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 5

TPE practice paper · Paper 5

Duration: 120 min • Max marks: 100

Section A — MCQs (10 × 1 = 10 marks)

10 marks
  1. 1.** "Selling luxury mechanical watches" vs "selling enterprise SaaS" — which BMC blocks change most drastically? (a) Cost Structure and Revenue Streams (b) Key Activities and Key Resources (c) Channels and Customer Relationships (d) Customer Segments and Value Propositions1 m
  2. 2.** In the Aha! Grid, "Contenders" are positioned at: (a) High benefits, high price (b) High benefits, low price (c) Low benefits, high price (d) Low benefits, low price1 m
  3. 3.** The third element of STP after Segmentation and Targeting is: (a) Pricing (b) Positioning (c) Promotion (d) Partnership1 m
  4. 4.** Eventbrite's Series F valuation was: (a) $100M (b) $250M (c) $650M (d) $1B1 m
  5. 5.** What is the deck's word for *early adopters who are also evangelists*? (a) Champions (b) Earlyvangelists (c) Promoters (d) Trailblazers1 m
  6. 6.** Which is *not* allowed as a TPE project per the intro deck? (a) Patented drug-delivery technology (b) AI-driven satellite imagery for agriculture (c) Classroom automation tools for schools (d) Robotic warehouse automation1 m
  7. 7.** Bowling Central was first launched as: (a) A free-to-play game (b) A paid game in Jan 2015, re-launched F2P mid-2015 (c) An Apple Arcade exclusive (d) Subscription-only1 m
  8. 8.** Per Janet Kraus, an Oxygen-level B2B example is: (a) Coffee (b) Salesforce.com (c) Slack (d) LinkedIn Premium1 m
  9. 9.** Which block in BMC asks "What is the minimum viable product?" (a) Customer Segments (b) Value Propositions (c) Channels (d) Key Resources1 m
  10. 10.** "Brand image, customer loyalty, networks and alliances" are in which defensibility tier? (a) Cannot be imitated (b) Difficult to imitate (c) Can be imitated at a cost (d) Easy to imitate1 m

Section B — MSQs (5 × 2 = 10 marks)

10 marks
  1. 1.** Which of the following are *internal* SWOT elements? (a) Strengths (b) Threats (c) Weaknesses (d) Opportunities (e) Regulation2 m
  2. 2.** Per the value equation, which are valid? (a) Customer Value = Value Created − Price (b) Marketer Value = Price − Cost (c) Total Value = Value Created − Cost (d) Customer Value = Price − Cost (e) Total Value = Price + Cost2 m
  3. 3.** Which apply to the **Sams**? (a) ~$1K acquisition cost (b) Lower stickiness (c) Higher LTV than Marys (d) ~1.3M market size (e) Higher marketing ROI than Marys2 m
  4. 4.** Which were rounds raised by Rolocule per Exhibit 10? (a) ₹20 lakh (CIIE / IIM Ahmedabad) (b) ₹1.5 Cr (Mumbai Angels + Blume) (c) ₹2.5 Cr (Blume-led) (d) ₹1.27 Cr (Blume + Mumbai Angels + Sumit Gupta) (e) ₹10 Cr (Sequoia Series A)2 m
  5. 5.** Which of the following are part of the *Customer Profile* circle in the VPC? (a) Customer Jobs (b) Gain Creators (c) Pains (d) Gains (e) Pain Relievers2 m

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

30 marks
  1. 1.** Define the **Pivot Rule** and explain when it fires.5 m
  2. 2.** Explain how a startup's "positioning" (the P in STP) translates into the 4Ps of the marketing mix.5 m
  3. 3.** What three customer-interview questions does the deck recommend for uncovering customer value during Discovery?5 m
  4. 4.** Describe HubSpot's actual real-world strategy after the SparkPlace-style decision. What metrics improved as a result?5 m
  5. 5.** Why did the *paid* business model become unprofitable for most mobile-game developers around 2013–2014? Cite at least three reasons.5 m
  6. 6.** Explain the relationship between **Problem-Solution Fit** and **Product-Market Fit**. Are they the same thing?5 m

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

30 marks
  1. 1.** Walk through the **Five Filters** in depth. For each filter, list at least three sub-criteria from the Assessment Worksheet and explain why each matters.10 m
  2. 2.** Describe what "Get Out Of The Building" means in practice. Explain the BML / Insight cycle, the Validation Board, and how the *riskiest assumption* idea drives experiment design. Include an example of an experiment a founder might design.10 m
  3. 3.** Compare the strategic situations of Rolocule (2016) and Eventbrite (2013). Both faced existential strategic decisions with multiple paths. State the decision each company faced, the key facts each used to analyse it, and the choice each made (or was leaning toward) with consequences.10 m

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

20 marks
  1. 1.** *Combined cross-framework analysis.* Take any **real-world startup of your choice** that is currently active (not from the cases). Apply at least **six TPE frameworks** to evaluate it: the Oxygen Test, the Five Filters, Customer Development progress, VPC, BMC viability, STP + Aha! Grid positioning, and USP defensibility. Conclude with a verdict on its long-term viability and the single biggest risk it faces. (Sample: choose Ola, Zerodha, Cred, Razorpay, Pristyn Care, or any deeptech of your choice.) ---20 m
  2. 2.** (c) Channels and Customer Relationships (this is the deck's "Scenario Mapping" example — high-touch boutique vs SaaS field sales)20 m
  3. 3.** (b) High benefits, low price (the value-for-money quadrant)20 m
  4. 4.** (b) Positioning20 m
  5. 5.** (c) $650M20 m
  6. 6.** (b) Earlyvangelists20 m
  7. 7.** (c) Classroom automation (education/campus solutions are explicitly disallowed)20 m
  8. 8.** (b) Paid game in Jan 2015, then re-launched F2P mid-201520 m
  9. 9.** (b) Salesforce.com20 m
  10. 10.** (b) Value Propositions ("What is the minimum viable product?" is one of the questions in the VP block)20 m
  11. 11.** (b) Difficult to imitate20 m
  12. 12.** (a), (c) — internal: Strengths, Weaknesses20 m
  13. 13.** (a), (b), (c) — *(d) and (e) are wrong rearrangements*20 m
  14. 14.** (a), (b), (d), (e) — *Sams have lower LTV than Marys*20 m
  15. 15.** (a), (b), (c), (d) — *Sequoia did not invest in Rolocule despite approaching; Mumbai Angels + Blume led*20 m
  16. 16.** (a), (c), (d) — *Gain Creators and Pain Relievers are on the Value Map (square), not the Customer Profile*20 m
  17. 17.** **Pivot Rule:** *"If you can't find customers, you haven't validated your model. It's time to pivot back to Customer Discovery."* It fires when, despite a structured Customer Validation effort (cold outreach, problem/product presentation, pilot attempts), the team consistently cannot find paying or even highly committed early customers. The rule is a check against the founder's instinct to interpret a sales drought as a "sales problem" — it is actually a *hypothesis problem*, and going back to Discovery is the only honest response.20 m
  18. 18.** **Positioning** is *strategic intent* — the decision about *how* you want a chosen segment to perceive you (the value-cost combination, the differentiator). The **4Ps (Product, Price, Promotion, Place)** are the *execution levers* through which that positioning gets delivered. *Product* — feature set, packaging, quality tier matching the positioning. *Price* — anchored to the position (premium / value / penetration). *Promotion* — channels, messaging, brand voice consistent with the positioning. *Place* — distribution channels that reach the chosen segment in the way they expect (boutique for luxury, app store for SaaS). Without coherent 4Ps execution, positioning is just an unrealised slogan.20 m
  19. 19.** (i) **"Tell me about a typical day"** — to discover the *Jobs* the customer is trying to get done; this surfaces the most authentic workflow rather than the rehearsed answer. (ii) **"What keeps you up at night?"** — to find the *Pains* the customer prioritises (not the ones the founder wants to fix). (iii) **"How do you define gain/success?"** — to dig under known/obvious challenges to uncover **unarticulated** needs and pains. The third one is the most important — it surfaces the gains customers don't know how to ask for, which is where breakthrough value often hides.20 m
  20. 20.** Three years before the case, HubSpot was at a similar Sams-vs-Marys crossroads. They identified that **sales and marketing** were easier to expand than hiring more software engineers. So they (a) focused product development on delighting the **Marys** — added features, even acquired a firm with product-development talent; (b) **then challenged sales and marketing** to sell that same product to the **Sams**, primarily through **indirect channels** like marketing agencies. **Result:** prices up, **cancellation rate down**, upgrade revenue grew, **3× customer lifetime value**, **3× profit per customer**, and Sams profitability **doubled**. The lesson: align the thinnest resource (R&D) with the most profitable segment (Marys); then resell the existing product into the adjacent segment via abundant resources (sales + marketing).20 m
  21. 21.** (i) **Free-to-play (F2P) supply glut** — players had little incentive to spend money on a paid game when free alternatives were one tap away. (ii) **High user-acquisition costs** — UA spend on app stores rose sharply as more publishers competed for the same install. (iii) **Falling average revenue per game** — the increase in free games meant retention per individual game dropped; players churned in and out, and average ARPU per game fell. (iv) **Revenue concentration** in F2P — only the most popular F2P games captured most revenue, leaving most developers worse off. The combined effect: paid downloads dwindled and the unit economics of paid mobile games collapsed.20 m
  22. 22.** They are **related but not the same**. **Problem-Solution Fit** is achieved when your *Value Map* (Products & Services + Pain Relievers + Gain Creators) plugs cleanly into the *Customer Profile* (Jobs/Pains/Gains) — i.e., you've built something a customer actually wants. **Product-Market Fit** comes *after* and is broader: you've built something a customer actually wants, *and* you've also found that a market of these customers is large, accessible, and willing to pay through a repeatable acquisition channel — the *market pulls product out of the startup*. PSF is necessary but not sufficient for PMF. You can have PSF and still lack PMF if the addressable market is too small, too dispersed, or too expensive to reach.20 m
  23. 23.** | Filter | Sub-criteria (3+ each) | Why it matters | |---|---|---| | **Customer** | Clearly Identifiable Customer; Meaningful Problem to Solve; Segmentable Market; Customer Accessibility; Customer Loyalty | If you can't identify and reach a clear paying customer with a real problem, the idea is fantasy. Loyalty/accessibility determine acquisition cost and retention. | | **Product/Service** | Tight Niche Focus; No Network Effect risk; Lean Method Viable; Team-to-Market Fit; Inherent Story (Virality) | Lean buildability + tight niche means low capital and faster iteration. Virality reduces CAC. Team-to-market fit determines execution speed. | | **Economic** | Healthy Margins; Demand Constraints; Supply Constraints; Sunk Costs; Cash Flow Requirements | Margins and cash flow determine survivability. Demand/supply constraints determine ceiling. Sunk costs determine ability to pivot. | | **Timing** | Secular Trend Alignment; Recent Innovation Enabler; Market Inefficiency; Recent Competition Surge; Signs of Commoditization | Right idea at wrong time fails. Aligning with secular trends gives free wind; an enabling innovation (e.g., GPUs for AI) makes today possible. | | **Competition** | Limited Competition; Competitor Fitness; Team Fitness; Defensible Position; Barriers to Entry | If competition is intense and the team isn't uniquely fit, the venture loses. Defensibility decides whether early wins can be sustained. |20 m
  24. 24.** *(a) Get Out Of The Building* is the literal physical act of leaving the office and meeting prospective customers in person — the antidote to founder-bias and conference-room confidence. *(b) BML / Insight Cycle:* **Assumptions/Hypothesis → Design Experiment → Test in Front of Customers → Insight → loop.** Each loop converts one assumption into evidence. *(c) The Validation Board* — **GET OUT OF THE BLDG** — has two columns: *Invalidated* and *Validated*. After each experiment, you write the outcome on it. *(d) Riskiest assumption:* of all the assumptions in your canvas, identify the one whose failure would kill the venture the fastest, and **test that one first** — not the most convenient. *(e) Example experiment:* For an AI-medical-imaging startup, the riskiest assumption might be "radiologists will trust an AI's read." Experiment design: build a paper prototype showing the AI's output; sit with 10 radiologists for 30 minutes each; ask them to verbalise their trust score; record whether they would override or accept. Result goes on the Validation Board.20 m
  25. 25.** *Eventbrite (2013):* **Decision** — Accept Series F ($60M @ $650M) from Tiger Global + T. Rowe Price, *or* prepare for an IPO. **Facts used:** $79.6M raised to date; only ~$60M remaining in the bank; Facebook had raised $16B via IPO a year earlier; valuation comparables included social media companies, primary ticketing, and high-growth transactional tech; founders publicly committed to IPO 18 months earlier. **Choice leaning:** accept Series F to extend runway and pursue more growth privately, even though it contradicted earlier public messaging — at the cost of further founder dilution and delayed exit. *Rolocule (2016):* **Decision** — Accept acquisition from Moonfrog Labs or Octro, *or* push to raise more capital independently. **Facts used:** Three paid hits eroding; TSL had failed (USD 73K wasted); Dance Party flopped; Bowling Central and Dead Among Us were modestly successful at best; total raised was USD 803K with diminishing returns; cash was running out. **Choice leaning:** accept one of the two acquisition offers (Moonfrog or Octro) given financial pressure and team strength being more valuable inside a larger studio. *Common thread:* both faced **a capital + identity decision** — Eventbrite had momentum and choice; Rolocule had pressure and fewer choices. The two cases bookend the spectrum of strategic options available to founders at moments of forced choice.20 m
  26. 26.** *(Sample using Zerodha — but any startup the candidate chooses is acceptable as long as the frameworks are correctly applied.)* **Oxygen Test:** For retail investors in India who actively trade, Zerodha is **Oxygen** — it is the single platform on which their entire trading life depends. For passive investors, it is **Aspirin**. Mixed market — but in its core active segment, mission-critical. **Five Filters:** - *Customer:* Clear, identifiable, segmentable (active retail traders); loyalty is high (low churn). - *Product:* Tight niche focus (discount broking + ecosystem); inherent virality through low-cost narrative; lean method viable in software. - *Economic:* Healthy margins (per-trade flat fee + float income); minimal incremental cost per user. - *Timing:* Perfectly aligned with India's retail-investing boom post-2017. - *Competition:* Was limited at founding (only full-service brokers); now intensifying (Groww, Upstox, Angel One). **Customer Development:** Long since past Validation; in Company Building. Earlyvangelists were tech-savvy traders on Reddit and traderji forums. **VPC:** *Jobs* — execute trades, learn markets, track portfolio. *Pains* — high brokerage, slow platforms, opaque charges. *Gains* — wealth, autonomy, low cost. *Pain Relievers* — ₹20 flat brokerage, fast Kite app. *Gain Creators* — Varsity (education), Console (analytics). **BMC viability:** Cost structure is mostly fixed tech + compliance; revenue scales with active users and trades. Right side >> Left side at current scale. Strongly viable. **STP + Aha! Grid:** Segment = active retail traders. Targeting = tier-1+2 metros. Positioning = "discount + transparency." On the Aha! Grid: high benefits (great app + ecosystem), low price (₹20 flat) = **Contender** edging into **Leader** as ecosystem deepens. **USP defensibility:** *Brand and customer loyalty* (Tier 2 — Difficult to Imitate); *network around Varsity/Console/Coin ecosystem* (Tier 2). Pricing alone is Tier 4 (Easy) — Groww and Upstox have matched it. **Verdict + biggest risk:** Long-term viable with strong unit economics and brand loyalty. **Biggest risk:** regulatory disruption (e.g., changes in stamp duty, exchange transaction charges, or T+0 settlement economics) that could compress the float-income leg of revenue. A secondary risk is increasing commoditisation of discount broking as USPs converge — making continued ecosystem expansion (Coin, Varsity, Streak) essential to defend the moat. --- *End of practice papers.20 m

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