand Creation · Market Type · Competitive. *(b) Test Problem Hypothesis:* **First Contacts → Problem Presentation → Customer Understanding → Market Knowledge.** Get out of the building, present the *problem* (not solution), confirm the customer recognises it, and build broader market knowledge. *(c) Test Product Hypothesis:* **First Reality Check → Product Presentation → More Customer Visits → Second Reality Check.** Only after both reality checks does the team show the product. *(d) Verify and Iterate:* **Verify the Product → Verify the Problem → Verify the Business Model → Iterate or Exit.** This is the decision gate that says "we have a validated model" or "we must pivot back to Discovery."20 m
  25. 25.** The three fundamental forces are: (i) a **demand side** (customers and their needs), (ii) a **supply side** (the company, its suppliers, and competitors), and (iii) the **formal/informal rules** that govern how the two meet — laws, regulations, contracts, market norms. **Positioning shift across stages:** At **pre-seed**, the company is barely visible to either side — the founder is hypothesising. At **seed**, the rules side (regulatory, compliance, certification) becomes real as products near market. At **early/Series A**, competition (supply side) sharpens because the startup is visible and incumbents react. At **growth (B/C)**, demand-side dynamics dominate — scaling customer acquisition becomes the constraint. The startup's primary "force to manage" shifts stage by stage.20 m
  26. 26.** *(Sample answer.)* **Parallel with SparkPlace:** The consumer-EV market is analogous to the **Sams** — huge market, lower per-customer profit, low stickiness. The B2B fleet market is the **Marys** — smaller, but high lifetime value (multi-year contracts, sticky telematics integrations, higher willingness to pay). Per Volpe's logic and the SparkPlace data, lifetime value matters more than ROI per $1 of marketing at this stage. **Aha! Grid:** In consumer EVs, OEMs (Ola, Ather) bundle battery management as a free feature → high benefits, low price = **Contenders/Leaders** crowd the space; the startup would land in **Laggards**. In B2B fleets, current solutions are mostly spreadsheets + manufacturer-supplied BMS → low benefits at moderate cost = **whitespace** for a high-benefits offering positioned as a **Contender** (high benefits, attractive price). **VPC:** *Fleet operator's Jobs:* maximise vehicle uptime, manage warranty disputes, plan charging schedules. *Pains:* unexpected battery failures, opaque degradation data, expensive replacements. *Gains:* predictable TCO, lower insurance premiums. *Pain Relievers:* AI-driven failure prediction. *Gain Creators:* fleet-wide health dashboards, integration with insurance APIs. The VPC plugs cleanly — much more so than for individual consumer riders who do not run TCO models. **STP:** Segment by fleet size and use case (last-mile delivery > ride-hailing > rental). Target the *5–50-vehicle delivery fleet operator* in tier-1 Indian cities as the beachhead. Position as "the only AI that pays for itself in 9 months through avoided downtime and warranty claims." **Investor narrative:** "We are building the battery-management AI for India's fastest-growing electric-two-wheeler fleet segment. Three paying pilots have already shown 18% downtime reduction. We are doubling down on the B2B fleet segment — higher LTV, sticky multi-year contracts, defensible proprietary data — and will adapt to consumer EVs in year 2 through OEM partnerships, exactly as HubSpot expanded from Marys to Sams. We are raising ₹4 Crore for 18 months to reach 25 paying fleets and ₹3 Cr ARR." --- ---20 m

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