Team Khichuri's journey to victory

Business case competitions serve as a platform for students to showcase their problem-solving skills, strategic thinking, and teamwork abilities and allow them to apply their academic knowledge to real-life scenarios. To gain valuable insights into the secrets of winning such competitions, this writer interviewed Team Khichuri, the winning team of the recent HSBC-IBA Business Case Competition 2023. Team Khichuri comprised Mohtasim Bin Habib, Abir Ershad, Mashrif Hasan Adib, and Shubhashish Chakraborty Turjoy-- all studying BBA at IBA, Dhaka University. Let us delve into their journey and discover the ingredients that propelled them to victory.
The path to victory: Team Khichuri, having participated in various business competitions during their undergraduate years, earned notable recognition. Mohtasim shared, "Although we participated in a number of business competitions in our undergrad years, Mashrif and I won the Dabur presents Negocio 1.0 organised by North South University."
While Abir and Turjoy had previous competition experiences with separate teams, it was their collaboration as Team Khichuri that propelled them to victory in three consecutive competitions: Bakeman's presents Sellsation 2023 organised by DU FBS, IDLC presents creADive 2023 organised by BUP, and the prestigious HSBC-IBA Business Case Competition 2023.
The power of team dynamics: Team Khichuri's success can be attributed to the unique dynamics among its members. Mashrif shares, "Abir and I have been friends since we were in college. We debated in high school as well. Although we had not collaborated at the university level, we knew that we would eventually collaborate. We also wanted to maintain the winning mix after winning Negocio 1.0 with Mohtasim."
Turjoy added, "We knew we would stick together because we had already joined up in the first year and got along so well. Mohtasim and Mashrif have also been long-time friends of ours. As a result, it made sense for us to collaborate."
Combining their strengths, Abir stated, "Our team's composition works brilliantly. Personally, I build the greater narrative. Consistency is key in business competitions and I ensure it by taking responsibility for the slides and the final presentation, ensuring that all of our concepts are consistent with our goals. Turjoy works relentlessly to ensure that our case is stacked with solutions. His unwavering morale inspires the team. In addition, Mashrif is a workhorse. During preparation, he can be seen researching and crunching data."
Mohtasim says, "As for myself, I keep coming up with new ideas to the table so that the team never runs out of one. I've been said to be a perfectionist, but I believe a devil's advocate is necessary." This collaborative approach ensured coherence and alignment in their solutions, setting them apart from other teams.
The beginning of Team Khichuri: Team Khichuri derived its name from various sources, symbolising the diverse backgrounds of its members. Turjoy shared that the name was chosen for its appealing sound and the compatibility and camaraderie within the team, rooted in long-standing friendships and a shared passion for success, made their collaboration an obvious choice.
Lessons learned and standout qualities: Team Khichuri's triumph lies in their ability to present coherent, feasible, and aligned solutions. They understood that ideas alone do not solve problems; solutions do. By making significant concessions and adopting bold stances, they created solutions that were practical and impactful. Turjoy added, "We all have backgrounds in debate, more or less, as well. Mashrif and Abir have a lot of debating experiences. Therefore, we haven't really encountered many issues throughout our presentation and Q&A sessions with our judges. Also since we are all heavily involved in the ideation process, we usually manage the Q&A session seamlessly."
The team emphasised the importance of trust in teammates, realism in solution generation, packaging of ideas effectively, and vigilance in addressing edge cases. These qualities set Team Khichuri apart and contributed to their success.
Recommendations for teams: Team Khichuri encourages students from all institutions and academic years to take part in these competitions to gain practical experience. Mohtasim said, "We would definitely encourage students from every institution and year to take part in them since you get to put your practical use of your textbook knowledge to use in a real-life setting."
The competitions also provide an excellent platform for upskilling, as team members can learn various new skills and techniques. Abir added "Business competitions are a great excuse to upskill. I've learned how to make UI mockups, Radio-Ads, Full-Length OVCs, and a lot more because of these competitions."
The team's advice to aspiring participants is to prioritise trust and synergy within the team, identify pragmatic solutions, focus on packaging ideas.
Team Khichuri's success in the HSBC-IBA Business Case Competition 2023 showcased the unique dynamic of the team that played a crucial role in their success. Each member brought their strengths to the table such as: excelling in building the narrative, generating unique ideas, diligently researching and analysing data, and constantly contributing new ideas. Their collaboration and effective teamwork ensured coherence and alignment in their solutions. Following their advice enhances chances of success in future competitive events.

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