Product case — Luminark Systems
45-minute product case · The Examiner · Realistic
This scripted example shows how a session runs from a written guide: the question comes from the guide, the follow-up is one the guide already holds, and the feedback judges each criterion against the guide's own descriptors. It is not a recording of a live session.
Preparing for a Sales interview? Read the lost-deal example.
The guide for this round
A 45-minute product case: you frame a user problem, pick who to build for, propose a solution and weigh its trade-offs. The interviewer adds constraints as you go.
Before a session starts, you can read what the round tests, how it is judged and the topics it covers.
Time plan: 45 minutes in total
- Opening, 1 min
- A well-designed product, 2 min
- Faster payments for independent consultants, 6 min
- Choosing one segment, 6 min
- Expand or deepen a segment, 5 min
- Six-week ship with a small team, 5 min
- Responding to a competitor launch, 5 min
- Primary success metric at six months, 5 min
- Fit with the company building it, 5 min
- Your questions, 4 min
- Close, 1 min
Topics
- Faster payments for independent consultants
- Choosing one segment
- Expand or deepen a segment
- Six-week ship with a small team
- Responding to a competitor launch
- Primary success metric at six months
- Fit with the company building it
- Your questions
How it's judged
User problem framing
Frames the problem from a specific user's point of view before proposing solutions.
- Not Ready
- Jumps to features without naming a user or a problem.
- Borderline
- Names a user group and a problem but does not explain why it matters or how they know.
- Ready
- Picks a specific user segment, states the problem in the user's terms, and justifies the choice against at least one alternative segment.
- Strong
- Picks a user segment and states the problem in the user's terms against an alternative, citing a specific insight or piece of evidence and tying the problem to the company's mission or strategy.
Segmentation and prioritization
Breaks users or problems into segments and chooses where to focus, with the reasons stated.
- Not Ready
- Treats all users as one group or lists segments without choosing.
- Borderline
- Chooses a segment but the reason is a preference, not a criterion.
- Ready
- Names two or three segments, compares them on explicit criteria (size, pain, reach) and picks one with reasons.
- Strong
- Compares two or three segments on explicit criteria and picks one, then states what would make them switch focus and how they would check it quickly.
Solution quality
Proposes solutions that address the chosen problem and could realistically be built.
- Not Ready
- Proposes a solution unrelated to the problem they stated, or only one idea that any product in the category already has.
- Borderline
- Proposes several ideas but does not choose or explain how one solves the problem.
- Ready
- Generates a few options, picks one, explains how it solves the user's problem and what a first version would include.
- Strong
- Picks one of several options and explains the first version, building on a capability the company already has, with a staged path from that first version to a larger bet.
Trade-offs and risks
Names the costs and risks of their approach and how they would manage them.
- Not Ready
- Presents the approach as having no downsides.
- Borderline
- Mentions a risk in passing but does not say how it would be handled.
- Ready
- Names the main trade-offs and at least two risks, and explains how they would reduce or monitor each.
- Strong
- Names the main trade-offs and at least two risks with how to reduce each, compares against an alternative approach, and says when they would choose that alternative instead.
Success metrics
Defines how success would be measured, with metrics that reflect real value.
- Not Ready
- Gives no metric, or only a count of activity (page views, sign-ups) with no link to value.
- Borderline
- Names a plausible metric but does not connect it to the user problem or the business.
- Ready
- Defines a primary metric tied to the user problem, one or two supporting metrics and a guardrail metric.
- Strong
- Defines a primary metric tied to the user problem with supporting and guardrail metrics, explains how they would set a target, and names the result that would make them stop or change course.
Fit with the mission
Connects their ideas and choices to what the company is trying to achieve.
- Not Ready
- Makes no connection between the solution and the company's goals.
- Borderline
- Mentions the company's mission in general terms without tying a decision to it.
- Ready
- Explains how the chosen direction supports the company's stated goals and why it fits better than an alternative.
- Strong
- Explains how the direction supports the company's stated goals, identifies where it could conflict with them, and says how they would resolve that conflict.
Your questions for them
Asks questions that show curiosity about the product and its users.
- Not Ready
- Asks no questions, or only about perks, time off or next steps.
- Borderline
- Asks about the process in terms that could apply to any team ("What's a typical day?").
- Ready
- Asks at least one question about the product's users, strategy or a problem the team is working on.
- Strong
- Asks a question that builds on the case discussed and shows how they would think about the product in the role.
The interview (excerpt)
The Examiner
Thanks for joining. We'll spend 45 minutes on one product case, and I'll add constraints along the way. Think out loud.
The ExaminerGuide question
Let's design a product that helps independent consultants get paid faster after they finish project work. Which user problem would you focus on first?
Candidate
I'd focus on consultants in general — getting paid late is a problem for all of them. I'd build automatic invoicing and reminders.
The ExaminerFollow-up from the guide
How do you know late payment hurts them more than their other problems?
Candidate
Fair. I'd start with solo creative consultants — designers and writers billing five to ten clients a month. They wait 30 to 60 days on net-60 terms and cover rent from savings in between. Boutique agencies have someone chasing invoices, so the pain is smaller there. I'd check it against invoice aging from ten of them.
The ExaminerGuide question
Suppose you could only build for one user segment this quarter. Which one would you pick?
Candidate
Solo creatives, because they're the largest group and the pain is sharpest.
The ExaminerFollow-up from the guide
What criteria did you use to rank the segments against each other?
Candidate
Size, pain, and whether we can reach them. Solo creatives win on pain and reach — they already sell through marketplaces we could partner with — but boutique agencies pay more per seat. I'd give up that revenue this quarter.
The feedback
You framed the user well once pushed, but your prioritization stopped before saying what would change your mind.
What this session covered
| Criterion | Coverage |
|---|---|
| User problem framing | Ready |
| Segmentation and prioritization | Borderline |
| Solution quality | Not observed |
| Trade-offs and risks | Not asked in this session |
| Success metrics | Not asked in this session |
| Fit with the mission | Not asked in this session |
| Your questions for them | Not asked in this session |
User problem framing
ReadyAfter the follow-up you named a specific consultant, their problem in their own terms, and a segment you ranked lower.
In your words
“They wait 30 to 60 days on net-60 terms and cover rent from savings in between.”
What a stronger answer adds for this job
- Lead with the segment instead of consultants in general, so the follow-up isn't needed.
- Name the signal you would trust first: invoice aging from ten real consultants.
Segmentation and prioritization
BorderlineYou named criteria and what you would give up, but not what would make you switch focus or how you would check quickly.
In your words
“Size, pain, and whether we can reach them.”
What a stronger answer adds for this job
- Say what result would make you switch to boutique agencies.
- Propose the fast check — five interviews or one pilot — and what you would look for in it.
Solution quality
Not observedA solution came up only in passing, so this criterion wasn't shown either way.
In your words
“I'd build automatic invoicing and reminders.”
Not asked in this session: Trade-offs and risks, Success metrics, Fit with the mission, Your questions for them. They neither help nor count against you.
Next: Drill segmentation and prioritization next, then practice the case again with a fresh set of questions.
Sales hiring manager: explain a deal you lost
This short, hand-written excerpt illustrates follow-up questions and evidence-based feedback. It is not a live product session, an AI evaluation, or a customer outcome.
Interviewer
Tell me about a deal you expected to win but lost. What did you miss?
Candidate
I owned a $120,000 annual software opportunity. Our operations champion liked the pilot, and I forecast it to close that quarter. We lost when finance froze new spending. I had treated the champion’s enthusiasm as evidence of budget approval.
Interviewer
What had you actually confirmed with the budget owner?
Candidate
Nothing directly. I sent a business case through the champion but never met finance or confirmed the approval date. I chose to advance the forecast anyway.
Interviewer
What changed afterward, and what evidence do you have that it helped?
Candidate
On my next three opportunities, I recorded who owned budget, the approval steps, and which points were still unconfirmed before updating the forecast. I cannot claim a win-rate improvement from three deals. The change I can show is that the forecast now separates confirmed facts from assumptions.
Illustrative feedback
- Clear ownership: “I chose to advance the forecast anyway” identifies the candidate’s decision, beyond the external spending freeze.
- A specific gap: “Never met finance or confirmed the approval date” explains what the qualification process missed.
- An honest limit: Three subsequent opportunities show a process change, not proof of a better win rate. Keep that distinction in the answer.
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