
Last year’s CaseCatalyst business case competition culminated in a stunning victory for a team of brilliant students from Singapore: Vijayakumar Rishab, Xu Shiyi, Muthukumar Darsshan, and Xu Zihan. Their exceptional critical thinking, innovative solutions, and polished presentation skills set them apart in the CaseCatalyst competition, which brought together over 100 students from 10+ countries. The winning team not only impressed the judges but also earned an exclusive internship with Kapsule, the featured startup for this year’s competition, where they will implement their proposed solutions, creating tangible real-world impact.
CaseCatalyst is an innovative platform founded by students from Stanford and UChicago, designed to give high school students a unique opportunity to tackle real-world challenges faced by startups. Over the course of four weeks, participants work on cases created in collaboration with partner startups, competing to develop the best solutions. This hands-on experience provides students with invaluable insights into business and entrepreneurship. The virtual format welcomes students from all over the world, fostering a diverse, inclusive, and collaborative learning environment.
This year’s featured startup was Kapsule, a healthcare data company that provides actionable insights to healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies. Its advanced platform integrates with electronic medical records (EMR) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to improve health outcomes and optimize financial performance. The case challenged students to devise strategies for Kapsule’s international expansion, encouraging participants to think globally and strategically.
The winning team, Knights, approached the challenge with remarkable creativity and a clear understanding of Kapsule’s business model and market potential. Their proposal included a growth strategy centered on revenue diversification through AI-powered image analysis. By leveraging healthcare data from underrepresented demographics, the team showcased how Kapsule could provide unique and actionable insights, creating a competitive edge in the global healthcare market. Their innovative plan involved establishing partnerships with healthcare providers to access diverse datasets, creating a sandbox environment for AI model testing, and launching targeted AI solutions tailored to the needs of emerging markets.
What made Knights stand out was their ability to address multiple layers of Kapsule’s challenges with precision. Their focus on underrepresented demographic data not only addressed a key gap in healthcare analytics but also demonstrated a strong understanding of equity in healthcare innovation. The team also excelled in their presentation skills, delivering a compelling narrative that clearly outlined their strategies and the actionable steps Kapsule could take to achieve its goals. Judges were particularly impressed by their ability to articulate complex technical solutions in a clear and engaging way, a skill that will undoubtedly serve them well during their internship with Kapsule.
The second-place honors went to Team Souhaiter from Canada, composed of Andy Jiang, Nancy Li, Amy Zhang, and Greta Ge. Their creative solutions reflected meticulous research and innovative thinking, focusing on client engagement and retention strategies for Kapsule. Meanwhile, the third-place winners, Team Silk Route Analysts, included students from India and Pakistan—Vasav Gupta, Adrien Anthony, Inaya Gupta, and Keyaan Nasir—who demonstrated exceptional cross-border teamwork and fresh perspectives in their approach to Kapsule’s challenges.
The 2024 CaseCatalyst competition is a testament to the power of youthful ingenuity and the possibilities of virtual collaboration. It not only inspires students but also drives meaningful contributions to industries that matter. With teams like Knights leading the charge, the future of innovation looks brighter than ever.