Overview
What this challenge is about.
Build GlowLisboa's competitive response to a price war and deliver a 3-page memo to earn a verifiable certificate.
The scenario
GlowLisboa is a small Lisbon-based direct-to-consumer cosmetics startup (roughly 25 employees, under EUR 5M annual revenue) selling premium, locally-formulated skincare online to Portuguese and Iberian consumers. A newly-funded competitor has entered with aggressive discounting, putting GlowLisboa's margins and premium positioning under immediate pressure.
The Brief
What you'll do, and what you'll demonstrate.
How should GlowLisboa respond to the new entrant's price war without sacrificing its brand equity or profitability?
Earning criteria — what you'll demonstrate
- Apply Porter's Five Forces to judge the attractiveness and competitive pressure of a real market
- Build a structured competitor profile from a defined evidence base
- Compare strategic response options against brand equity and profitability trade-offs
- Translate analysis into a clear, feasible recommendation with explicit risks
- Communicate a decision concisely in a client-ready memo
Program Fit
Where this fits in your program.
Sharpens the same skills your degree expects you to demonstrate.
Aligned coursework coming soon.
Skills
Skills you'll demonstrate.
Each one shows up on your verified credential.
- Industry Analysis
Apply industry analysis to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Competitor Profiling
Apply competitor profiling to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Strategic Thinking
Apply strategic thinking to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Data Analysis
Analyze real datasets, build models, and communicate findings that drive decisions.
Careers
Career paths this challenge builds toward
Completing this challenge demonstrates skills that transfer directly to these roles:
Strategy Consultant
This challenge mirrors a core consulting engagement: diagnosing a competitive threat, profiling rivals, and recommending a defensible move. It builds the habit of turning market analysis into a clear, evidence-backed recommendation a client can act on.
This challenge sharpens
- industry-analysis
- competitor-profiling
- strategic-thinking
Market Analyst
Profiling a new entrant and sizing competitive pressure from a defined evidence base is the daily work of a market analyst. The challenge develops rigor in reading market data and translating it into insight others can use.
This challenge sharpens
- industry-analysis
- competitor-profiling
- data-analysis
Founder's Associate
Startups need associates who can weigh strategic options against real economics and risk. This challenge practices exactly that: comparing price, product, and niche responses and recommending one with honest trade-offs for the founders.
This challenge sharpens
- strategic-thinking
- data-analysis
- industry-analysis