Opportunity brief
As part of Innoventure 2026, PGPEM at IIM Bangalore presents Founder's Dilemma, a case challenge built around decisions faced by real startups.
Teams will examine a live business issue provided by a participating startup, define the core problem, evaluate the available information and recommend a practical, evidence-based course of action. The jury will assess each team's reasoning, business judgement and ability to respond to questions.
The competition is designed for management learners who want to apply classroom concepts to real entrepreneurial situations. The strongest teams will combine original thinking with clear analysis and recommendations that a founder could realistically act on.
Event Overview :
- Competition: Innoventure 2026 - Founder's Dilemma
- Host: PGPEM, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
- Mode: A multi-round competition concluding with an in-person presentation to startup founders and jury members.
- Schedule: Registration and round-wise dates will be published through the official event channels.
- Eligibility & Team Composition
- Open to students enrolled in recognised postgraduate or executive management programmes.
- Team composition: Each team must have 3 to 5 members.
- Each participant may register as part of only one team in Founder's Dilemma.
- Competition Stages & Presentation Guidelines
3.1 Registration and Case Assignment
- Registration: One member must be nominated as the team leader and submit the complete team registration by the notified deadline.
Round 1 - Online Quiz
- The first round is an online screening quiz comprising multiple-choice and application-based questions.
- It is designed to assess business awareness, analytical reasoning and decision-making.
- The quiz will contain 25 questions to be completed in 10 minutes. There is no negative marking.
- The quiz window will be open from 9:00 PM to 9:10 PM on the announced date. Participants must begin at 9:00 PM.
- The quiz must be attempted on a laptop or desktop computer.
- Questions will appear sequentially. Once a question is skipped or submitted, it cannot be revisited.
- Results will be announced on the same day. The 50 highest-ranked eligible teams will advance to Round 2.
Round 2 - Case Solution Submission
- Teams qualifying from Round 1 will receive a startup case and must submit their proposed solution as a presentation deck.
- A three-slide solution deck must be submitted by 24th Sept 2026.
- Detailed submission requirements and the evaluation criteria will be communicated to qualified teams. The five highest-scoring teams will proceed to Round 3.
Round 3 - Final Presentation
Founder interaction: Before the final, shortlisted teams will join a virtual session with the relevant founder to seek factual clarifications and better understand the case context. The session is expected to be held 3 to 5 days before the event, subject to founder availability.
- Finalists will present their detailed solutions in person at the IIM Bangalore campus.
3.2 Final Presentation Format:
- Presentation time: Up to 8 minutes, followed by a 5-minute jury Q&A.
- Final deck: Upload the presentation in PDF, PPT or PPTX format before the notified deadline. There is no prescribed slide limit, but the presentation must remain within the allotted time.
- Reporting time: Teams must report at least 15 minutes before their assigned slot. Late entry or slot exchanges will be allowed only with prior approval from the organisers.
- Presenters: Teams may decide how speaking roles are divided; every member is not required to present.