This case study details the design, deployment, and go-to-market strategy of Case Companion, a web-based SaaS application designed to simulate and teach students how to perform case interviews. The concept originated from my personal experience during my master's program and is directly related to my specializations.
Problem Statement
There are three main pain points to practicing case interviews.
Scheduling Conflicts: Coordinating practice sessions is challenging due to conflicting schedules, often resulting in early morning or late evening meetings.
Mistakes During the Case: Students who are unprepared often make errors, such as forgetting to ask important questions or misunderstanding the prompt, which can hinder the effectiveness of the practice.
Inconsistent Feedback: Without experienced casers, students often struggle to provide each other with consistent and actionable feedback that helps improve performance.
Research
I conducted user interviews and gathered feedback from potential customers, including fellow students, professors, and professionals in the consulting industry. This process helped identify additional pain points and areas to explore. The primary requirements for the application were to simulate real case interviews, offer a variety of cases for practice, provide actionable feedback, and enable users to track their progress.
Solution
The solution was a React application that hosted a collection of cases for users to practice. It simulates case interviews through a custom OpenAI chatbot, allowing users to interact as if they were in a real interview. The transcript from the simulation is then processed by another model, which evaluates it against a rubric to provide feedback.
Phase 1: Software Development
To build this application, I first needed to gain proficiency in JavaScript and the React framework. I immersed myself in the official documentation and participated in several coding courses. At the same time, I started creating wireframes in Figma to guide the development process, ensuring the application would be intuitive and user-friendly. The initial version of the application aimed to deliver a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), enabling users to select and experience one case from the NYU casebook.
Phase 2: UX Development
After creating the MVP, I conducted user testing to gather feedback on bugs and desired features. Based on this feedback, several new features were implemented to enhance the application's functionality and user experience. These features included:
Voice Recording: Users were given the option to interact with the case simulation using voice inputs. Audio clips were transcribed and sent as a text response to the model.
Downloadable Transcript: Users could download a text file of their conversations for review.
Timer: A timer was added to help users understand and manage their time in the case.
Graphs and Charts: An area was included for future cases to include data analysis sections during the interview simulation.
To modernize the site's appearance and improve its usability, I used Tailwind CSS for styling. Authentication was done through Auth0 ensuring that we would have an accurate user count. The next steps involve introducing features that require back-end development and API integration, such as payment processing and saving previous transcripts. This will further enhance the application's capabilities and provide a more comprehensive learning experience for users.
Phase 3: Go-to-Market
To ensure successful market adoption, we developed a go-to-market strategy:
Serviceable Obtainable Market: Our initial target is the NYU Management Consulting Club. By offering the first version to club members, we will be able to obtain fast adoption and valuable feedback to further refine the UX and expand the case library.
Broader University Engagement: Once we have established a substantial user base, we will approach the NYU Career Center to market the product as a yearly subscription-based SaaS product which would give all active students access to the platform. Our pricing strategy will be competitive by being similar to other players in the space such as RocketBlocks.
Expansion to Other Universities: After securing a contract with NYU, we will reach out to other universities and colleges in the New York area with robust consulting pipelines, such as Columbia University. This approach will help us establish a strong presence in the academic market and approach more universities.