I just finished my mini case this morning, sharing it while I still remember everything. I've gotten a lot of help here, so I wanted to give back too. Hope everyone's interviews go well.
Today's interview was the exact question someone here had already shared — the original Google Doc question — and of course that was the one question I hadn't gotten around to preparing. Felt like I'd practiced pretty much everything else. Such a shame. Seriously, you really need to go through every single question!!!!!!!!!!
The question was: You are in charge of a ride-share service.
Q1. What is the factor to consider?
My answer was Financial Feasibility, competitors, and market share.
Q2. Given the data: You give 2,400 rides per day, and charge $30 per ride. You pay each driver $700/day. Assume that there are 8 hours in a day, and each driver can give a maximum of 5 rides per hour. You also have a daily fixed cost of $10,000. What is your daily profit?
At first I was too nervous and didn't hear the question clearly, so I asked the hiring manager to repeat it a few times, but the interviewer's face stayed completely expressionless the whole time, and I have no idea whether repeating it that many times counted against me. It wasn't until the interviewer gave me a hint that I actually got to the profit number. Looking back at it afterward, the math was really simple — I just didn't process it in the moment.
Total Revenue: 2,400 * 30 = 72,000
Driver Cost: (I got a bit stuck here — I think during an interview you really have to be clear about exactly which pieces of data you still need to calculate) 8*5=40 rides per driver per day
Number of drivers needed: 2,400 / 40 = 60 drivers
Total driver cost: 60 * 700 = 42,000
Profit: 72,000 - 42,000 - 10,000 = 20,000
Q3. Asked how to increase profit, and what the difference is between this app and just hailing a cab on the street. What advantage could set it apart, plus the relationship between supply and demand.
Q4. Assume the day is split into surge and non-surge demand hours. Non-peak demand lasts 4 hours and has 800 rides. Peak demand lasts another 4 hours and has 1,600 rides. Assume you can only hire drivers for the full day. How much would you need to charge during peak hours to break even on your profit from the first question?
I actually got this one wrong in the moment — checking it again afterward, the answer should be around 17-point-something.
Q5. Any recommendation?
Discussion
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