Opportunity brief
The Trust Economy Challenge:
What would you do if you were handed the keys to an early-stage startup, ₹10 crore to deploy, and one question to answer:
Where should this business start, and what should it deliberately NOT do?
The Trust Economy Challenge is a business strategy and case competition designed for people who can think beyond textbook frameworks. Participants will face real-world business decisions where there may be several possible answers, but only a few that are commercially sound, ethically defensible, and practically executable.
The challenge begins with a 25-question Business Judgment Quiz featuring short, scenario-based cases across different industries and business situations.
The quiz is designed to evaluate ethical thinking, business judgment, people management, problem-solving, and your ability to choose the most logical, balanced and fair course of action.
Shortlisted teams will move to the main case challenge: The Trust Economy.
You will step into the shoes of the founders of an early-stage venture looking to build for India's religious and spiritual ecosystem. The opportunity spans devotees, temples, Pandits, religious services, facilities, merchandise and more.
Your challenge is not to market every feature. You must determine who to win first, what the entry wedge should be, how to build an online + offline GTM engine, whether the economics work, and where you would deploy ₹10 crore.
You are free to challenge the existing concept if your evidence supports a better path.
The strongest teams will advance to the Final Showdown, where they will present and defend their strategy before a judging panel comprising alumni from LSR, XLRI, SSCBS and PEC.
No black-box judging. Finalists will be evaluated on a transparent, quantified scorecard covering strategic insight, customer & positioning, GTM & distribution, commercial viability, evidence & analytics, and creativity & communication.
- Think like founders. Make trade-offs. Defend your decisions.
- Cash prizes worth ₹10,000+
- Founder's Office Internship opportunity for the Top 2 Teams, with a chance to work closely with the startup and help drive real strategic decisions.
Rules & Guidelines:
- Integrity is of the highest virtue. Plagiarism, fabricated data/research, manipulated information, or misrepresentation of sources will lead to disqualification.
- All submissions must be original work created by the participating team. Any external data, research, statistics, or frameworks used must be appropriately credited and sourced.
- Teams must remain unchanged throughout the competition. Addition, removal, or substitution of team members after registration will not be permitted without prior approval from the organisers.
- Deadlines are strict. Late submissions, inaccessible files, incorrect formats, or submissions made outside the prescribed platform/channel may not be considered.
- Participants must maintain professional and respectful conduct throughout the competition. Any unfair means, impersonation, interference with other teams, or attempts to influence the evaluation process may result in disqualification.
- The organisers reserve the right to verify submissions, resolve disputes, modify timelines where necessary, and disqualify entries violating the rules. Decisions of the organising team and judging panel will be final and binding.
Think you can run the business better than us? Perfect. Prove it. We're waiting!