Strategy question
The Indian Government has recently announced a nationwide lockdown. As the product manager at Ola, you have seen a huge hit to sales. What would you do to increase revenue at Ola? Is there a new business that you would venture into? Why or why not?
- INDmoney
- Strategy
- Hard
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What this question tests
Whether the candidate can respond to a sudden demand shock with both a short-term mitigation plan and a longer-term strategic bet, weighing the risk of diversifying.
How to approach it
- Assess the immediate hit: ride-hailing demand collapses during lockdown, so first address cost structure, driver retention, and cash runway.
- Identify adjacent demand that remains or grows during lockdown, such as essential goods delivery, using idle driver supply and existing logistics infrastructure.
- Weigh the pivot option: launching grocery or essentials delivery leverages existing assets (drivers, app, city coverage) versus an unrelated new business.
- Assess risk: entering a new vertical means competing with established players (like local grocery delivery apps) and needs speed, not perfection, given the crisis.
- Recommend a time-boxed pivot to essentials delivery using existing driver supply, with a plan to scale back once ride-hailing demand recovers.
What a strong answer includes
- Ties the pivot recommendation to existing assets (idle drivers, city coverage) rather than proposing an unrelated new business.
- Names the competitive risk of entering grocery delivery against established players as a real tradeoff to weigh.
- Frames the move as time-boxed and reversible, appropriate for a crisis response rather than a permanent strategic shift.
Common mistakes
- Proposing an unrelated new business that doesn't leverage existing assets.
- Ignoring competitive risk in the new vertical, treating the pivot as automatically easy.
Likely follow-up questions
- How would you decide when to scale back the pivot once demand recovers?
- What would you do if drivers refuse to switch to delivery work?
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Learn the skill behind it
Chapters of the AI PM course that teach what this question tests.
- Chapter 4: Discovery and strategy for AI products
- Chapter 9: Prove it paid off: outcomes, economics, and pricing
- Chapter 14: Get the job: the AI PM interview loop