Lead a zero-to-one initiative effectively
Overview
This question evaluates a data-oriented leader's ability to translate an ambiguous mandate into a measurable initiative by testing skills in problem definition, metric design, discovery and experimentation planning, stakeholder alignment, prioritization, and trade-off reasoning within a two-sided marketplace context.
Instacart
Oct 13, 2025, 9:49 PM
Data Scientist
HR Screen
Behavioral & Leadership
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Take a Vague Mandate ("Improve Shopper Retention") from Idea to Launch
Context
You work in a two‑sided, on‑demand marketplace where "shoppers" are independent contractors who pick and deliver orders. Leadership asks you to "improve shopper retention" without a defined scope. Describe how you would drive this from idea to launch as a data‑oriented leader.
Tasks
- Define the problem statement (with any minimal assumptions you need).
- Specify success metrics (north star, leading indicators) and guardrails.
- Propose a discovery plan (quantitative and qualitative) and key hypotheses.
- Provide a PRD outline you would expect to use with Product/Eng.
- Map stakeholders and propose a simple RACI.
- Lay out milestones and explicit kill/gate criteria.
- Explain how you would de‑risk with a prototype/MVP and experimentation design.
- Explain how you would obtain resources and budget.
- Describe how you would manage change with CX/Support, Legal/Compliance, and Sales/Partners.
- Describe your post‑launch review and learning plan.
- Provide a 30/60/90‑day plan.
- Give one example of a tough trade‑off you would make and why.
Solution
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