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Written By Parit Keeratiyothin, BBA #24
Mccombs Fall Case competition 2017 by Lockheed Martin and KPMG is held by the Mccombs Undergraduate Business Council during Nov. 6th-Nov. 11th. This year, the competition has welcomed over 24 qualified teams with the aim to seek a representative from the University of Texas, Austin to compete in the US national case competitions. What makes the Mccombs Fall Case competition so distinctive, yet exciting is their intimidating format; interrupted presentation by the judges. This compelled teams to think linearly, comprehensively, and most importantly, always on their feet! The competition consists of one long case, and teams are randomly drawn and allocated into six divisions, with each division consisting of four teams.
The team consists of Andrew Wolf, Parit Keeratiyothin (BBA #24), Raymond Han, and Stanford Lee.
Entering this competition, our goal was to have fun, so our team went in with very high spirits, and of course, a determination to best represent our respective schools. The event kicked off with a welcoming event and a very insightful workshops session with notable Mccomb's faculty and alumni. The next day, the case company was introduced, and it was very apparent that every other competing team seems very familiar and passionate with the name, whereas we did not. Despite feeling slightly intimidated, we were adrenalized and equipped with a positive mentality to tackle the case! The company was ETSY, one of, if not the world's biggest online artisans marketplace. Our task was to address the company's competitive struggle to thrive from an existential threat initiated by Amazon (the biggest online marketplace in the US and 2nd in the world), launching its own handmade marketplace.
We found out during the competition that the case was undeniably challenging, as we navigated through a clutter of information provided, had several intense debates and suffered through fatigues. We ended up crunching through the case till the very last minute! Right after the case submission in the morning, we immediately proceeded to the qualifying round presentation. Our caffeine driven team presented confidently and were in high spirits.
In the afternoon, our team, along with 3 other teams were announced finalists! The final round was held in the evening. We did what we truly believed, was the best of our ability, whilst more importantly, had great tons of fun! After we were finally hit by the consequences of sleep deprivation (approx. 44 hours in total), our team was announced First-Runner ups!!From there, we will go on to represent Mccombs Business School in the national case competition during winter!
Nevertheless, we were able to cultivate what was beyond the results; a precious learning experience, friendship, and great fun from the beginning until the end. This could not be achieved alone. Thus, this success is attributable to BBA case club advisors, notably Ajarn Somboon Kulvisaechana, Ajarn Supawat Likittanawong, Dr. Worapong Janyangyuen, Dr. Nopporn Ruangwanit, and Asst.Prof. Dr. Orapan Yolrabil for the guidance, training, and nurturing. Thank you to the McCombs Fall Case Competition for hosting such a challenging, yet remarkable competition. Lastly, I would like to also extend my gratitude to BBA Thammasat, the faculty members, and BBA offices for offering and facilitate such great exposure through international exchange opportunities.
Posted date: November 24, 2017 by Sochaya T |
